Metro Bank Personal Credit Card: Charges and Applying

The Metro Bank Personal Credit Card no longer exists as a product you can apply for. Metro Bank withdrew it from sale and closed all existing personal credit card accounts on 10 September 2024, and from that date cardholders could no longer make purchases or withdraw cash with it¹. If you are searching for it, you are most likely holding a balance you are still paying off, trying to work out what a Direct Debit reference should look like, or looking for a way to borrow from Metro Bank now that the card has gone.

None of that matters for new borrowing now, because the account is closed to new spending.

What does still matter is the balance. Repayment options remained available after closure, including Direct Debits, payment plans and one-off payments, and monthly statements continued to show a minimum repayment². This page sets out what the closure meant, how to keep paying, what the card used to cost, and where to get help if something has gone wrong.

Metro Bank Personal Credit Card has been withdrawn and accounts closed

Metro Bank decided to withdraw the Personal Credit Card from sale and close existing accounts, and gave customers notice in line with its terms². The terms allowed the bank to end the agreement and close an account at any time by giving two months' notice³. Accounts sitting at a zero balance on 10 September 2024 were closed and confirmed in writing².

The closure was specific to this one product. Metro Bank stated that the change applied only to the Personal Credit Card and that other Metro Bank products were not affected². Current accounts, savings, cash accounts and mortgages continued as normal.

Two dates matter more than the rest. Transactions stopped on 19 July 2024 for anyone who used the card in the run-up to closure, and the account itself closed on 10 September 2024⁴. Metro Bank also reserved the right to restrict an account before the closure date, for example where the balance was zero or in credit, where the card had not been used for an extended period, or where the bank considered it to be in the customer's interest under Section 2 of the terms².

What the closure meant for existing cardholders

For anyone holding the card, the practical effect was that it stopped being a way to spend. Metro Bank removed the facility to make purchases or withdraw cash on 10 September 2024¹. Additional cardholders lost the ability to use their cards as well, and the primary account holder remained liable for the balance⁵.

Refunds were the exception. If a refund came into the account, Metro Bank processed it in the usual way: it either reduced an outstanding balance or created an in-credit balance, which was returned when the account closed². That matters for anyone who returned goods bought before the card stopped working.

Card replacement followed its own timetable. Metro Bank ended its in-store credit card replacement service on 26 July 2024, after which replacement cards and PINs were sent to the account holder's address instead⁴. After 10 September 2024, all requests for card replacements were declined⁴.

Paying off a remaining balance by Direct Debit

A balance left on the card still has to be repaid, and Metro Bank kept all repayment options open after closure: Direct Debits, payment plans and one-off payments, with monthly statements continuing to show the minimum repayment². The reference you use for a Direct Debit changed, and getting it wrong is the most common reason a payment fails to land.

The reference was your 16-digit credit card number. From 4 March 2025 it became your Account ID number, plus III, plus the last four digits of your credit card number¹. If you set up a Direct Debit before that date and it has since stopped working, the reference is the first thing to check.

Direct Debits themselves are a standard way to repay a card. Setting one up means the payment happens automatically rather than depending on you remembering⁸. You can choose to repay the minimum, a fixed amount, or the full balance each month⁹. A full-balance Direct Debit clears the whole outstanding statement balance, including any balance transfer amounts in full¹⁰.

If a payment fails because there is not enough in the account it is drawn from, Metro Bank processes standing orders, Direct Debits and future-dated payments in the morning and tries again at 2pm the same day if funds are short¹¹. Topping up the account before 2pm can rescue the payment. You can create, amend and delete standing orders and cancel Direct Debits in the Metro Bank app¹³.

How the card worked: interest-free period, credit limits and charges

While it was open, the card worked like most UK credit cards. Purchases came with an interest-free period of up to 56 days, meaning that if you cleared the statement balance in full by the due date, you paid no interest on those purchases¹. The 56-day interest-free period is a familiar feature of credit cards, and research for the Financial Conduct Authority found consumers describing it as a specific selling point of the product¹⁵.

Metro Bank would not accept requests to increase a limit once the card was being withdrawn, but it did process requests to decrease one on contact². That is a useful detail for anyone who wanted to reduce their exposure while still carrying a balance.

The card carried no annual fee¹. Beyond that, the cost of the card depended on how you used it: interest applied to any balance carried past the due date, and cash withdrawals typically attract interest from the day they are made rather than benefiting from an interest-free period.

If you are trying to understand how interest is calculated on a card balance, or how a minimum payment is worked out, those mechanics are the same across providers and are worth reading up on separately.

Using the card abroad: how the non-sterling charges worked

Metro Bank's product page stated plainly that there were charges for using the card outside Europe¹. The charges worked in the same way as the bank's other cards: a non-sterling transaction fee applied to the converted British Pound value of a transaction made in a foreign currency outside the UK⁷.

The credit card's own figures are no longer published because the product is closed, but the structure was the same: a percentage added to the converted value, plus whatever conversion rate the card scheme applied.

The conversion rate itself comes from the card scheme rather than the bank. Metro Bank directs customers to find the Mastercard conversion rate for the relevant date¹⁷. Fees applied to debit card transactions and cash withdrawals made in a foreign currency in all countries outside the UK¹⁸.

The two lines are separate charges, and it is worth reading them together before travelling.

Borrowing from Metro Bank now the card has gone

The credit card is not the only way to borrow from Metro Bank, and the bank's other lending products were unaffected by the closure². Metro Bank's own information on types of borrowing sets out what it offers and how it assesses applications, using affordability, credit scoring, credit reference agency information and your history with the bank¹¹.

If you are carrying a balance from the closed card and want to move it, Metro Bank's guidance is that you can transfer an outstanding balance to another provider, arranged with that provider: you contact them, and Metro Bank makes the transfer when it receives their instruction². That is the standard route for moving card debt, and it depends on the new provider approving you and setting up the transfer.

Metro Bank also offers current accounts, a cash account, savings and mortgages. The cash account is a simpler product than a current account and does not allow Direct Debits to be set up, which matters if you were thinking of using one to service a repayment¹⁹. Current accounts can be applied for online or in store²¹.

For anyone weighing up how to borrow, the choice between a credit card, a personal loan and an overdraft comes down to how long you need the money and how you will repay it. Metro Bank's own overdraft guidance distinguishes between arranged and unarranged overdrafts, and the bank's overdraft support pages set out what happens when a payment is retried¹².

Fraud, lost cards and getting help

Even a closed card account needs a route to report problems. Metro Bank's general personal customer number is 0345 08 08 500, and the card fraud line is 0345 0808 509, with phone lines open 24/7²³. If you are behind on repayments, the arrears team can be reached on 0345 241 3075². Metro Bank does not charge for these calls, though your own service provider may²⁵.

Card dispute and chargeback services remained available while an account was open, reachable on 0345 0808 500². That covers transactions you want to challenge, such as goods that never arrived or a payment you do not recognise. If you spot a payment you do not recognise, Metro Bank asks you to call 0345 08 08 509¹³.

For lost or stolen cards, Metro Bank's app lets you block, unblock or cancel a card instantly, and you can also report it through online banking, in a store or by phone²⁶. The bank's fraud and security pages set out what it will never do: it will never contact you from a mobile number, ask for your complete security number, password or card number, or ask for answers to your security questions²⁸. It will also never ask you to move your money to another account "for safety"²⁸.

Metro Bank runs a free, confidential Independent Fraud Support Service in partnership with Victim Support, offering a one-off call or ongoing caseworker support²⁸. It has also partnered with the AI scam checker Ask Silver, and Metro Bank states it is the first British bank to do so²⁴. The bank is part of the Stop Scams UK initiative, which provides the 159 safe number to call if you are unsure whether a call is genuine²⁸.

If a complaint about the card is not resolved, the Financial Ombudsman Service can look at it, and free, impartial help with card debt is available from MoneyHelper and debt advice charities. Metro Bank's eligible deposits are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, which covers deposits rather than credit balances owed on a card²⁹.