Credit card statement is generated to provide important information on various transactions to the credit card holder. In the absence of a credit card statement, it will not be possible for the card holder to clear the dues on his/her credit card. In order to avail the benefits associated with a credit card, payment for outstanding dues has to be made on a timely basis by the card holder.

Timely verification of credit card statement is important to ensure that payment is made for valid transactions mentioned on the statement.Generally a credit card statement contains a list of various debit transactions and few credit transactions. Though it may not be possible to perform a detailed verification of each card statement, card holder should follow certain important steps while reading the card statement.

Four Important Steps In Reading A Credit Card Statement

Check Debits And Credits

A credit card statement will list all transactions performed with the credit card as debit entries. Debit entries will have the effect of reducing the credit limit available on the card. A credit entry would generally indicate any payment made by the card holder to clear his/her dues on the credit card or any benefit under a cash back scheme and so on.

For Instance, a purchase of a mobile phone using a credit card would appear as a debit entry on the card statement. Any kind of cash back earned on this purchase would appear as a credit entry. Similarly any kind of interest or financial charge levied by the credit card company would be a debit entry in the statement.

Check Amount Due

Generally, the total amount due mentioned on the card statement would be a difference of debit and credit transactions. In case any dues were not cleared previously by the card holder, a debit amount equivalent to the unpaid amount + interest charges + financial charges would be appearing as “Opening Balance” in the card statement.  Similarly any excess payment made by the card holder in a previous month would be reflected as “Opening Balance” in the current month’s card statement.

Also Read

Five Important Componants Of A Credit Card Statement
Definition Of Debits On Bank Accounts
Do We Need Credit Cards
Correct Billing Error In Credit Card Statement
Meaning Of Resolving Credit Card

Check Due Date

Every credit card statement specifies the due date before which payment should be made by the card holder to the credit card company. It is important to note that due date is not the date on which the statement is generated

Check The Statement Period

It is very important to check the statement period in order to verify all the transactions listed on the credit card statement. It becomes easier to check the transactions if they are available in a proper sequence (on the basis of transaction date). By checking the statement period, card holder can identify discrepancies such as inclusion of a transaction performed in a period other than the statement period.

For Instance, a credit card statement for the period 1st June 2011 to 30th June 2011 may contain a transaction dated 15th May 2011. In many cases, payment for such a transaction may have already been made by the card holder.