Credit cards have revolutionised how people shop online and offline. There are more than 30 million credit card users in the country. The facility to buy readily and pay later is what makes credit cards so popular. However, one cannot afford to be careless about the payment of credit card bills. People who hold a credit card for regular or occasional expenditure need to be disciplined about bill payments and their constant monitoring. The credit card online bill payment facility offered by most credit card companies makes it easy for credit card users to pay their bills and track their payments online.
Here is how one can check the credit card balance history online:
The credit card issuing company updates the outstanding balance on every credit card at the end of the billing cycle. A credit cardholder can check the balance amount on his credit card and the balance history online in the following ways:
- Using Internet Banking: To use net banking to check credit card balance history, the cardholder can register his credit card with the net banking facility. For existing customers, the credit card gets directly mapped to their bank accounts while others need to do it manually. Post registration, he can access various options in the menu like the credit card balance, credit card available balance, credit card bill payment, credit card balance statement, etc.
- Getting Credit Card Statements: Credit cardholders can visit the card company website to enrol their card by providing their credit card number and zip code of the area where they receive the card statement. To check past statements to know the balance history, customers can click on the link that shows the past statements. Usually, the card company maintains the past balance statements as PDF files, and most companies keep a record of the past six to 18 months’ statements with them. For statements that are not available online, the cardholder can call the company and get the statements by paying the nominal fees associated with retrieving the statements.
- Through Mobile Applications: Credit card issuing companies generally offer mobile applications to customers. Customers can download the application on their mobile and register on it. After registering on the mobile app, the customer can log in to the account and visit the information page that offers information on credit card balance history.
- Sending Email: Credit cardholders can also get to know their credit card balance history by sending an email to the bank. The cardholder should send this email from the registered email account and should include the name of the cardholder, his date of birth, and the card number in the email.
Why Should You Know Your Credit Card Balance History?
A decent credit card balance history creates a strong financial history for the cardholder and gives a very strong boost to his credit score. A good credit score is necessary if the cardholder wants to take a loan since lending companies check the credit score and past payment patterns of the loan applicant before sanctioning the loan. They also decide the rate of interest on the loan based on the credit score of the applicant. A higher score results in lower interest rates and better chances of loan approval for the loan applicant.
Apart from this, there are several other reasons why a cardholder should know his credit card balance:
- Knowing the outstanding amount: The cardholder can keep a track record of the balance on his credit card, and know the balance outstanding on his credit card. This helps in timely payment of the credit card bill along with keeping a track of the unbilled charges, and unauthorised transactions. This can save losses on account of delay. This way, one can stay updated on his card information.
- Knowing the available balance limit: By knowing the available balance limit on his card, the cardholder knows that he can plan expenses to avoid the embarrassing situation of the card getting declined at shops or during online purchases.
- Staying alert about frauds: Any unauthorised transactions or any fraudulent charges levied can be tracked by the cardholder by knowing the balance history on the card. This is a great way to save paying charges for these transactions and inform the card company if the card details are compromised.
Credit cards, when used responsibly, are a great tool to finance routine and sudden expenses. Credit cardholders can do away with the worry of arranging immediate funds by using the card limit, and pay at the end of the billing cycle. The best credit card companies offer easy ways of knowing the credit card balance history using online and offline options like SMS, Email, Net banking, etc. The credit card balance history helps cardholders overcome hindrances in using the card. It also helps the cardholder make timely payments, create a sound credit score, and track the misuse of the card.
