What is your credit card unpaid balance? And when is this number different from the balance of your statement? The terms “unpaid balance” and “statement balance” may be used interchangeably, but are not the same.
Read on to determine what these credit card terms mean and why understanding these terms is essential to managing your finances.
What is the unresolved balance?
The unpaid balance on your credit card is the amount you owe the moment you check your account, and is also known as the current balance. This amount includes all charges for accounts that you have not paid.
Your credit card outstanding balance also includes credit card interest and charges accrued. If you have just made a payment with a credit card, regardless of what the balance in your credit card statement says, your outstanding balance will also reflect that fact.
What is Statement Balance?
The balance on a credit card statement is different from the balance you have not paid. This amount is indicated on the day your credit card bill ends the billing cycle and is determined based on the number of purchases made on your account during the previous 28-31-day billing cycle, as well as the fees or interest fees earned.
For example, if you earn a $1,000 purchase during the billing cycle and your balance is $0, the following statement balance indicates an amount of $1,000.
Most importantly, the balance in your credit card statement is also the amount you need to pay in each billing cycle to avoid any credit card interest charged against the remaining balance during the next billing period.
Unpaid balance vs. current balance
The outstanding balance of your credit card and current balance are essentially the same. If you are logged in to your online credit card account or your credit card company’s mobile app and say you are currently borrowing $1,081 for your credit card, that amount is your outstanding balance and your current balance.
How much of your outstanding balance should you pay?
Paying the full balance of each billing cycle is a way to avoid interest charges made with a credit card when making purchases. However, there is always an option to pay more balances in the statement, and to pay up to your outstanding balance at any time.
Paying more than the balance of statements has several advantages to paying regularly up to your credit card outstanding balance. For example, by falling behind on your regular card spending, you can stick to your budget and monthly spending plan.
Regular payments to outstanding balances are also a way to avoid long-term credit card debt and instances that may reduce spending beyond your plan.
How does my outstanding balance affect my credit score?
Unpaid credit card balances may or may not have a significant impact on your credit score. This is because credit card companies report their balances only to the Credit Bureau (Experian, Transunion, Equifax) once a month at the end of every billing cycle.
This means that you can borrow $5,000 to your credit card on the 3rd of a particular month, repay your outstanding balance on the 10th of the month, and view your $0 credit card balance before the credit card billing cycle ends around the 20th of the month.
The credit card balance that is ultimately reported to the Credit Bureau will affect your credit score. Your amount (also known as credit utilization) is the second most important factor that makes up your FICO score.
What is the average outstanding balance?
According to recent Transunion data, average US credit card balances rose between the first quarter 2024 and the first quarter 2025. Credit card balances currently total $1.07 trillion, equivalent to a credit card balance of $6,371 per cardholder.
Conclusion
Understanding outstanding balances is important to keep paying your monthly statement balances and avoiding interest. However, you can also make extra payments towards your outstanding balance to stay ahead of your spending and avoid long-term debt.
