Credit Card Glossary: Terms and Definitions

Minimum finance charge

You will be charged a minimum finance charge if the calculated amount of your finance charge is less than the minimum finance charge set by your credit card company for a billing cycle. For example, your finance charge may be calculated to be $0.35 but if the company’s minimum finance charge is $0.50, you’ll pay $0.50. A minimum finance charge applies only when you must pay a finance charge — that is, when you carry over a balance from one billing cycle to the next. Not to be confused with minimum payment.

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