Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD)

Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD)

The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 or Credit CARD Act of 2009 was passed by the United States Congress and signed by President Barack Obama on May 22, 2009. It is comprehensive credit card reform legislation that aims "...to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes."

Key features include:
•    Protections against arbitrary interest rate increases
•    Elimination of penalties on cardholders who pay on time
•    Clarification of due dates
•    Protections from misleading terms
•    Cardholders have right to set limits on their credit
•    Card companies must fairly credit and allocate payments
•    Prevents card companies from imposing excessive fees on cardholders
•    Better Congressional oversight of the credit card industry
•    Limits credit cards to teens

Cry Wolf Quotes

Legislation likely to result in higher interest rates for consumers is not the answer. [This bill] would broadly constrain the ability of financial institutions to price risk, likely resulting in less access to credit and in higher interest rates for consumers.

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The Bush White House’s statement, CreditCards.com.

If you compare what the card industry looked like 20 years ago to how it looks today, you’ll be astonished at how much better a deal consumers are lately getting. And government regulation isn’t what drove the improvement; free-market innovation and competition, did. Twenty years ago, all consumers paid the same interest rate—and it wasn’t low (19.8%).

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Thomas Brown, financial columnist, Bankstocks.com.

[The bill], while well-intentioned, will increase the cost of credit for consumers and small businesses across the country, result in less access to credit for consumers and businesses alike, and may further roil the securities markets -- all at a time when our economy can least afford it.

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Edward Yingling, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association. CreditCards.com.

ABA is very concerned about the direction this legislation is headed and we are concerned over the impact it will have on the ability of consumers, students and small businesses to get credit cards.

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Ken Clayton, senior vice president of card policy at the American Bankers Association, Washington Post.

Evidence

Backgrounders & Briefs

A Timeline of the CARD Act

An interactive timeline of credit card reform.