Not sure how a credit card works? Here’s the low down on how our personal Mastercard credit cards work from fees and interest charges to managing payments.
What is a credit card?
A credit card is different to your everyday debit or EFTPOS card. Instead of using money directly from your bank account to make a payment, a credit card lets you borrow money for your purchase which you’ll then pay back later. Once you’ve repaid an amount, you can borrow that amount again.
You’ll have an approved credit limit which you can borrow up to. We may charge you interest on the money you borrow and there may be fees you need to pay.
To compare our two credit cards the TSB Low Rate Mastercard and the TSB Platinum Mastercard check out our card options or to get all the finer details head to TSB Credit Mastercard rates, fees and agreements.
Read on for some key things to know about how our TSB Mastercard credit cards work. Our Visa credit cards work differently to our personal Mastercard credit cards. If you have any questions about our other credit card products, please contact us on 0800 872 226.
Payments
You must repay the amounts you spend using your card or card account, along with interest and fees.
To avoid paying interest on purchases, you should pay the full ‘closing balance’ set out in your statement each month by the due date.
Your credit card statement sets out the minimum payment which must be made each month by its due date. If you have any overdue and/or over limit amounts, these must be paid immediately in addition to the minimum payment. If you do not make the minimum payment by its due date, we can charge you a late payment fee.
Your credit card contract doesn’t have a set term. Instead, it continues until you or we close your card account and you repay your balance in full.
Interest
An interest rate is the annual percentage rate we charge for borrowing money.
Interest is charged monthly. You don’t pay interest on your credit limit, only the amount you borrow as described below.
- You won’t be charged interest on purchases when you pay your closing balance in full each month.
- You will be charged interest on purchases if you only pay the minimum payment each month.
Interest on balance transfers and cash advances is charged differently. They start accruing interest immediately and you’ll pay interest on these at the relevant rate even if you pay off the closing balance of your statement each month.
Current interest rates are available here.
How interest is calculated
We calculate interest differently for different transaction types. Purchases, cash advances and balance transfers have their own respective interest rates. We do not charge interest on fees or interest.
Interest is calculated daily. We calculate daily interest by multiplying the amount we are charging interest on at the end of each day by the relevant daily interest rate. We calculate the daily interest by dividing the relevant interest rate by the actual number of days in the year.
We charge interest to your card account monthly on the last day of your statement period.
How interest is charged for each transaction type is set out in TSB’s Credit Mastercard® Conditions of Use.
Interest free purchase days
You can get up to 55 days interest free on purchases made using our TSB Low Rate Mastercard or TSB Platinum Mastercard if you pay your closing balance in full by the due date. Note: interest free days don’t apply to cash advances or balance transfers.
If you make a purchase on the first day of a statement period and pay off the closing balance in full each month by the due date, you can get 55 days interest free for that purchase. If you make a purchase on any other day, a shorter interest free period will apply (remember that it’s up to 55 days interest free).
It’s important to know that you need to pay both the full ‘closing balance’ of the previous period’s statement and the statement for the period in which the purchase was made. Otherwise, you’ll pay interest on each purchase from the day you make the purchase.
We have included an example to illustrate how this can work. This example assumes that the previous month’s closing balance was paid in full by the due date.
Card Information
Credit limit
The credit limit is the maximum amount you can have outstanding on your credit card at any one time. You can borrow, repay, and re-borrow amounts up to the credit limit, in accordance with your card contract. You can request to reduce your credit limit at any time.
Fees
We may charge your card account with fees for issuing and using your card, and for related services. These may include annual fees, additional card fees, card replacement fees, and currency conversion fees on foreign currency transactions.
All our Mastercard credit card fees are set out here.
Balance transfer
A balance transfer is a transaction where you use money from your card account to pay off the balance of a different credit card or store card. There are limits on when you can do a balance transfer which are set out in the TSB Credit Mastercard® Conditions of Use.
Balance transfers are subject to application and approval.
Cashback rewards
We offer cashback rewards for TSB Platinum Mastercard cardholders. Your card account will earn cashback dollars each time a card issued on your card account is used to make an eligible purchase1.
You earn cashback rewards daily. These are then credited to your account on the first working day of the next statement period.
How to apply for a TSB credit card
We offer two credit cards, the TSB Low Rate Mastercard and the TSB Platinum Mastercard. Check out our card options to find the right card for you. You can apply for our credit cards online. The process will take around 20-30 minutes to complete.
Don't forget to read this bit
1Eligible purchases excludes fees or interest, cash advances, transactions that are like cash (such as purchases of travellers’ cheques and crypto currency), balance transfers, gambling chips and other gambling transactions (such as online gambling), tax payments and other payments to a tax department in New Zealand or overseas, transactions that are reversed or refunded, transactions that are processed on an account or card that isn’t a TSB Platinum Mastercard.
Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.