Bank of America’s Commitment to Simplify
| December 3, 2009 |
With the end of the year slowly approaching for consumers and the implementation date for the CARD Act quickly approaching for issuers, it seems that some issuers are starting to make changes before they are required. In many cases the bank to make the moves first has been Bank of America and this continues today as they recently announced a move to a "Credit Card Clarity Commitment".
As of December 1, 2009, Bank of America’s 40 million cardholders have started to receive simple straight-forward statements that are essentially a one page summary of their interest rates, fees, and payment information. According to a representative this was done to simplify the problems that many cardholders (with every issuers) have with understanding their current statements as well as to make using credit wisely a top priority.
While Bank of America makes the shift to a one sheet summary to help consumers is honorable, many experts believe the underling reason for the move is essentially compliance with CARD Act. Under the law, credit card issuers will be forced to provide statements that cardholders can understand so that they may avoid unnecessary cost and have the ability to manage their finances better. In additions things such as displaying how long it will take to pay off existing balances and total interest cost (if the consumer paid only the minimum amount due) must also be made available to cardholders.
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