A credit facility is useful because it’s there when you need it and you don’t have to apply again each time. The same thing makes it easy to misuse. A limit sitting in an app can start to feel like part of your income.
It isn’t. Everything you draw comes out of a future payday or allowance. These habits help keep it that way round.
1. Decide what the money is for before you open the app
Write down the cost you’re covering and the amount. “Transport and lunch until the 25th, K350” is a plan. “Some money to get through the month” usually turns into more than you meant to draw.
If the reason is a one-off cost that’s genuinely urgent, like a hospital bill, a school fee deadline or a broken phone you need for work, a draw can make sense. If it’s covering a gap that comes back every month, look at the budget first. Borrowing every month to cover the same shortfall just makes the shortfall bigger.
2. Draw the amount, not the limit
Your limit is the most you can owe, not a target. On Dottra you can draw any amount from K10 up to your available credit, so there’s no reason to round up.
The difference adds up. Drawing K300 instead of K500 for a whole month saves K40 in monthly charges and K10 in processing fees, and leaves K200 of your limit free for something you didn’t see coming.
3. Know your repayment date before you draw
Pick the day the money will come back and put it in your phone. For most people that’s payday or the day the allowance arrives.
The monthly charge is worked out on your average daily balance, so paying back a week earlier really does cost less. On a K500 balance in a 30-day month, every day it’s paid off early saves you about K3.33.
You don’t have to wait for the statement. If money comes in early, pay early.
4. Watch the balance that carries over
The pattern to watch for is when part of each month’s balance never gets paid off. You pay something every month, but the outstanding balance stays roughly the same or slowly grows.
Check this once a month when the statement arrives. Compare the closing balance with last month’s. If it’s not coming down:
- stop drawing for a month and pay down what’s there;
- work out which regular cost the facility is really covering;
- talk to us through in-app support if you can’t pay a statement by its due date. It’s better to tell us before the due date than after.
What happens if you miss a due date
If a statement’s amount isn’t paid by the end of its due date, the facility is temporarily frozen. You can’t draw, but you can pay, and as soon as the overdue amount is paid it unfreezes automatically.
The freeze is there to stop the balance growing while it’s overdue. It isn’t a penalty fee. There are no late fees on top of the normal monthly charge.
A quick check before every draw
Ask yourself three things:
- What exactly is this for?
- Is this the smallest amount that covers it?
- Which day will I pay it back, and from which money?
If you can answer all three, the draw is probably fine. If you can’t answer the third, wait.
