Credit card glossary.
Guide to credit card terms.
Additional cardholder
Anyone else linked to your account is known as an ‘additional cardholder’. As the primary cardholder, you’ll still be responsible for any transactions they make.
Annual fee
This is a fee charged once a year and varies depending on the type of card you have. In some cases, there might be no charge.
Assets
Assets are the things you own - like your car, house or shares. We’ll ask you to tell us what your assets are worth when you apply for a credit card.
Balance transfer
When you transfer the balance you owe on your existing cards to another credit card with a different provider, this is known as a balance transfer. You’ll be charged interest, known as a balance transfer rate.
Cash advance
If you withdraw cash from your credit card at an ATM or from a store at the point of sale, it’s called a cash advance. You may be charged interest (cash advance rate) and a fee (cash advance fee) when you make one.
Closing balance
The total amount of money you owe on your card at the end of your statement cycle is called the closing balance. If you pay this, you’ll avoid purchase interest.
Credit limit
Your credit limit is the maximum amount you can spend on your credit card. You can apply to increase or choose to decrease your credit limit at any time, depending on your needs.
CVC
The three digit number on the back of your Mastercard® is the Card Verification Code (CVC).
Direct debit
A direct debit is an automatic payment you can set up for your regular bills so you never miss a payment. Most people set up direct debits for things like rent, insurance or gym memberships.
Expenses
When you apply for a credit card, we’ll ask about how much you regularly spend on things like rent, bills, food, entertainment, health and more.
Income
When you apply for a loan, you’ll be asked how much you earn. This includes things like your employment or rental income, Centrelink payments or share dividends.
Interest free days
Your interest free period is the time between when you make the purchase and the payment due date on your statement. To be eligible you are required to pay the full amount owing by the due date, excluding any promotional or introductory balance transfer amount, and not owe money on your card from your previous statements.
Introductory rate
Some credit cards come with a special, lower balance transfer and/or purchase rate when you first open them. These are called introductory rates and last only for a set period of time – after any introductory rates end, you’ll roll on to the standard rate.
Liabilities
Liabilities are debts you have that you’re servicing. This includes things like home loans, the maximum limit on a credit card, personal loan or overdraft, and any student loans.
Minimum payment
This is the least amount of money you need to pay on your credit card each month and is determined by how much you’ve spent. To avoid late fees, you’ll need to make this payment plus any “Amount Due Immediately” by the due date, which you can find on your credit card statement. If you want to avoid paying purchase interest, you’ll need to pay your whole closing balance.
Monthly payment
This is how much you pay towards your credit card for the month. It could be your minimum payment, the entire amount you owe, or somewhere in-between.
Monthly statement
We’ll send you a statement summarising your credit card account each month. It’ll show:
- info about all your transactions during the statement cycle
- any fees or interest charged
- your closing balance
- your minimum payment
- your past due amounts
- the payment due date.
You can choose to get eStatements in our app or online banking, or paper statements in the mail.
Purchase rate
This is the rate charged to any unpaid purchase balance each month.
Statement cycle
This is the time between your statement start date and end date.