When making payments on your invoices, mixing business days with calendar days can lead to possibly expensive misunderstandings. Because many businesses, including banks, do not function on weekends or holidays, you can get the impression that you have more time to make your credit card payment than you have.
If your payment is due on the same day each month, keeping track of your payments will be much simpler. However, one of those dates may occur on a weekend or a holiday. On certain days, the mail won't be delivered.
Most people will be taking it easy because it's the weekend or a holiday, and the company that handles the payment processing for your credit card could even be closed. So, what should you do if the due date of your credit card bill falls on a weekend or a holiday?
What If The Due Date Of Your Credit Card Bill Falls On A Weekend Or Bank Holiday?
Credit card payments due on a weekend or holiday may be considered on time if received by the next business day. If the payment's due date comes on a day when the card issuer is closed and does not accept mail (such as a Sunday or a bank holiday), the payment will not be considered late as long as it is arrived by 5 p.m. on the next working day.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) enacted this regulation to protect consumers. Remember that the card issuers only care about the date it was received, not the day it was mailed. If a payment is mailed before the due date but arrives at the recipient's mailbox later than expected, it is still deemed late.
The transaction must be finished before the due date if you want to make your payment over the phone or through the website. Any payments sent through the internet or made over the phone on the next working day will be considered late.
Will A Late Charge Have An Impact On My Credit Score?
Your credit score may suffer if your payments are often late, and the information about them is included in your credit report. It is because delayed payments might give the impression that you are having difficulty managing your finances.
Suppose you believe that you have been incorrectly assessed for a late fee. In that case, you should investigate whether or not this information has been shared with any of the three credit reference companies that operate in the United Kingdom. You can file a challenge with the CRA responsible for including it on your report if it has.
After then, they will contact the lender on your behalf; however, you are free to dispute the record with the lender. If the lender does not react within the allotted 28 days, the challenged error will be erased from your report, also known as being suppressed. Within a month, the CRA is required to provide you with a response with the results of the investigation it has been conducting.
How To Avoid Credit Card Late Payments?
Direct debits may be helpful when managing your credit card payments, especially if you tend to forget when the bill is due. Here are some of our best recommendations for avoiding late credit card payments.
Keep Checking On Your Calendar
Checking your calendar for forthcoming deadlines on the first of each month should become a habit for you. If your payments are due on the first days of the month, you should instead check your calendar for deadlines during the last week.
If you keep an eye on the future schedule, you can anticipate the payments due on weekends or holidays and make plans to have them sent in early. If you do this, you will not be late with your payments.
Adjust The Next Payment's Due Date
If you have more than one payment, the due dates for those bills will probably be spaced out over the whole month. As a result, you may be more likely to make a late payment.
It is better to change the dates on which your payments are due accordingly. It might be more convenient for you to have them all on the exact day or immediately after you are paid if you do so.
Activate the Automatic Payments Option
Setting up your payments to be made automatically is the simplest approach to avoid being late with them. It can take less than a minute, but once it's done, you'll be comfortable knowing that your credit card payment is on its way.
You can set up autopay for the required minimum payment, the whole debt on your bill, or another sum. Setting it for your complete statement balance is better to avoid interest costs. If that is not feasible, pick at least autopay for the minimum amount due if you want to prevent incurring interest charges.
Conclusion:
Credit card transactions typically clear within a single business day but might take as long as several business days. Your credit card provider and the bank you use for payments will determine the timing.
Payments to your credit card will likely be processed if the same business holds the bank account you use to make the payment as your credit card. Making merely the minimum payment on a credit card, rather than the full amount due each month, may leave you with an unpaid balance and additional interest fees.
