Tool

What if I only pay the minimum?

A credit card balance, your limit and the rate on your statement: how long the minimum payment really takes, and what it costs.

Paying only the minimum

7.8 years

93 months (7.8 years) to pay it off, and MX$23,957 in interest on top of what you owe.

This month’s minimum: MX$646.

What you owe (MXN) MX$10,000

Your credit limit (MXN) MX$20,000

It matters: the minimum can never be less than 1.25 % of it.

Annual interest rate 51.34 %

Use the one on your statement. It starts at Banxico’s average for people who carry a balance.

What if you paid this every month? (MXN) MX$1,000

The minimum vs a fixed payment

—	Months	Interest with VAT	Total paid
Only the minimum	93	MX$23,957	MX$33,957
MX$1,000 a month	15	MX$4,161	MX$14,161

Paying MX$1,000 a month you finish 78 months earlier and keep MX$19,796 that would have gone to interest.

The minimum-payment rule is Banxico’s: at least the larger of 1.5 % of the balance plus that period’s interest and VAT, or 1.25 % of the credit limit. Your bank can ask for more, never for less.

51.34 % is the average effective rate paid by cardholders who carry a balance and have no promotions, January–February 2026 (Banxico, SIE table CF840, series SF320892), checked on Oct 8, 2026. Banxico ↗

The calculation assumes you put nothing new on the card, the rate does not change, there are no annual fees or charges, and each month is a twelfth of a year. It adds 16 % VAT on the interest, as Mexican banks charge it.

What you learn here

Most of the minimum payment goes to interest and its VAT: often only 1.5 % of what you owe actually comes off the debt.
As the debt shrinks, so does the minimum, so paying only the minimum keeps the debt alive for years.
A fixed payment, even a modest one, cuts both the months and the interest: what changes is how much of each payment reaches the debt.

Read the full lesson: Your first credit card →

Educational tool. It assumes constant rates and ignores taxes, fees and any surprise; real returns and real inflation change every year. It is here to show the shape of the idea, not to plan your money with it, and it is not financial advice.