> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://faq.universalaccountservicing.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How your payments are applied

> The order your payment goes to interest, fees, past-due amounts and principal — and why your balance may barely move.

A payment is rarely applied all to one thing. The order depends on what kind of account you have,
and it is set out in your agreement.

## If you have an installment contract or loan

This covers retail installment contracts and bank or credit union installment loans — a fixed amount
over a fixed term.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Interest first" />

  <Step title="Then any unpaid fees" />

  <Step title="Then your outstanding principal" />
</Steps>

That is why a payment early in the term moves your balance less than you might expect: more of it is
interest, and less is principal. As the balance falls, the interest portion falls with it and more of
each payment reaches principal.

You can see the split for every payment you have made — see
[Your transaction history](/statements/transaction-history), which shows **Principal Pd** and
**Interest Pd** for each one.

<Note>
  **A late fee will not trigger another late fee.** If a payment is short only because of a late fee
  charged on an earlier payment, and the current payment is otherwise paid in full, another late fee
  is not added on top.
</Note>

## If you have a revolving account

Purchases are added as charge slips against an overall balance, and the order has more steps.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Outstanding finance charges, fees, and any past-due amounts" />

  <Step title="Then your minimum monthly payment, and anything above it, goes first to promotional balances — soonest to expire first" />

  <Step title="Then to interest-bearing balances, highest rate first" />
</Steps>

Two things follow from that second step, and both matter:

**Extra payments go to your promotions before anything else.** If you are trying to clear a
promotional balance before its expiration date, paying more than your minimum sends the extra where
you want it.

**If you have more than one promotion, the one expiring soonest is paid first.** You cannot choose a
different order.

See [Promotional offers](/promotional-offers).

## If you have a student loan

Payments are applied on the date they are received, and interest is simple rather than compounded.

During an in-school period, a payment above the interest owed puts the excess toward principal; a
payment below it does not add the shortfall to your principal. See
[Student loans](/getting-help/student-loan-borrowers).

## If you pay more than your monthly payment

There is never a penalty for paying extra or paying early. What the extra does depends on how your
account is set up, and the two behaviors are different enough to matter:

| Setup                               | What happens when you pay extra                                                                                              |
| ----------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Your due date stays where it is** | The extra goes to your principal, and your next payment is due as normal                                                     |
| **Your due date moves forward**     | The extra is counted as future payments. Pay $300 against a $100 monthly payment and your next due date moves out two months |

The second one catches people out. Your balance still comes down, but if you assumed you had also
made this month's payment *and* put money toward principal, only one of those happened.

<Tip>
  **You can ask for it to work the other way.** If your extra payments are moving your due date and
  you would rather they reduced your principal — or the reverse —
  [tell us](/getting-help/contacting-uas) and we will set your account up that way. It is a support
  request, not something you can change on the payment screen.
</Tip>

If you are paying extra to clear a [promotional balance](/promotional-offers) before its deadline,
check your [transaction history](/statements/transaction-history) after the first one to confirm the
money went where you intended.

## Your own agreement governs

The orders above are how these products generally work. Some agreements — particularly credit union
loans — reserve broader discretion over how payments are applied.

Your agreement is the authority. You can view your copy in uPortal360 under
[Agreement Details](/statements/agreement-details).