Negative Balance On a Credit Card: What Does It Mean?

You returned the dress, and the $25 is credited back to your account that has a zero balance. For something as minor as this, I’ll just use this card to spend around $100 to take care of my negative balance. However, if you have a much larger negative balance, such as after canceling a major trip, you may want to look into other options. « Negative float » refers to the difference between checks written against—or deposited in—in a checking account and those checks that have cleared (according to bank records). Offer pros and cons are determined by our editorial team, based on independent research.

The more often these balances are checked and corrected, the shorter the duration that needs to be selected. If you don’t need the money now and are too busy to sit on hold with your credit card company, you can wait it out. This means you don’t have to make a payment for that billing cycle because you don’t currently owe any money. If you are set up with autopay, no withdrawal will be made from your linked account.

What is an outstanding balance on a credit card?

Just use your credit card like you normally do, and your credit card company will apply the account credit toward your purchases. You have a negative bank account, or overdraft, when your account balance is less than zero. This happens when you try to make a payment that’s larger than the amount of money in your account. If the bank allows the payment to go through even though you don’t have sufficient funds to cover it, your account becomes negative. If you are closing a credit card account with a negative balance, the issuer will most likely refund the money before officially closing the account. There are a handful of scenarios where it may not be that simple, however.

And a bank that closed your account for too many overdrafts could sell your debt to a collection company. That company might report your unpaid balance to the credit bureaus, which could lower your credit scores and make it harder to get approved for credit in the future. If you have any doubts about why you have a negative balance, call your issuer. The card issuer should be able to give you a clear explanation of what caused the negative balance. Most card issuers have a specific way of handling negative balances, so a call can give you some clarification. Most credit models consider negative balances equivalent to a $0 balance, which means negative balances don’t hurt credit scores.

You Returned Something You Bought With the Credit Card

Finally, deposit enough money into your account to fully cover the Negative balance, including fees. Here’s what to know about a negative credit card balance, how it occurs and what to do if you have one. Power its potential with one of our business credit cards, like Ink Business Preferred℠, Ink Business Unlimited℠ or Ink Business Cash℠. Debt consolidation can be a useful way to save you money and simplify your payments.

It just means that you can charge up to your existing credit limit plus the negative balance. Keep in mind that state laws typically prohibit writing bad checks or purposefully bouncing payments. If you’re aware that your account is negative and you try to make a payment from that account knowing it won’t go through, you could be charged with a crime in some circumstances.

How much do I pay?

Whether you want to pay less interest or earn more rewards, the right card’s out there. Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey.

• Outstanding balances represent what the cardholder owes to the card issuer.
• For instance, you may find yourself with a negative balance as your account is about to officially close.
• Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us.
• You can also usually avoid this issue by setting up autopay to automatically withdraw either the full account balance or the minimum required payment.
• Your bank might offer overdraft protection programs that can help you avoid negative balances.
• The more often these balances are checked and corrected, the shorter the duration that needs to be selected.
• Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.

Negative balance is an important process because it helps fiscal officers and users of the financial statement pinpoint and isolate issues on the balance sheet and income statement. Without reviewing for negative balances, both the income statement and the balance sheet may include balances that misrepresent the overall financial position of the entity. Reviewing for negative balances also assists entities to identify potential issues such as negative cash flows, non-collection on receivables, etc. While your account balance is negative, any payments you receive in your PayPal account will be applied to the outstanding balance and any refunds you attempt will be funded by your primary bank.

Choose how much you want to add and provide your credit card information. You can save the credit card to your account for future use or choose to use it just one time. We know a negative balance can be frustrating and sometimes unexpected. To find out why the balance is negative, review the transaction history of your account online or in your app.

Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer or other company, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. All information, including rates and fees, are accurate as of the date of publication and are updated as provided by our partners. Some of the offers on this page may not be available through our website. There is nothing specific you need to do when you have a negative balance. In fact, your credit card issuer may take care of the issue itself and send you a check for the negative balance amount. Additionally, a negative balance has no impact on your credit card’s limit.

Manage Your Money

See all our rewards credit cards and choose one that’s right for you. Charges that appear on your account long after a purchase and secondary charges like tips can push your balance into the negative. Online retailers may put a temporary hold (charge) on your account when you place an order, then complete the charge when they ship your stuff.

If the cardholder pays off the balance each month, a reward or statement credit applied later may show up as a negative balance on a later statement. That negative balance on your credit card is almost like cash in your bank account. Instead of waiting for a check to arrive in the mail, you can simply use the credit card for future purchases to zero out your current balance. If you have a negative credit card balance, you don’t have to actually do anything. You can make purchases on your credit card as you normally would.