Have you ever witnessed any of your credit cards having a negative balance and wondered what it means or whether you are in trouble? Well, we have got you

Everything that you need to know about a negative balance on credit card. Continue reading to find out…

negative balance on credit card

1. What does a negative balance on your credit card indicate?

When your credit card company owes money to you it shows a negative balance on the credit card. In other words, a negative balance occurs if and when you have paid the excess amount on the total credit card payable amount. But most credit card companies do not encourage you to pay more than an outstanding credit card payable amount in the first place. 

2. When will you find a negative balance on your credit card?

If you pay an amount more than your due amount by mistake or intentionally, the excess amount will show up as a negative balance on your credit card. You may have issued a cheque of an amount that your due amount would round off too. For example, if your due amount was AED 560 and you issued a cheque for AED 600 or paid the same online, the remaining amount over your outstanding dues will reflect as a negative balance. You will find this negative balance on your monthly statement. It will also show on the main page of your online banking internet account.

3. What are the other events when you can have a negative credit card balance?

Apart from when you pay an excess amount over your dues, a negative balance can also occur in your credit card in any of the following cases:

• Purchase returns from the seller
• Refunds from credit card issuers such as interest expenses, credit card fees, annual fees, and others
• Expenses charged in error by the credit card issuer
• Refund due to any frauds
• Bonus amounts credited by the credit card company.

4. What does a positive balance on your credit card mean?

A positive balance on your credit card means that you have a certain payable amount due on a particular day. If you paid your bill amount in full before the due date of the month, interest will not be levied on your account and it will show a positive balance. Remember, your account will also stay in a positive balance if you continue to pay only the minimum due amount. As you may have heard quite often, always try and pay your bills in full every month.

5. What happens when you have a negative balance on your credit card?

If you have a negative balance on your credit card, your credit card company is responsible for making the payment of the negative amount. One of the ways in which they can do so is by refunding the amount to your account. If you do not want this, you can also use these negative balances and adjust your future credit purchases. If you have stopped using your credit card and there exists an unclaimed negative balance on your credit card, the card issuer will cut a check for the same amount and send you the cheque. Keep in mind that this step will be only taken by the bank after several months of credit card inactivity.

6. What are the effects of having a negative balance on your credit card?

Contrary to popular belief, a negative balance does not affect your credit card limit in any manner. It remains the same whatsoever and does not increase with the increase in a negative balance on the credit card. A negative balance on your card only means that you are spending more than the card limit by overpaying to the credit card issuing company. On the other hand, a negative balance on your credit card will reduce your credit utilization ratio and allow you to maintain the usage within the ideal limit of 30 percent.

7. How does a negative balance impact your credit score?

While a negative balance on your credit card may seem like a negative thing for your credit score, it does not actually take a toll on your credit score. In the case of a negative balance, the credit card provider owes you money. As a result, there will be a drop in the ratio of credit utilization. Therefore, it is actually a good sign for your credit score. While a negative credit balance will not leave any negative impact on your credit score, it can impact how much you can spend on your credit card temporarily but it does not increase your credit limit. For example, if you have a credit limit of AED 5,000 but a credit balance of AED 100, you can spend up to AED 5,100 on your credit card. However, technically, you are not getting a high credit limit because once you spend the amount of AED 100 on your card, your credit balance will remain as AED 0 and your credit limit will still be AED 5000.

To sum it up, negative balances are more of the bank’s concern that your own. And they are definitely not a negative thing. You do not need to worry about them at all as you have done nothing wrong. You have rather paid an extra amount to the bank which will be refunded in due time.