Credit Cards Archives - Americans for Financial Reform

News Release: Trump Administration Joins Big Banks to Roll Back Protection on Junk Fees

The Trump administration has joined a group of big banks in an effort to destroy a vital safeguard against credit card junk fees that would have saved consumers $10 billion per year. As documented by AFR’s Wall Street Ripoff Counter, every day this CFPB rule is not in place, credit card users lose $2.7 million. To date, the bank lawsuit and now the Trump administration actions have cost consumers over $8.3 billion.

In The News: Capital One’s Discover deal faces opposition from community groups (S&P Global)

More opposition came from Patrick Woodall, managing director for policy at Americans for Financial Reform, a nonprofit coalition consisting of more than 200 consumer, civil rights, labor, business and investor organizations. “It would be irresponsible for the regulators to approve this merger after Capital One has repeatedly broken its promises made to secure previous mergers,” Woodall said. “It shut down two-thirds of its branches after promising to maintain its geographic footprint. It stopped making home purchase and home improvement mortgages after promising to maintain service levels.”

Blog: Top 10 Reasons to Block the Capital One-Discover Merger

Today, Americans for Financial Reform and many allies will take our case directly to federal banking regulators and demand that they block the proposed Capital One-Discover merger. Federal regulators have rubber stamped thousands of bank mergers over the past few decades, consolidating the industry to create risky megabanks, reducing choices and raising prices for depositors and small businesses. The wave of mergers beginning in the mid-1990s contributed to the contagious fragility of the banking system during the 2008 financial crisis. Here are the top 10 reasons to block this merger:

News Release: Hearing Highlights Arguments Against Capital One Takeover of Discover

Since Capital One announced plans to take over Discover, reasons to oppose the creation of this new megabank have only grown. As federal regulators convene a hearing today on this risky merger, they must face the key arguments, which public interest groups will make, against it: the merger would reduce competition in the already concentrated credit card industry, it poses risks to the stability of the financial system, it would raise network fees for merchants, and it does not deliver for communities.

In The News: How Should Federal Regulators Respond to the Capital One-Discover Deal (American Banker)

Alexa Philo and Patrick Woodall of Americans for Financial Reform: “Picture a new megabank with all the advantages and dangers of a too-big-to-fail institution. Now imagine it had the market power to bully merchants through its ownership of a payment network for debit and credit cards. Finally, throw in a track record of gouging its own customers. That’s exactly what we will have if Capital One succeeds in taking over Discover Financial Services.”

AFR Report: The Same Old Song – Wall Street’s repeatedly discredited but endlessly repeated arguments against common-sense financial regulation

A look back at the financial lobby’s robotic opposition to one proposed reform after another, and how Wall Street’s claims have squared with real-world events. This new AFR report homes in on three pre-financial-crisis case studies, involving credit cards, mortgages, and derivatives.

Statement: CFPB Proposal on Prepaid Cards is an Important Step Forward

With the new rules it proposed this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has moved to make the rapidly expanding world of prepaid and payroll cards a safer and more straightforward place. The CFPB’S proposal would limit, though not prohibit, overdraft programs that blur

Five Years Down the Road, the CARD Act Is a Success Story

Consumer and civil rights advocates applaud the CARD Act’s success in saving Americans billions of dollars in predatory and excessive fees. By one estimate, the Act has saved consumers $12.6 billion; a recent report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau identifies nearly $4 billion annual savings in fees alone.

CFPB Report: Three Years After the CARD Act, Card Holders Have Saved Billions

Late fees down by an average of $6; more people making above-the-minimum payments; far fewer young adults signing up for credit cards in the first place – these are some of the results of a landmark 2009 law, according to a new report issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

STACKING THE DEBT: Consumer Rights in the Financial Marketplace

Mandatory arbitration and its impact on the world of consumer finance was the topic of a Capitol Hill briefing sponsored by AFR, Public Citizen & the National Association of Consumer Advocates.