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Credit card interest, handled.

Know exactly what to pay, and by when, to owe $0 interest.

Lara is a friendly husky who reads your credit cards (only reads them). She keeps track of each card's closing date (the day your statement is made), due date and APR (its yearly interest rate). Open Lara anytime and she shows you which payment to make next, and keeps every other due date on her list.

Open Lara in your browser Install on your phone

Runs in your browser. No download needed.

Lara, the Lara Guard husky

Three steps. Then Lara keeps watch.

  1. Connect, read-only.

    Link your cards through a secure connection. Lara can see balances, statements, due dates and purchases. She can't move a cent.

  2. Lara watches your cycles.

    Each card runs on its own cycle, about a month long. The cycle ends on the closing date, when your bank adds up what you owe into your statement balance. The due date comes a few weeks later. Lara tracks each one, in your card's time zone, so you don't have to.

  3. You get the exact amount and date.

    No 'pay down your balance.' You get a real instruction, like 'Pay $412 on Chase by Fri, Nov 20.' Then you pay it in your card's app, and Lara can open that app for you.

    Not financial advice.

Small timing, real money.

Each example below uses sample numbers and shows its assumptions.

Example

Buy right after closing, get up to twice the time.

On a card that closes on the 1st and is due on the 26th, a purchase on Nov 2 isn't due until Dec 26. That's 54 days. Buy on Dec 1, closing day, and it's due Dec 26 too: 25 days. Lara tells you which card just closed.

Assumptions: A card that closes on the 1st and is due on the 26th. Days are counted from the purchase date to the due date.

Only if you paid last month's statement in full. Dates vary by card.

Not financial advice. Check your card's terms.

Example

Skip the cash-advance trap.

Taking $500 cash on a card with a 29.99% cash APR and a 5% fee costs a $25 fee on day one, then about $0.41 a day in interest with no grace period: interest starts the day you take the cash. Repay in 30 days and that's about $37.32 for borrowing $500 for a month.

Assumptions: Simple daily interest on the $500 only (29.99% ÷ 365 days), 30 days of interest, and the fee charged once. Real cards vary.

Example rates. Yours may differ.

Not financial advice. Check your card's terms.

Every card on one screen.

Open Lara anytime and she shows you every card on one screen, with the payment that matters most right now at the top.

Coming soon A weekly message with the one payment to make.

Lara says when she doesn't know.

If a card's APR or due date is missing, she tells you that instead of guessing.

The card rules nobody explains. Lara does.

Grace period

Pay the full statement balance by the due date and new purchases usually cost $0 interest. Pay less, even $1 less, and the next cycle's purchases can start costing interest from the day you buy. Lara tracks whether each card is 'in grace,' meaning new purchases on it aren't costing interest yet.

Source: The CFPB says you generally aren't charged interest if you pay your full balance by the due date, that issuers aren't required to offer a grace period, and that it typically covers purchases, not cash advances: CFPB, credit card key terms.

Trailing interest

After you've carried a balance, paying the statement in full can still leave a small charge on the next one. That's interest from the days between the closing date and your payment. It can take a cycle or two of full payments to clear.

Coming soon Lara will warn you before it shows up, so it doesn't surprise you.

Source: Citi on residual interest. Also: once grace is lost, issuers can't charge interest on balances from cycles before the most recent one: 12 CFR 1026.54(a)(1).

Promo APR endings

A 0% intro rate has an end date and a rate that comes after it. By law, a promo rate has to last at least six months, and the issuer has to tell you up front what comes next.

Watch out for 'deferred interest' deals, common on store cards. If the balance isn't paid off by the end, interest that was waived can come back.

Coming soon Lara will count down to the end date and tell you the monthly amount that clears it in time.

Source: 12 CFR 1026.55(b)(1). Deferred-interest programs waive interest only "if the balance is paid in full" within the period: 12 CFR 1026.53(b).

Balance-transfer math Example

Moving $3,000 at a 3% fee costs $90 up front. At 0% for 15 months, $206 a month clears it ($3,090 ÷ 15). Left at 24.99%, the same $3,000 costs about $2.05 a day.

One catch: carrying a transfer balance can cost you the grace period on new purchases, so a different card may be better for everyday spending.

Assumptions: A $3,000 balance, a 3% fee added to the balance, 0% for 15 months, and 24.99% ÷ 365 days for the daily figure.

Not financial advice. Check your card's terms.

Source: CFPB on promotional balances and grace. Payments above the minimum go to the highest-APR balance first: 12 CFR 1026.53(a).

Lara reads. You pay. Always.

  • Read-only, by design.

    Lara connects with read-only access to balances, statements and purchases. There is no code in Lara that can make a payment or move money.

  • Your bank password never touches us.

    You sign in to your bank through the connection provider's secure window. Lara never sees or stores your bank username or password. The access key that results is encrypted on our server and never sent to your phone.

  • Only the last 4 digits.

    Lara shows and stores card numbers as ••1234. Nothing more.

  • You stay in control.

    The 'Pay' button only opens your card's own app or website. You make the payment there. Clear Lara's saved data on your device anytime in Settings.

  • Who sees your data.

    The connection service, our server, the AI behind Lara's chat (last 4 digits only) and your own device. Nobody else. We don't sell it or share it with anyone else.

  • No trackers.

    This site has no ads, no analytics and no tracking cookies.

Put Lara on your home screen.

Choose your device
  1. In Safari, open this page and tap Open Lara.
  2. Tap the ••• button at the bottom (or the Share button, a square with an arrow pointing up).
  3. Tap Share if you see it, then scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  4. Tap Add. Lara's husky icon appears on your home screen.
  1. In Chrome, open this page and tap Open Lara.
  2. Tap ⋮ (menu) at the top right.
  3. Tap Add to Home screen (or Install app).
  4. Tap Install (or Add). Lara's husky icon appears on your home screen.

In Chrome or Edge, open lara-guard.com/app and click the install icon in the address bar. In Safari on Mac, choose File › Add to Dock. Or just bookmark it. It works fine in the browser.

  • App Store · Coming soon
  • Google Play · Coming soon

Native apps are on the way. The web app does everything today.

Open Lara in your browser

Questions

Does Lara move my money?

No. Lara can only read your card data. She can't pay, transfer or change anything. You make every payment yourself.

Is this financial advice?

No. Lara gives guidance based on your card data and the card's rules. You decide and you act. Check your card's terms if something looks off.

Which banks work?

Lara works with most major US card issuers and many credit unions. When you connect, you'll see whether yours is supported.

Do I have to pay anything or enter a credit card?

No. There's nothing to buy and no payment details to enter.

Do I need to create an account?

Not right now. Open Lara and try it with sample data first.

Is my bank login safe?

You sign in through the connection provider (Plaid). Lara never sees or stores your password. Our server keeps an encrypted access key that Lara uses only to read your card data, and it never reaches your phone.

Who can see my card data?

Only these four. Plaid, the connection service that links your bank. Our server, which keeps an encrypted access key, plus the card data needed to show it to you. The AI behind Lara's chat. It sees balances, dates and rates, and only the last 4 digits of card numbers. Your own device, which caches your data so the app is fast. Settings › Clear local data removes it. Nobody else. We don't sell your data or share it with anyone beyond these four.

Can Lara guarantee I'll pay $0 interest?

No. If the data from your card is complete and you pay what she says by the date she gives, you shouldn't owe purchase interest. But cards have their own rules, and Lara tells you when she's missing something.

What about cash advances and balance transfers?

Lara treats them separately. They usually have no grace period and come with fees, so she shows their cost on its own.

Where's the iPhone or Android app?

Coming soon. The web app installs on your home screen today and works offline with your last saved data.

How do I delete my data?

In the app: Settings › Clear local data removes everything saved on your device. To disconnect a card, use Settings › Data source. To remove what our server keeps, email hello@lara-guard.com and we'll delete it. Only disconnect if you mean it: Lara can connect only a small number of banks in total, and reconnecting uses one up.