China Credit Card Payment Calculator CNY
By Chuck, Finance Atlas — Updated October 2026
The real cost of revolving credit card debt in China: minimum-instalment payoff timelines at the daily rate your card charges, versus the months and interest a fixed monthly payment saves.
The revolving (unpaid) balance on your card statement.
0.05% per day is the standard revolving rate written into most Chinese card agreements (≈18.25% a year) — enter the rate shown on your statement.
10% is the common contractual minimum — check your card's terms.
Minimum only, or a fixed amount you commit to each month.
Must exceed the month's interest or the balance never falls.
Time to Clear the Balance
¥0
Educational estimate only — not financial advice. Confirm exact figures with your lender.
- Total Interest
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- Total Paid
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- First Instalment
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- Rate Basis
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All amounts in Chinese yuan (CNY, ¥) — not Japanese yen.
Rolling it into a cheaper loan? Compare →How Credit Card Repayment Works in China
Chinese credit cards give you an interest-free grace period (免息期, up to around 50–56 days) only when you clear the statement in full. The moment you pay less than the full amount, revolving interest (循环利息) starts accruing on the unpaid balance — computed daily, typically at 0.05% per day, and charged monthly. The first instalment's interest is also charged on the full statement balance from the transaction date under most issuers' terms, which is why the first month after a partial payment hurts most.
The minimum instalment trap
The contractual minimum is commonly 10% of the statement balance (with a small floor, often ¥10). At that rate the balance falls slowly while interest compounds: on a typical ¥20,000 balance at the standard daily rate, minimum-only repayment can take well over a decade and cost more in interest than the original purchases. The calculator shows this plainly — set the strategy to "minimum" and read the payoff time.
What the Results Mean
Time to Clear the Balance is how many months the strategy you picked needs, and Total Interest is what the revolving credit costs you over that period at the daily rate you entered. The model applies interest each month as balance × daily rate × 365/12 — the standard approximation of daily accrual billed monthly. Switching to a fixed payment shows immediately how a modest extra amount collapses both numbers.
Cash advances are worse
Cash withdrawals (取现) have no grace period at all — interest accrues from day one, usually at the same daily rate, plus a withdrawal fee. This calculator models revolving statement debt; if you are carrying cash-advance debt, clear it first, because every day it sits costs more than the equivalent statement balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What interest rate do Chinese credit cards charge?
Most Chinese card agreements set revolving interest at 0.05% per day on the unpaid balance — about 18.25% nominal per year — and that is the calculator's editable default. A handful of products differ, so confirm the rate on your own statement before relying on the numbers. Finance Atlas does not treat this as a market lending rate; you enter it yourself.
Does the minimum instalment include interest?
The contractual minimum is generally 10% of the statement balance plus fees and interest for the period. This calculator takes the simpler view you control — a percentage of the running balance with a small floor — so the payoff time it shows is indicative rather than a prediction of your exact statement.
Why does paying the minimum take so long?
Because the instalment shrinks as the balance shrinks, the repayment rate decays exactly like compound interest in reverse — fast at first, then slower and slower. A fixed payment, by contrast, never shrinks, so the payoff timeline compresses dramatically.
What is the fastest affordable way out?
Fix the highest monthly payment your budget can sustain and hold it every month. The fixed-payment mode shows the trade-off directly. If no sustainable payment clears the balance within a reasonable horizon, a cheaper amortizing consolidation loan is the standard alternative — compare it in the Debt Consolidation Calculator.