Credit Card FAQs

Sometimes your payments might be declined, this could be because of:

If you're still experiencing further issues, then you will need to contact us.

Once you receive your card, the easiest way to activate it is through our Mobile Banking App. Simply download our Mobile Banking App to your phone and follow these three steps:

Alternatively, you can contact us to activate your card. You’ll need to enter your 16-digit credit card number so please have it ready. If you’re registered for Online Banking, you will also need to provide selected digits from your Security Number. This process will also activate any additional cardholders on the account.

If you’re not registered for Online Banking, please follow the instructions provided during the registration process.

Yes, you can share the benefits of your credit card by adding an additional cardholder.

Additional cardholders:

As main account holder, you'll be responsible for all transactions and charges incurred.

You’ll need to ensure that you have the additional cardholder's permission to provide their data and that they've been provided with a copy of the Privacy Policy beforehand.

If you've forgotten your credit card PIN, you can order a PIN reminder, and it should be with you within 7 days. Log in to Online Banking, click on the arrow to expand your account and open the 'Your Card' feature by clicking the 'More' button.

From there, you’ll be able to order a PIN reminder and we’ll pop it in the post to you. If you have any additional card holders, you can order a PIN reminder for them as well.

If your PIN is blocked, you'll need to contact us.

Once you've received your PIN, you're able to change this to something more memorable at any ATM.

If your card has been damaged you can order a replacement and we’ll get a new card sent to you. Log in to Online Banking, click on the arrow to expand your account and open the 'Your Card' feature by clicking the 'More' button.

From there you’ll be able to order a replacement card and we’ll pop your new card in the post and it should be with you within 7 days.

If you have any additional card holders, you can order a replacement card for them as well.

Alternatively you can contact us.

If you've misplaced your card and want a temporary block put on your card, you can do this via Online Banking.

Please log in to Online Banking, click on the arrow to expand your account and open the 'Your Card' feature by clicking the 'More' button.

From there you’ll be able to temporarily block your credit card, so it cannot be used for any transactions (but any pending transactions will still be paid). You’ll also block the cards of additional cardholders - so be sure to let them know.

You can easily unblock your credit card at any time by following the same steps, and you can start using it again immediately.

Alternatively, you can contact us.

If you think your card has been lost or stolen, you should let us know straight away using Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App.

Using Online Banking:

Using the Mobile Banking App:

Alternatively, you can contact us.

We’ve got several ways for you to pay your credit card bill, so it’s easy for you to keep up to date. All of this information is contained within the 'How to Pay' section of your monthly statement.

To do this via Online Banking:

To do this via the Mobile Banking App:

Providing you are the primary card holder, you can change your payment date by contacting us.

Please note that due to the date that your credit card statement is produced, we may not be able to offer you the exact payment date you've requested, but we will try to offer you a suitable alternative.

Due to our processing timescales, you may have more than one payment due within the same month. We'll let you know if this is the case.

To amend your direct debit you can do this through Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App. You can amend the account details you wish the direct debit to be paid from or you can amend the monthly payment option. Options available are full outstanding statement balance, minimum payment, or another set amount each month.

Please note that when amending the payment amount you may be required to make a manual payment.

You can cancel your direct debit via Online Banking and the Mobile Banking App. Please ensure you make alternative arrangements for your payment. You can find out about other ways to pay your credit card in our FAQ on How can I pay my Tesco Bank Credit Card?

Please note when a direct debit is cancelled within 3 days of a minimum payment collection or 8 days of the payment due date for a full payment direct debit, the direct debit will still be collected.

You can make a payment to your Tesco Bank Credit Card at any time, but each month you'll receive a statement with a payment due date. If you make a payment before the statement is sent to you, this will reduce your balance for the following month's statement. You'll still need to make a payment to cover the time between your statement being produced and the payment due date.

You can check your payment due date via our Mobile Banking App or via Online Banking.

If the card stored to pay your credit card bill online has expired or if you just want to add a new one, you can do this via Online Banking.

To amend an existing card:

To add a new debit card:

There are many ways to pay your credit card bill, all information can be found under our FAQ, How can I pay my Tesco Bank Credit Card?

If you get an email before your first Direct Debit date letting you know your statement is ready, you’ll need to make your first payment by Pay by Bank, Faster Payment or Debit Card. Your Direct Debit should then be active for your next monthly statement. It only takes a few minutes to set up, and should leave your account on the same day every month, unless this day happens to be a weekend or bank holiday, where the payment will be taken on the next working day.

There are a few ways you can check your credit card balance:

In most cases, you should be able to cancel the subscription or recurring payment by asking the company to stop it. You can also do this directly with us by contacting us. We still recommend that you inform the company you're cancelling. Please note that by cancelling the card, it will not stop subscriptions from being taken.

Please be aware that if we stop a recurring payment and you later decide to rejoin the subscription, then you'll need to contact us to have the block removed.

If you've already cancelled the subscription with the company but they have continued to take payments, or you don't recognise the transaction, then please contact us.

It's possible to get your credit balance refunded by contacting us.

Sometimes, when this type of refund is processed, you may incur a money transfer fee in error. If this happens, please allow 7 to 10 working days, and we'll refund this fee automatically. You can check your transactions by logging into Online Banking or via our Mobile Banking App.

As long as there's activity on your account, you'll receive a statement once every month. We also send an annual statement in your anniversary month.

You can view your last 5 years' worth of statements online by registering for Online Banking. With this option, you’ll be able to view and print your online statement whenever you want, and we’ll email you each month to tell you when your online statement is ready to view. Your Tesco Bank Credit Card statement will show your account balance and a date by which you'll need to make a minimum repayment.

Register for Online Banking.

Why not also reduce the clutter you receive through the letterbox by turning off paper statements? It’s easy to do in Online Banking. Just log in, select 'Manage your account' from your Credit Card Overview page and choose 'Statement Options'.

You can also view your monthly and annual statements over the last 20 months via the Mobile Banking App.

You can use your Tesco Bank Credit Card anywhere that displays the Mastercard symbol that is shown on your card. You can also use your card to make purchases securely over the internet. If your card is contactless, you can use it for transactions up to £100 when you see the contactless logo. A new contactless limit of £100 (increased from £45) became available in UK retailers from 15 October 2021. Tesco Bank customers with contactless cards can now use them for payments up to £100 anywhere the limit has been increased. Please remember that, if using contactless for the first time, you'll need to have already completed a Chip and PIN transaction.

For your credit card account, you can access the last 90 days of transactions and 20 months of PDF statements.

You can access statements older than 20 months by logging in to Online Banking.

You can view, print and save your statements and documents securely through our Mobile Banking App. Your documents include information that could be used by a fraudster; if you choose to email, export or print your documents, it's your responsibility to keep them secure. Your online statements will look exactly the same as the paper copies we post out, and we’ll send you an email when there’s a document or statement ready for you to view.

You can go paperless easily in Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App.

When you spend with your credit card, the retailer will request approval from us to debit your account with the transaction. Your ‘available credit’ will reduce by the amount you have spent, and the transaction will show as a ‘pending transaction’ in the app. A ‘pending transaction’ only shows limited information that we have available on the transaction.

Once we receive all the details from the retailer to claim the funds, this ‘pending transaction’ will be removed and shown as a normal transaction in your statement and ‘transaction list’. At this point, your available credit and balance will be updated accordingly. This generally won’t take more than 7 days; however, it may take longer for international transactions.

If you're paying your credit card using a debit card, we show this as a pending payment in your transaction list. This payment will be called 'Card Payment' in your pending transactions and will generally take up to 2 days to be processed, depending on what time you make the payment. Other forms of payment, such as Direct Debits or online transfers, will not appear in the pending transactions list.

If something goes wrong with something you've bought, and you cannot sort it out with the retailer, you may be able to get your money back by requesting a chargeback.

Below are some examples of situations where you may be able to request a chargeback:

Please visit our chargeback page to make a claim online.

Below is a list a of common retailers and their trading names to help identify transactions on your statement.

This details the name that appears on your statement and their trading name or company name (if different) and service they provide.

Please note that we can only assist with disputes relating to cards issued by Tesco Bank. If the card you used at the ATM was not issued by Tesco Bank, you'll need to reach out to the card issuer to raise a dispute.

If you've used your Tesco Bank card at an ATM and have not received some or all of your cash, please allow up to five days for the ATM to refund you directly. If you have not received a refund within five days, please contact us. We may be able to reimburse you.

To make sure we can help you as quickly as possible, please have the following information available:

If you have not opened your account within the last 14 days, you can close your account online.

Requesting an increase is easy, you can do this in the comfort of your home by logging in to Online Banking, selecting your credit card, clicking 'More' and then 'Credit limit'. Or if using our Mobile Banking App, simply head to the 'Account Management' section and select 'Manage credit limit'.

Approval of any credit limit increase depends on your circumstances. By requesting a credit limit increase, you're authorising us to review your credit history and any other relevant information required to process your request. You'll not be eligible for a credit limit increase if:

Please carefully consider any increase to your credit limit, as it may increase the risk of taking on too much debt, which may be costly or take a long time to pay off.

Decreasing your credit limit can be done easily and at any time by logging in to Online Banking or our Mobile Banking App and following the same steps as mentioned earlier. The minimum that you'll be able to decrease your limit to is £100, or 105% of your current balance.

Do not worry, there's no need to contact Tesco Bank and inform us that you're going abroad. Your credit card will automatically work in shops and cash machines just like it does in the UK.

Read more about our international fees, charges and security.

When you use your credit card to make a 'cash-like' transaction, you’ll be charged a Cash Transaction fee. Cash transactions include:

You'll be advised on the length of your introductory period when you take out your new card or a 0% rate on an existing card.

We also notify you on your monthly statement two months prior to your 0% rate expiring.

Then, 22 days prior to your 0% rate ending, we send you an email to confirm this.

From the date your 0% rate ends, your account will then revert back to your standard rate of interest. This is shown on your monthly statement.

You can contact us at any time to check this information.

You'll be charged a late payment fee of £12 if your minimum payment does not reach your account by the due date. Any promotional offer you're currently receiving will also be withdrawn.

Keep track of your payment due date by logging on to our Mobile Banking App or by visiting Online Banking. To ensure you never miss a payment, please see our FAQ on How can I pay my Tesco Bank Credit Card?

You can also set up alerts to remind you when your payment is due. For more information on how to manage your alerts, please see our existing FAQ on How do I manage my credit card spending alerts?

Please note that if you miss a payment, this may affect your credit rating. If you're experiencing financial difficulties, please contact us.

You'll be advised on the length of your introductory period when you take out your new card or promotional offer on an existing card.

We'll also notify you on your monthly statement two months prior to your promotional rate expiring.

22 days prior to your promotion ending, we will send you an email to confirm this.

From the date your offer ends, your account will then revert back to your standard rate of interest. This is shown on your monthly statement.

You can contact us at any time to check this information.

We usually charge a fee on any transactions you make in a foreign currency.

From time to time, we offer promotional rates to existing customers for both balance and money transfers. If you're unsure whether one is available or cannot find the details of an offer previously made, you can check this on our Mobile Banking App. Once you're signed in, please select either the balance transfer or money transfer option. If a promotional offer is available, we'll show the promotional rate here. If no promotion is available, we'll confirm that the standard fees will apply.

If you have a balance on your account, you'll be charged interest on the transaction from the date you make it until the day you pay it off. If you pay off some of your account before your due date, you'll reduce the balance, but you'll still pay interest on the remaining balance.

If you paid your balance off in full and have still been charged interest, this is known as residual interest. We charge interest daily, so even if you paid your balance in full, you may still see interest on your next statement. That's to cover any previous outstanding balance from the period between the credit card bill being sent and when the payment is received. For example, if your statement is issued on the 10th of each month and you pay your balance in full on the 15th, you'll still be charged interest for the 5 days prior to making your payment, which will show on the next month's statement.

The sooner you make your payment after your statement is produced, the less the interest will be, unless you pay in full and on time each month. This is because we charge the interest on the average daily balance of the card (the amount subject to interest).

We’ll tell you if you’ve been accepted or declined when you apply. If we need any additional information before opening your account, we’ll get in touch within 5 working days.

Once you’ve been approved:

Download our Mobile Banking App.

Your credit limit is determined by a combination of things, including your credit history and other details from your application. Your credit limit will be confirmed once your application has been accepted. The minimum credit limit you can have on your credit card is £100.

If you're a Foundation Credit Card customer, you'll receive regular optional credit limit increases when you manage your account well. We'll contact you when you're eligible for an increase.

For all other customers, you can apply for an increase to your credit limit 6 months after you receive your credit card and then every 10 months thereafter. If you want to increase your credit limit, you can do so by logging in to our Mobile Banking App, to Online Banking or by giving us a call. Please note, if you have more than one credit card with us, then you're unable to request an increase, but we may be able to transfer limits between cards.

To find out more about increasing your credit limit, have a look at our FAQ on How can I increase or decrease my credit limit?

By requesting a credit limit increase, you're authorising us to review your credit history and any other relevant information required to process your request, which will not impact your credit score.

Please carefully consider if you need a higher limit, as it may increase the risk of taking on too much debt, which may be costly or take a long time to pay off.

You should receive your Tesco Bank Credit Card within 5 to 7 working days from your application being accepted. Your PIN arrives separately within 3 to 5 working days.

Yes, you can hold up to 2 Tesco Bank Credit Cards. You can apply for a second card if you have not applied for a Tesco Bank Credit Card within the last month or do not have an application in progress. If you've had 2 Tesco Bank Credit Cards with us at one time and have closed one of them, you must wait at least 2 months from the closure date before applying for a new Tesco Bank Credit Card.

If you’ve already got 2 Tesco Bank Credit Cards, then it might be helpful to change the credit limits – increasing the limit on one card whilst decreasing the limit on the other. If the minimum payment calculation varies between the two credit cards, we’ll consider this when assessing what’s affordable and agreeing what the credit limit on each card will be with you (this may result in an overall reduction to your credit limit(s)). Please note this is subject to conditions.

Yes. You can request to transfer a balance during the online credit card application process. You can transfer up to 95% of your credit limit, but you will not be able to transfer a balance between Tesco Bank Credit Cards.

How to transfer a balance using Online Banking:

You can process a balance transfer from another credit card to your Tesco Bank Credit Card using the Mobile Banking App.

You can transfer up to 95% of your available credit limit, but you will not be able to transfer a balance between Tesco Bank Credit Cards. Please note that your available credit will not take into account any interest that is due to be charged to your account. So please ensure there are sufficient funds left to cover this and to help you avoid unnecessary fees.

A balance transfer allows you to move debt from one credit card to another, in your name only. This could save you money if you're paying a higher rate of interest on the credit card with the existing balance.

A money transfer allows you to borrow money on your credit card and transfer it to your current account. This could help if you cannot pay for something directly using your credit card.

The fee you pay will depend on the type of transfer you want to make and your card's terms and conditions, but it's normally a percentage of the amount that you want to transfer. You can transfer up to 95% of your available credit limit.

Balance transfers and money transfers can take up to 2 working days.

Fees and interest are applied for both types of transfers and are available to view via Online Banking and the Mobile Banking App.

You can arrange a money transfer by heading to the 'Account Management' section of our Mobile Banking App or by logging in to Online Banking.

You can borrow up to 95% of your available credit limit, and the money will be in your bank account within 1 to 2 working days. The fee you pay will depend on your card's terms and conditions, but it's normally a percentage of the amount that you want to transfer.

Please note that your available credit will not take into account any interest that is due to be applied to your account. Please ensure there are sufficient funds left to cover this, unless you are on a 0% promotional interest rate, then this will not apply.

The balance transfer can take up to 2 working days to be completed (from when you activate your card). If you request a balance transfer as part of your application, you'll need to activate your card within 60 days in order for this to be processed.

Whilst the balance transfer is being processed, please continue to make payments to your other card. Please make sure if this is a new Tesco Bank Credit Card that the card has been activated, as the card must be activated before the balance transfer can commence.

No. You're not able to transfer between two Tesco Bank Credit Cards.

If you're registered for Online Banking, you’ll be able to receive the following alerts:

You can also get alerts for your credit card spending. You can choose to set up and manage the following alerts in Online Banking and select to receive them by email, text or both:

Account and fraud alerts are sent automatically.

To find out how to set up and manage your credit card spending alerts, please view our FAQ on How do I manage my credit card spending alerts?

To manage your alerts, log in to Online Banking, click on your credit card and then select 'Manage Alerts' from the drop-down list.

You can choose what notifications you want to receive and set the method of communication to email, text or both, and switch off any notifications you do not want to receive.

Please ensure your email and mobile number are up to date. You can find them under 'Settings' and 'Personal details'.

To learn more about the different types of alerts please view our FAQ on What types of alerts can I receive for my credit card?