Would a Credit Card Bill of Rights Ultimately Help or Harm Consumers?

• “Harm”

  

  “The Market Provides Abundant Choices”

• No Objections Yet

The Market Provides Abundant Choices

Competitive Enterprise Institute

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All consumers—from college students with no credit to billionaires—have abundant choices when it comes to credit cards. Existing products already deal with most complaints: people who don’t like high interest rates can find cards with low ones, people unable to pay on time can find cards that don’t assess penalties or raise interest rates for a few late payments, people who always pay on time can get significant perks from rewards cards. When a credit card changes it terms in a way that a consumer doesn’t like, the widespread availability of balance transfers lets people transfer away their debt to a card provider with better terms. Although the government requires a bewildering array of fine print on all credit card agreements, the fundamental terms of each credit card are always presented in an easy-to-read fashion. Quite simply, there’s no fundamental problem with credit cards.

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"Harm" CEI

• The Market Provides Abundant Choices
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• The Poor—and Those With Bad Credit—Would Suffer Most
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• Deregulation Provides the Best Path to a Better Consumer Experience
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"Harm" AFSA

• Policymakers Need to Look at the Big Picture
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• The Right Numbers Tell a Different Story
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• Price Controls are Not the Way to Go
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• Risked-Based Pricing Benefits the Customer
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"Help" CFA

• Act Would End Bait and Switch Contract Clauses
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• Cardholders Would Not Pay Interest on Debt Already Paid Off
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• Issuers Would Have to Fairly Apply Payments to Card Balances
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• Prohibits Retroactive Application of Rate Hikes for Consumers
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• Act Curbs Late-Fee “Gotcha” Tricks
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Most Objections

Do We Need Credit Card Rights?

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• Harm

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