We are releasing today on our Consumer Finance Monitor podcast our host Alan Kaplinsky’s discussion with Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now, about two high-profile policy proposals raised or embraced by President Trump as part of a broader populist affordability agenda:

  1. A nationwide 10% cap on credit card interest rates for one year.
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For the first time since 2017, the total number of college- and university-affiliated credit card issuers did not decrease, but stayed at 133, according to the CFPB’s annual “College Credit Card Agreements” report.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act requires the bureau to issue an annual report on the agreements between credit card issuers, institutions of higher education and certain organizations affiliated with such institutions.… Continue Reading

Senator Elizabeth Warren has sent a sharply worded letter to CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought that crystallizes an unusual moment in consumer financial services regulation: a populist-sounding call from President Trump to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent, paired with what Warren characterizes as a deliberate dismantling of the very agency that would be central to implementing any such reform.… Continue Reading

We recently blogged about President Trump’s Truth Social post in which he announced his intent to impose a 10% per annum interest rate cap on credit cards for one year beginning on January 20, 2026, the one-year anniversary of his second term of office. On January 21, during his speech delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, he announced his support for legislation to accomplish that result.… Continue Reading

In a Truth Social post, President Trump backed a bill called the Credit Card Competition Act (sometimes called the Durbin-Marshall credit card mandate), saying it will help put an end to what he calls “out-of-control swipe fee rip-offs.” Swipe fees — more formally known as interchange fees — are the charges merchants pay every time a customer pays with a credit card.… Continue Reading

On January 9, 2026, President Donald Trump announced via Truth Social that he supports a temporary 10% cap on credit card interest rates (a concept raised during his 2024 presidential campaign), beginning on January 20, 2026. He described the proposal as an effort to address high credit card APRs and improve affordability for consumers.… Continue Reading

In a significant ruling on February 18, 2025, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals determined that the National Bank Act (NBA) does not preempt the procedural “right to cure” notice requirements mandated by the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA), reversing a judgment in two debt collection actions.

The court, thereby, determined that this state-level consumer protection was not preempted by the NBA.… Continue Reading

Chief Judge Virginia Kendall of the Northern District of Illinois has extended her preliminary injunction prohibiting Illinois from enforcing the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (the “IFPA”) to cover out-of-state banks conducting business in the state.

Judge Kendall already had ruled that Illinois could not enforce the IFPA on nationally chartered banks and federal savings associations but requested additional briefing with respect to federal credit unions and out-of-state banks.… Continue Reading

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Josh Hawley, R-Mo. have introduced bipartisan legislation that could cap credit card interest rates at 10%.

The Senators said their bill, S. 381, would fulfill a commitment made by President Trump when he campaigned for president last year. The legislation—which has been proposed in past Congresses—would impose the cap through a change in the Truth in Lending Act.… Continue Reading

In a 37 page order, Chief Judge Virginia M. Kendall in the Northern District of Illinois determined that the Illinois Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, America’s Credit Unions, and Illinois Credit Union League have standing to bring their claims challenging the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (the “IFPA”) and sovereign immunity does not apply to the federal claims.… Continue Reading