海角社区

apr explained, finally

WTF is
APR?!

You're thinking that鈥檚 the interest rate you鈥檒l pay each month, right? Not聽quite.
Here's our Chief Risk Officer in a bubble bath to聽explain.

THAT BIG NUMBER PROBABLY ISN'T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS.

Look, we don鈥檛 blame you. It鈥檚 all pretty confusing. Basically, it鈥檚 an annualised percentage that includes the interest rate and fees, and it鈥檚 designed to reflect the total cost of borrowing for a majority of people. Here's what it's made up聽of.
2.21%
Monthly purchase rate
Our Full Membership annualised rate is 29.97% which is converted into a 2.21% monthly rate when you borrow.
拢15
monthly fee
This covers benefits like cashback,聽travel insurance and other benefits and is common for rewards cards.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE TO SHOW HOW INTEREST REALLY聽WORKS

拢100
If you borrow this
You left 拢100 on your balance from the month before
about
拢2.21
You'd pay this interest
You'd pay this interest
Plus the 拢100 you borrowed from the month before
not
拢20+
It shouldn't be so tricky
We think interest rates should be easier to understand.
We think interest should be easier to understand.
Weren't expecting that, were you? That annualised percentage rate is converted into a monthly one when you borrow. So you take 拢100 and multiply it by 2.21% and... bingo! Not so bad,聽right?

Don't worry, no one really gets this聽stuff.

this whole apr and interest thing could be a lot聽clearer.

We surveyed 2,000 people in the UK and the results were... less than聽inspiring.
94%
of people don't know what Representative聽APR includes. Eeesh.
64%
think you pay interest, even if you pay off your card in full every聽month.
84%
don't know that Representative APR includes fees that cover card聽benefits.
Still unsure?

Ask us anything

Do I聽pay interest if I pay off my card in full each month?

Nope! If you pay off your credit card each month in full, you'll pay no interest. You'd be surprised how many people think this!

Why is this all so confusing?

These rules are in place to help you understand the cost of borrowing. So don鈥檛 get mad at us. But yeah, we agree: there鈥檚 room for improvement. So we鈥檙e trying to do a better job explaining what this all really means so you know exactly what you鈥檙e getting鈥攊n clear, simple terms. No surprises. Fewer angry comments online.

Why is your Representative APR so high?!

Good question. We get this a lot. It鈥檚 all pretty confusing. That big number you鈥檙e seeing, it鈥檚 called a Representative APR. It鈥檚 an annualised percentage that includes the interest rate and fees, and it鈥檚 designed to reflect the total cost of borrowing for a majority of people. It鈥檚 a bit of a mouthful鈥 so here it is broken down:

  1. An annualised percentage that shows the total cost of borrowing
  2. That includes the purchase rate and monthly fees
  3. Calculated based on what a majority of people would get
  4. It's not the interest rate you'd get
How much interest would I聽pay if I borrowed 拢100?

Here鈥檚 an example using some imaginary numbers. Let鈥檚 say you borrow 拢100 with a 20% interest rate. Now, you might think that means you鈥檒l pay 拢20 every month, but that鈥檚 not how it works. That 20% is annualised, meaning it鈥檚 spread out over the whole year. So if you borrow for just one month, they take that rate and turn it into a monthly one, which is about 1.5%. So, that鈥檚 拢1.53 in interest, not 拢20.

Why is your Chief Risk Officer in a bath?

Really can't un-see it, can you?聽Sorry about that.

Okay with optional cookies?
Details in our privacy policy.
Strictly Necessary (Always Active)
Cookies required to enable basic website functionality.
Help us collect randomised data to find ways to better improve our website for you
Using non-identifiable data can help reduce our marketing costs
Allowing us to remember choices you make (such as your name or language, or the region you are in).