Paying the minimum on a credit card feels manageable, and that's the problem. Because the minimum is a share of what you owe, it shrinks as the balance shrinks, and the card takes years to clear.
How the minimum works
FNB Namibia, for example, publishes a minimum payment of 5% of the full outstanding balance. Other banks set their own; check your card's terms. As the balance falls, so does 5% of it, so each payment chips away a little less than the one before. Some cards also set a minimum amount in dollars, which stops the payment shrinking to nothing.
An example
Take a balance of N$20,000 at 16% a year, about 1.33% a month, with no new spending:
- Paying the minimum (5%, at least N$50 in our example): the first payment is N$1,013.33. The card takes 8 years and 7 months to clear, and costs N$6,956.43 in interest.
- Paying a fixed N$1,000 a month: the card clears in 2 years, with N$3,417.99 of interest.
- Paying N$2,000 a month: it clears in 11 months, with N$1,610.00 of interest.
The fixed payments start at about the same amount as the minimum, but they stay the same, so more goes to the balance every month. Our credit card repayment calculator shows the time and interest for any payment you choose.
A payment that never clears it
If your payment doesn't cover the interest added each month, the balance never comes down. On N$20,000 at 16%, the first month's interest is N$266.67, so N$250 a month would leave you owing more every month. The calculator warns you when that happens.
The legal maximum
Card interest comes under the Usury Act: at most 1.6 times the prime rate a year, 16.4% with prime at 10.25%. Fees count as finance charges too. If your card charges more, ask your bank to explain.
Making it work
- Choose a fixed amount you can keep paying, and set it up as a debit order.
- Stop using the card while you clear it: the calculator assumes no new spending.
- If you have several debts, pay the minimum on all of them and put anything extra towards the most expensive one.
Sources
- FNB Namibia: Platinum credit card
- General Notices 571 and 572 of 2018 (Government Gazette 6736)
- Bank of Namibia: Monetary Policy Committee statement, 12 August 2026
This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice.