Changes to Credit Card Fees May Come Soon

When it comes to using your credit card there is no doubt that it is more expensive now than any other time in the past. For majority of cardholders the bulk of the increased cost is from extremely high interest rates, for others it is costing even more as new fees are constantly being added or current fees are being raised. While at the moment only interest rates are being regulated (thanks to the CARD Act); if a newly introduced proposal is accepted, some of the current fees that consumers are paying may be capped or removed altogether.

When looking at the new proposed rules, if accepted it would go into effect on the last phase of the CARD Act, which takes effect in August. Under this proposal, credit card issuers would have their fees for such things as over-limit fees and late fees be set at an amount that is more realistic to the consumer. At most, the fee would not be any higher than the value of the violation, meaning it could not be any higher than the amount that was paid late or charged over.

Other concern that would be addressed by this proposal would be the charging of an "inactivity fee", which has been a hot topic for many weeks now. While there are not many major issuers currently utilizing the fee, it has been one that experts and media alike have put under the microscope as the next major feature issuers would adopt.