Minimum Payment and Statement Balance Warnings in Credit Card Repayment

Last registered on August 27, 2026
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Minimum Payment and Statement Balance Warnings in Credit Card Repayment
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0019453
Initial registration date
August 19, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
August 27, 2026, 11:42 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Chile
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Daniel Schwartz
Affiliation
University of Chile
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
Completed
Start date
2019-09-05
End date
2020-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Finance & Microfinance
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
C93, D14, D91, G41, G51
Secondary IDs
AsPredicted #27784 (aspredicted.org/25hk-xrg7.pdf)
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study is a randomized field experiment with 179,706 credit card holders of a large retail issuer in Chile. During one billing cycle, cardholders received two email reminders before their payment due date. They were randomly assigned to one of four versions: a reminder with a warning about the consequences of paying only the minimum payment, a reminder with a warning about the consequences of not paying the full statement balance, a reminder with both warnings, or a reminder with no warning.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Schwartz, Daniel. 2026. "Minimum Payment and Statement Balance Warnings in Credit Card Repayment." AEA RCT Registry. August 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.19453-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention (Hidden)
Intervention Start Date
2019-09-05
Intervention End Date
2019-10-03

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
(1) The percentage of the statement balance repaid; (2) whether the cardholder repays the statement balance in full; (3) whether the cardholder pays at least the minimum payment; (4) whether the cardholder makes any payment.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Cardholders were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. During one billing cycle, each cardholder received two email payment reminders, five days and two days before the due date. The emails reminded people about their repayment and due date, and varied in the warning they included: none (plain reminder or control), a warning about the consequences of paying only the minimum payment, a warning about the consequences of not paying the full statement balance, or both warnings. All cardholders received their regular credit card statement in a separate communication.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Block randomization done by computer.
Randomization Unit
Individual cardholder
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
Approximately 200,000 cardholders planned (the number was determined by the issuer, as stated in the pre-analysis plan); 179,706 cardholders realized.
Sample size: planned number of observations
Approximately 200,000 cardholders planned (the number was determined by the issuer, as stated in the pre-analysis plan); 179,706 cardholders realized.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
44,922 control (reminder only); 44,935 minimum payment warning; 44,921 statement balance warning; 44,928 both warnings.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Ethics and Biosafety Committee for Research, Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Chile
IRB Approval Date
2019-04-25
IRB Approval Number
008
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
October 03, 2019, 12:00 AM +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
December 31, 2020, 12:00 AM +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
179,706 cardholders
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
179,706 cardholders
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
44,922 control; 44,935 minimum payment warning; 44,921 statement balance warning; 44,928 both warnings
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials