The credit card industry is in a constant state of change. The CARD Act, signed by President Obama in May of 2009, is dishing out its new mandates for credit card companies in three phases. Part two went into effect yesterday, February 22, 2010.
Here’s What My Credit Card Said
Think your paycheck is for your eyes only? Think again. Americans are surrendering over more and more of their personal information with each passing day — and your paycheck is the latest bit of personal data that’s now out in the open.
The final rules issued by the Federal Reserve under the CARD Act will now require credit-card companies to examine your income when you apply for credit as a means of determining your ability to make payments. The examination of your income, among other factors, can be used to determine whether or not your application is approved, the size of your credit limit, and/or whether you may be pre-approved for certain offers: Read the rest of this entry »
Washington’s transition from their seemingly unwavering support of Wall Street to a new dedication to the American consumer has been rather slow, but the momentum is picking up. While the House of Representatives passed a bill on Friday that included the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), President Obama met with the nation’s largest banks yesterday, asking them to step up their lending to consumers — both homebuyers and small business owners alike.
Perhaps ironically, the president’s plea to the banks comes at the same time many of them have (or are working hard to) paid back TARP funds in order to get out from under these kinds of pressures: Read the rest of this entry »
(Update1): The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a bulletin on Wednesday regarding the specific provisions of the credit card reform that have already taken affect. The bulletin pertains specifically to the 45-days notice the card companies must provide cardholders when or if their interest rate will be changed (emphasis added):
The bulletin describes an interim final rule issued by the Federal Reserve Board that requires banks to notify customers 45 days in advance of any rate increase or significant changes in credit card account terms. The rules also require lenders to disclose that their customers have the right to reject those changes.
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