Credit card grace period in Ukraine: how to use a card without paying interest

How a credit card works

A credit card is a credit line linked to a card. The bank sets a credit limit, for example UAH 30,000, and you can spend any part of it, repay it and spend it again. Interest is charged only on the amount you actually used, and only when the grace period conditions are not met.

A credit card agreement uses several terms you need to know to understand how much you will pay:

The main rule follows from the table: the “minimum payment” and the “payment to avoid interest” are different amounts. The first protects you from being overdue, the second protects you from interest. A statement in the banking app usually shows both.

How the grace period is counted

Banks advertise a grace period “of up to 55 days” or “up to 62 days”. The words “up to” matter: only a purchase made on the first day of the billing period gets that many days. The later in the period you buy, the fewer free days that purchase gets.

The practical takeaway: make a large planned purchase at the start of the billing period. Then you have almost two months to repay instead of three or four weeks.

Some banks count the grace period differently, from the date of each purchase, or give a separate term for every transaction. The scheme is always described in the tariffs. If the tariffs are unclear, ask the bank for a written explanation using a specific date as an example.

What the grace period usually does not cover

• Cash withdrawals from the credit limit at an ATM or a cash desk.
• Transfers of credit funds to other cards and accounts, topping up e-wallets.
• Payments in certain categories: gambling, buying currency or crypto, sometimes utility bills paid through third-party services.
• Instalment purchases made with the card: they follow separate instalment terms with their own fee.

Each bank lists the transactions without a grace period in its tariffs. Interest and fees on them start on day one.

What happens if you do not repay everything

The most expensive credit card mistake is assuming interest will be charged only on the unpaid remainder. Many agreements work differently: if the full statement balance is not repaid before the grace period ends, the grace period is lost and interest is charged on all purchases from the day each was made.

So before you apply, find the answer to a simple question in the tariffs: what happens if the debt is not fully repaid by the end of the grace period. If the answer is “interest is charged on the full amount of transactions from the date they were made”, you need to fit into the grace period completely, to the last hryvnia.

What the minimum payment really costs

The minimum payment exists so that the borrower does not fall overdue. It is not designed to pay off the debt: most of it goes to interest, and the debt shrinks slowly.

The same debt can be repaid very differently with a fixed payment:

A rate of 3.5% a month looks small, but it is 42% a year nominally and 51.1% with monthly compounding. For comparison, the NBU key policy rate is now 16.5% a year. How to compare loans by their full cost is covered in our article on the true cost of a loan.

The loan calculator helps you work out how many months it takes to clear a credit card debt with a fixed monthly payment. Enter the remaining debt, the card's annual rate (the monthly rate times 12) and the term in which you want to repay: the calculator shows the required payment and the total interest.

Cash and transfers from a credit card: the most expensive transactions

You can technically withdraw cash from the credit limit, but such a transaction usually carries two charges at once: a withdrawal fee and interest from day one, because the grace period does not cover cash.

Banks usually charge transfers of credit funds to another card the same way as cash withdrawals. If you need cash or a transfer and have no money of your own, compare the cost with other options: a loan from relatives, postponing the payment, an ordinary consumer loan at a lower rate.

What else costs money

• Maintenance fee. A monthly or annual card fee. For example, UAH 50 a month is UAH 600 a year even if you never paid any interest.
• Fee for using the limit. Some tariffs charge a fixed amount for every month with a balance, regardless of the grace period.
• Currency conversion. Purchases in foreign currency are converted at the bank's rate, and the difference from the NBU rate is also your cost.
• SMS alerts and insurance. You can often switch them off. Check whether the agreement makes them mandatory.
• Late payment penalty. A fine or penalty interest if even the minimum payment is missed. Special rules apply under martial law, see below.

All mandatory payments must be included in the real annual interest rate. The bank must give you a consumer credit passport with this rate before you sign. Compare cards by it, and look at the grace period terms separately: the real rate is calculated on the bank's assumptions and does not show what you will pay if you clear the debt in full every month.

Which rules protect a credit card holder

A credit card is a consumer loan, so the general consumer lending rules apply to it:

• Maximum daily rate. Since 21 August 2024 the daily interest rate on a consumer loan may not exceed 1% a day including all costs. For credit cards this cap rarely matters in practice, since their rates are much lower, but it shows that the price of credit is limited by law.
• The rate cannot be raised for late payment. If the agreement does not provide for a variable rate, the lender cannot raise it unilaterally because you are not paying.
• No fines or penalties under martial law. During martial law and for 30 days after it ends, a consumer loan borrower is exempt from fines and penalty interest for late payment. Interest for using the credit still accrues, so the debt keeps growing.
• Benefits for service members. Mobilised and contract service members are not charged interest or fines on consumer loans for the special period, except for mortgages and car loans. To use the benefit, notify the bank and provide documents confirming your service.
• Credit history. Banks report all consumer loans to credit bureaus, credit cards included. A late payment on a credit card lowers your chances of getting a mortgage or another loan on good terms. You can check your credit history for free once a year.

Rules for borrowers during the war may change, so check the current terms with your bank before deciding. If the debt has already become a problem, the action plan is in our article “Can't pay your loan”.

How to use a credit card without paying interest

1. 1Pay the amount needed to avoid interestOn the statement, look at the full balance for the billing period. The minimum payment only keeps you from being overdue.
2. 2Turn on autopaySet up a debit card payment of the full balance a few days before the grace period ends.
3. 3Do not withdraw cash or transferThe grace period usually does not cover these transactions. The bank charges the fee right away.
4. 4Spend only what you have already earnedA credit card works well as a deferred payment for purchases you already have money for, or will have before the period ends.
5. 5Lower the limit to what you needA UAH 100,000 limit when you spend UAH 15,000 a month only adds temptation and the damage fraudsters can do.

A note on tracking. A credit card purchase is easy to count twice: first as spending, then as a debt repayment. Record the purchase itself in your budget and the card repayment as a transfer between your own accounts. More on this in our article on tracking expenses.

When a credit card is really useful

• Deferring a payment by a few weeks without interest, for example until payday, if the money will definitely arrive before the grace period ends.
• A reserve for a short emergency, if your emergency fund sits in a deposit and withdrawing it early is costly. Repay the debt before the grace period ends.
• Paying online: if the card details are stolen, fraudsters spend the credit limit and your own money on the debit card stays untouched. A disputed payment can be challenged through a chargeback just as with a debit card.

When it is better to give up the credit card

• You have missed the grace period twice in a row.
• You use the card to cover monthly expenses your income does not cover.
• You have other loans, and the card is used to pay them.
• You do not know how much you owe on the card without opening the app.

In these cases the card has already become a permanent expensive loan. Better to clear the debt with fixed payments and cut the limit to zero or close the card.

Credit card, instalments or a consumer loan

If you are not sure you will repay the card within the grace period, compare the card's real annual rate with an ordinary scheduled loan. A loan with a fixed payment imposes discipline: it ends on a set date, while a credit card without your own repayment plan can drag on for years.

Checklist before getting a credit card

1. How long the grace period is and how it is counted: from the start of the billing period or from the date of each purchase.
2. Which transactions the grace period does not cover.
3. What happens if the debt is not fully repaid: interest on the remainder or on the full amount from the purchase dates.
4. The monthly base rate and the real annual interest rate from the consumer credit passport.
5. The minimum payment amount and its due date.
6. Fees for maintenance, SMS and insurance: which are mandatory and which you can switch off.
7. Fees for cash withdrawals and transfers of credit funds.
8. Whether the bank can raise the limit on its own and how to refuse.
9. How to close the card so that no maintenance fee debt is left.

Keep the consumer credit passport, the agreement and the tariffs as of the signing date. If the bank changes the terms later, you will have something to compare against.

Frequently asked questions

Is interest charged if I pay the minimum on time?

Yes. The minimum payment protects you from being overdue and from a late payment record in your credit history, but interest for using the credit accrues at the card's regular rate. There is no interest only when the full statement balance is repaid before the grace period ends.

Can I have a credit card and never pay the bank anything?

You can, if the card has no maintenance fee, you do not withdraw cash from it and you repay the debt in full every month. Then the bank earns from the fee the shop pays for accepting the card, and you use the money for free.

Does an unused credit card hurt my credit history?

Late payments hurt a credit history. A card without debt barely affects it. Payments made on time add positive records. If you do not need the card, close it officially through the bank: otherwise a maintenance fee may build up.

The bank raised my limit on its own. Can I refuse?

Yes, you can lower the limit in the app or by contacting the bank. An unused limit costs nothing, but a large available limit raises the risk of spending more than you plan and the amount fraudsters could steal.

What if I have already missed the grace period?

Repay the debt as fast as you can and stop making new card purchases until it is cleared. New purchases go into a new statement, and the grace periods get harder to follow. If the debt is large, fix a monthly repayment amount, as in the table above, and work out the term.

In short

• A credit card is free if you repay the full statement balance before the grace period ends.
• Only a purchase at the start of the billing period gets the full “up to 55 days”.
• If you do not repay everything, many agreements charge interest on the full amount from the purchase dates.
• Paying only the minimum stretches a UAH 20,000 debt over years and makes the interest larger than the purchase.
• Cash and transfers from a credit card cost money from day one.
• Compare cards by the real annual rate, the grace period terms and the maintenance fee.

Figures in this article

• NBU key policy rate16.5%
  from October 30, 2026
• Maximum daily rate on a consumer loan1%
  from 21 August 2024, per day

Checked against official sources on October 29, 2026. If a figure changes, we update the article and the «Updated» date changes automatically.

Sources

1. Debet-Kredyt - definition of the real annual interest rate under the Law “On Consumer Lending” (in Ukrainian)
2. Debet-Kredyt - NBU rules for calculating the total cost of credit and the real annual rate (Resolution No. 16 of 11.02.2021) (in Ukrainian)
3. Bankrate - 1% daily rate cap and limits on penalties for consumer loans (Laws No. 1734-VIII and No. 3498-IX) (in Ukrainian)
4. LIGA:ZAKON - NBU explanation on consumer loans during the war: no penalties, interest still accrues, no rate increase (in Ukrainian)
5. Minfin - benefits for service members on consumer loans and draft law No. 13677 (13.04.2026) (in Ukrainian)
6. LIGA:ZAKON - Law No. 3498-IX: lenders must report all consumer loans to credit bureaus (in Ukrainian)
7. 24 Kanal - free credit report once a year under the Law “On the Formation and Circulation of Credit Histories” (in Ukrainian)

Rates, grace period length, minimum payment and fees in the examples are illustrative: each bank sets them in its own tariffs. Before you take a card, check the terms against the consumer credit passport and the agreement.