Being unable to pay off a credit card does not necessarily lead to jail time. A malicious credit card overdraft of less than RMB 10,000 does not constitute a crime of credit card fraud and cannot be convicted or sentenced. Disputes can only be resolved through civil litigation. However, if the amount of malicious overdraft exceeds 10,000 yuan, a case will be filed and criminal liability will be investigated. Those who commit credit card fraud with relatively large amounts will be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention. If the amount of a malicious overdraft is between 10,000 yuan and less than 100,000 yuan, all overdraft interest has been repaid before the public security organ files a case. If the circumstances are obviously minor, criminal liability may not be pursued in accordance with the law.

Legal Articles

"Provisions on the Standards for Filing and Prosecution of Criminal Cases under the Jurisdiction of Public Security Organs (2)" Article 54 [Credit Card Fraud Cases (Criminal Law Article 196) Article)] who engages in credit card fraud and is suspected of any of the following circumstances shall be prosecuted:

(1) Using a forged credit card, or using a credit card fraudulently obtained with false identification, or using an invalid credit card or fraudulently use other people’s credit cards to engage in fraudulent activities, with the amount exceeding 5,000 yuan; (2) Malicious overdrafts, with the amount exceeding 10,000 yuan.

The "malicious overdraft" stipulated in this article refers to the cardholder's overdraft exceeding the prescribed limit or prescribed period for the purpose of illegal possession, and the card-issuing bank still fails to return it for more than three months after being called upon twice. .

If the overdraft is malicious and the amount is more than 10,000 yuan but less than 100,000 yuan, all the overdraft interest has been repaid before the public security organ files the case. If the circumstances are obviously minor, criminal liability may not be pursued in accordance with the law.

Warm reminder

The above answers are only based on the current information and my understanding of the law. Please refer to it with caution!

If you still have questions about this issue, it is recommended that you sort out the relevant information and communicate with professionals in detail.