This guide uses the actual cardholder disclosures from four big Canadian banks and the federal cost of borrowing rules. It shows what one missed payment costs in dollars and what to do right now.

The short answer

If you miss one credit card payment in Canada, you lose the interest-free grace period, so interest is charged on that statement’s purchases from the day you made them. The unpaid minimum rolls into next month’s minimum, and the issuer can report the late payment to the credit bureaus. At TD, RBC, CIBC and BMO, one miss does not raise your interest rate, but two misses within 12 months do.

None of the four banks’ disclosures we checked list a separate late payment fee. The cost shows up as interest, and later as a higher rate if it happens again.

What happens step by step after a missed payment

1. You lose the interest-free grace period

The federal Cost of Borrowing (Banks) Regulations require a due date at least 21 days after the end of each billing cycle (section 3(2)). They also bar banks from charging interest on that cycle’s purchases if you pay the full balance on or before the due date (section 3(4)). That protection only works if you pay in full and on time.

Miss the due date and the grace period is gone for those purchases. CIBC’s rate and fee summary for its Costco cards says interest on a new purchase then runs from its transaction date. BMO’s disclosure says interest is charged from the date of each purchase until it receives payment in full. Cash advances never get a grace period at any of these banks.

2. The missed minimum carries forward

Your next statement’s minimum payment includes the amount you missed. TD’s disclosure adds “any past due minimum payments amount” to the formula, and RBC and CIBC say the same in their own words. Outside Quebec, the base minimum at all four banks is built on $10 plus interest and fees. At RBC, CIBC and BMO, Quebec minimums are based on 5% of the balance.

3. The late payment can reach your credit report

Your card issuer reports your payment history to the credit bureaus. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says information about late or unpaid credit cards and loans can stay on your report for up to 6 years. Equifax Canada says a late payment stays for up to 6 years from the date reported, even after you pay what you owe. If you are worried about how a specific late payment will be reported, ask your issuer directly.

4. A second miss raises your interest rate

This is the part that costs the most. Every one of the four disclosures below uses a two-strike rule. After the second missed minimum payment in 12 months, your rate on purchases jumps to 25.99% or 26.99%, and the higher rate lasts at least a year. Scotiabank also tells clients that missing two minimum payments within 12 consecutive months may lead to higher rates on unsecured credit cards and lines of credit, and refers them to their own disclosure for the numbers.

Penalty rates at four big Canadian banks

Sources: each bank’s published disclosure, linked in the sources list. BMO’s 25.99% and 28.99% figures apply to its Visa, World and World Elite cards; its CashBack, Rewards and other listed cards go to 25.99% and 27.99%. Rates on other cards from the same banks can differ.

What counts as “missed” matters. RBC and BMO count a payment as missed when the minimum is not paid by the due date and is still unpaid when the next statement is prepared. So paying a few days late, before your next statement, does not add a strike at those two banks, though you still lose the grace period. The FCAC’s sample information box shows that issuers can also list other triggers, such as going over your limit or a returned payment, so check yours.

What one missed payment costs: a worked example

Say you normally pay your card in full. Your October 31, 2026 statement shows $1,500 of purchases at 20.99%: $400 on October 3, $300 on October 10, $500 on October 17 and $300 on October 24. The due date is November 21. You forget, and pay the full $1,500 on December 1, ten days late.

Had you paid on November 21, the interest would have been $0. Paying late, interest runs on each purchase from its transaction date to December 1. That works out to about $42.04 in interest, on a balance you were always going to pay in full.

Hypothetical example. Interest calculated as each purchase amount times 20.99% divided by 365, times the days from its transaction date to December 1 (46 to 59 days). In practice it posts across two statements and your issuer’s average daily balance method may give a slightly different figure. Because the payment was still unpaid when the November 30 statement was prepared, RBC and BMO would also count it as a missed payment.

What the penalty rate costs after a second miss

A jump of 4 to 5 points sounds small. On a balance you carry, it is not. Using TD’s rates, 20.99% rising to 25.99%, every $1,000 you carry for a full year costs an extra $50 in interest.

Hypothetical. Assumes the balance stays the same all year with interest paid monthly, and interest at the annual rate divided by 365 for each day.

If you are paying the balance down, the damage lasts longer than the penalty year. Take a hypothetical $5,000 balance paid at $200 a month starting in November 2026, with no new spending. At 20.99% the whole way, it takes 34 payments and costs $1,631.19 in interest. If the first 12 months are at 25.99% before the rate drops back, it takes 35 payments and costs $1,995.70. The penalty year adds $364.51, because the extra interest from year one keeps costing interest until the card is paid off.

How to make sure it does not happen again

1. Automate at least the minimum. Set up a recurring transfer from chequing to your card for at least the minimum. You can still pay more by hand.
2. Turn on due date alerts. Use your bank app’s payment reminders, and add a second reminder a few days before the due date.
3. Pay early if you pay from another bank. Your payment counts when your card issuer receives it, so check how long your bank says a bill payment takes and send it ahead of time.
4. Keep enough in chequing. If an automatic payment bounces, TD and BMO list a $48 dishonoured payment fee and CIBC lists $42.50, and you can still miss the payment.
5. Track your strikes. Write down the date of any miss. If you have had one in the past 12 months, treat the next due date as a hard deadline.
6. Check your credit report. Look at your Equifax and TransUnion reports after a miss and contact the bureau if anything is wrong.

If you cannot afford the minimum

Call your card issuer before the due date, not after. Ask what options it has. Be wary of moving the debt to a cash advance: it has no grace period and a higher rate. If you have good credit, a lower-rate balance transfer may cut the interest, but compare the fee first. Our guides on the real cost of a cash advance and whether a balance transfer is worth it walk through the numbers.

If you can only make the minimum for a while, see how long minimum payments take to clear a balance. And if the problem is a payment that bounced rather than one you forgot, our guide to the NSF fee cap on bounced payments explains the bank side.

Frequently asked questions

• Sources, checked October 21, 2026: Cost of Borrowing (Banks) Regulations (SOR/2009-257), current to 2026-09-30, sections 3(2) and 3(4); FCAC: How long information stays on your credit report (modified 2026-07-01); FCAC: Credit agreement for a credit card, sample information box (modified 2025-10-07); Equifax Canada: How long does information stay on my credit report; TD Cash Back Visa Infinite application disclosure; RBC Cash Back Mastercard disclosure (information current as of October 1, 2026); CIBC Costco Mastercard summary of rates and fees (current as of August 1, 2026); BMO credit card cost of borrowing disclosure (valid as of June 2, 2026); Scotiabank: Consequences of missing a payment.
• Method: All figures were calculated in Python. The worked example sums daily interest on each purchase from its transaction date to the payment date, and was rechecked with a dollar-weighted average of days. The $5,000 paydown was simulated month by month using actual days per month, and checked against a separate monthly-rate simulation ($364.78 extra) and the closed-form payoff formula (about $1,632 total interest at 20.99%). Small differences come from rounding and day counts.

Important: This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Rates, triggers and fees differ by card and can change. Your own cardholder agreement and information box are what apply to you. Gizly is not paid by any bank mentioned here. See our affiliate disclosure.