Credit Card Payment Cutoff Time: When a Payment Counts as On Time

Published by the Modern Lending Solutions editorial team. Last reviewed: October 30, 2026.

Short answer: a card payment must be credited as of the day it is received. The issuer may set a cutoff time for payments, but not earlier than 5 p.m. on the due date at the place it names. A payment made in person to a teller at a bank, savings association or credit union that issues your card counts that day if it is made before the branch closes. Check the cutoff time and the payment address in your account terms and on your statement, and pay before the due date when you can. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.

A payment is credited on the day it is received

Regulation Z says a creditor “shall credit a payment to the consumer’s account as of the date of receipt”, except when a delay causes no finance or other charge (12 CFR 1026.10(a), eCFR, text up to date as of October 28, 2026, read October 30, 2026). The official interpretation says the date of receipt is the date the payment “reaches the creditor”. A check is received when the creditor gets it, “not when the funds are collected”, and a payment through a bill payment service at your bank is received when the creditor gets that service’s check or transfer (Official Interpretation, comment 10(a)-2, read October 30, 2026).

The 5 p.m. cutoff floor

A creditor may set “reasonable cut-off times for payments to be received by mail, by electronic means, by telephone, and in person”, as long as they are “no earlier than 5 p.m. on the payment due date at the location specified by the creditor for the receipt of such payments” (12 CFR 1026.10(b)(2)(ii)). Its payment rules overall must “enable most consumers to make conforming payments” (1026.10(b)(1)). For a payment on the creditor’s website that you tell it to make right away, the official interpretation says that if your instruction arrives “after 5 p.m. or any later cut-off time specified by the creditor”, the payment date is “deemed to be the next business day” (comment 10(a)-2.iv). Since the cutoff is tied to the payment location, ask which time zone it uses.

Paying in person at a branch

If your card issuer is a bank, savings association or credit union, a card payment made in person at one of its branches or offices “prior to the close of business of that branch or office shall be considered received on the date on which the consumer makes the payment”. The issuer cannot set an earlier cutoff for these payments, and if the branch closes before 5 p.m., the cutoff can be its closing time (12 CFR 1026.10(b)(3)). In person means with a branch employee, such as a teller; a payment left in a branch mail slot is not an in-person payment under this rule (comment 10(b)-6). A store where you can pay a store card is not a branch of the issuer for this rule (comment 10(b)-5).

When the due date falls on a day mail is not received

If a creditor “does not receive or accept payments by mail on the due date”, it “may generally not treat a payment received the next business day as late for any purpose” (12 CFR 1026.10(d)(1)). The official interpretation gives a day the U.S. Postal Service does not deliver mail as an example (comment 10(d)-1). This protection is for mail: if the creditor takes online or phone payments on the due date, it does not have to treat an online or phone payment made the next business day as on time (1026.10(d)(2)). The due date on each statement must fall on the same date of each month (12 CFR 1026.7(b)(11)(i)(A), eCFR).

Example only for the dates: if your due date is Sunday, November 15, 2026, and your issuer does not receive mail that day, a mailed payment received on Monday, November 16, 2026 may not be treated as late for any purpose. If the issuer took online payments on the due date, it does not have to treat an online payment made on Monday, November 16, 2026 as on time. Your own terms and statement decide the real dates.

Fees for how you pay

For a credit card, a creditor “may not impose a separate fee to allow consumers to make a payment by any method, such as mail, electronic, or telephone payments, unless such payment method involves an expedited service by a customer service representative of the creditor” (12 CFR 1026.10(e)). The official interpretation explains the terms (comments 10(e)-1 to 10(e)-4):

Expedited means the payment is credited on the day you make it, or on the next business day if it comes in after the cutoff time.
A customer service representative is a live person or agent, in person, by phone or online; an automated phone system does not count.
A late fee or finance charge for paying after the due date is not a fee for paying by a certain method.
A third party that takes payments for the creditor counts as the creditor, but a money transfer service you choose and pay yourself, or your own bank’s bill payment service, does not.

If the issuer changes the payment address or process

If a card issuer makes a material change in the payment address or in how it handles payments, and the change causes a material delay in crediting your payment within 60 days after the change takes effect, the issuer “may not impose any late fee or finance charge for a late payment” in that 60-day period (12 CFR 1026.10(f)). The official interpretation gives examples: a post office box that stops working, a branch that closes for good, or a change in how automatic payments are handled (comment 10(f)-4). For a change at a retail location, you may need to tell the issuer that the change caused the late payment, within 60 days after it sends the first statement that shows the fee (comment 10(f)-3.ii).

Nonconforming payments and fixes

If you pay in a way that does not follow the issuer’s written payment rules and it accepts the payment anyway, it must credit the payment within five days of receipt (12 CFR 1026.10(b)(4)(i)), and interest may build for the days in between (comment 10(b)-3). A method the issuer promotes, such as paying on its website, is a conforming payment (1026.10(b)(4)(ii)). If a payment is not credited as these rules require in time to avoid a charge, the issuer must credit the charge back during the next billing cycle (1026.10(c)). For how late fees are limited and how to ask for a waiver, see credit card late fee rules; for a mistake on your statement, see credit card billing error dispute.

Questions to ask the issuer

What is the cutoff time for online, phone and mailed payments, and in which time zone?
Do you accept in-person payments at a branch, and until what time?
Do you receive mailed payments on weekends and holidays?
Is there a fee for paying by phone with a representative, and is there a free way to pay?
When will a payment I make today show as received?

Checklist

Find the due date and cutoff time on your statement and in your account terms.
Pay before the cutoff time on the due date, or earlier.
Use a payment method the issuer promotes, such as its website or the address on the statement.
Keep a confirmation number or receipt for each payment.
If a payment you made in time shows as late, ask the issuer to credit back the fee and interest.
Watch for notices of a new payment address.

For what each part of your statement means, see credit card statement explained. For what happens if a payment is missed, see credit card penalty APR rules and credit card grace period rules.

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Disclosure: Modern Lending Solutions is not a lender, loan broker or agent for any lender or loan broker, and does not make credit decisions. Any compensation we receive is paid by participating lenders, only for advertising services. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.

When Does a Credit Card Payment Count as On Time?