Payment history

What It Means

Payment history is the part of your credit reportCredit reportA record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you. See more that shows whether you've paid each credit account as agreed. It covers credit cards, store cardsStore credit cardA credit card offered by a retailer, either usable only at that store or co-branded with a card network, often with store discounts and a higher APR. See more, installment loansInstallment loanA loan you receive as one lump sum and repay in a set number of scheduled payments, such as a car loan, mortgage or personal loan. See more such as car loansCar loanAn installment loan used to buy a vehicle, repaid in monthly payments over a set term, with the vehicle as collateral. See more and mortgagesMortgageA loan used to buy or refinance a home, secured by the home itself and repaid in monthly installments over a set term. See more, and accounts with finance companies, and FICOFICO scoreA credit score made by the company FICO from your credit report; base FICO Scores, including the widely used FICO Score 8, run from 300 to 850. See more also counts bankruptcies and collection accounts as part of it. Experian says payment history makes up 35% of a FICO Score, more than any other factor, because FICO's research, as Experian reports it, finds that how you've paid before usually predicts best how you'll pay next.

How People Say It

• "My score dropped because of one late payment."
• "I've never missed a payment, so why is my score only fair?"
• "Set it on autopay so it never goes thirty days."

The Breakdown

A short example. Renee switches banks in March and moves her paycheck, her rent and her phone bill. She forgets the autopay on a store card she rarely uses. The April payment doesn't go through, and she only sees the card's paper statement in mid-May, more than 30 days after the due date.

Where it goes wrong. A payment a few days late usually costs a late fee and nothing more on her credit, because card issuers wait until a payment is 30 days past dueDelinquencyBeing behind on a required payment; in credit reporting, an account becomes a reported delinquency once a payment is at least 30 days past due. See more to report it. Once it crosses that line, the issuer can report it to the credit bureausCredit bureauA company that collects information about how people use credit and sells it as credit reports; Equifax, Experian and TransUnion are the three nationwide ones. See more, and Experian says the mark then stays on her credit report for seven years from the date she missed the payment. Paying the card right away stops it getting worse, but it doesn't remove what was reported.

What to watch for

• Every account you still have, including a store card you barely use.
• Autopay for at least the minimum payment on each card, set up again whenever you change banks.
• Account alerts from each lender for the due date and the minimum due.
• A call to the lender before the due date if you know you can't pay, while the account is still current.

Good to Know

Experian says payment history is 35% of a FICO Score, and that it includes cards, installment loans and finance company accounts, along with bankruptcies and collection accounts. A payment that's late by a few days but paid before 30 days probably won't be reported to the bureaus, though the lender can still charge a late fee or a penalty rate. After 30 days, the damage grows the longer the account stays behind: 60 days late hurts more than 30, and 90 more than 60. A reported late payment stays on your reports for seven years, and its effect on your scores fades as newer on-time payments build up.

Related Terms and Categories

• Credit score

  A three-digit number calculated from your credit report that lenders use to judge how likely you are to repay; common models run from 300 to 850.

• FICO score

  A credit score made by the company FICO from your credit report; base FICO Scores, including the widely used FICO Score 8, run from 300 to 850.

• Late payment

  A payment that reaches the lender after its due date; on credit reports, one that's 30 days or more past due.

• Delinquency

  Being behind on a required payment; in credit reporting, an account becomes a reported delinquency once a payment is at least 30 days past due.

• Credit report

  A record of how you've borrowed and repaid, kept by credit bureaus and sold to lenders, landlords, insurers and others who decide whether to deal with you.

Debt and credit