Tell Congress: Protect consumers. Cap credit card interest rates at 10%

 

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It’s Faiz from More Perfect Union. Last year, credit card interest rates hit an all-time high average of 28%. Some interest rates you can get today are as high as 34.74%! You can do the math here yourself. U.S. consumers hold $1.17 trillion in credit card debt, these super high interest rates drive massive profits for banks. On the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. Earlier this month, Trump doubled down on his promise on his social media platform, posting: “We will no longer let the American public be ‘ripped off’ by credit card companies that are charging interest rates of 20 to 30%.” And generated some great headlines like this one: Let’s be clear, just like with the credit card companies, the devil is in the details of Trump’s new plan. His post went on to say he’s “calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%.” A one year cap doesn’t really cut it. In fact, many lenders extend introductory offers to entice customers with promotional rates as low as 0% for as long as 18 months already. Still Trump has made the commitment and it’s extremely unlikely he’d veto legislation if Congress passed any bill to cut credit card interest rates. And that’s where these headlines have it right. An unlikely bipartisan alliance has emerged. Senators Bernie Sanders and Josh Hawley and Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Anna Paulina Luna have introduced bills that would immediately cap credit card interest rates at 10% -- permanently. Not for one year. For forever, or until Congress passed another bill to raise it. Check out our report on how the major credit card companies have massively increased interest rates -- and their profits -- over the last decade. Then take action and tell Congress to pass legislation to cap credit card interest rates at 10% now. WATCH, SIGN & SEND “Credit cards with high interest rates regularly trap working people in endless cycles of debt. At a time when families are struggling to make ends meet, we cannot allow big banks to shake down our communities for profit. During his campaign, President Trump pledged to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. We're making that pledge more than a talking point by introducing legislation to protect working people from remaining trapped under mountains of debt.” - Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. You’ll see in our report that we spoke with a former Capital One employee who was there when Capital One began raising rates to see how high they could push them. We spoke with a consumer advocate who explains how credit card interest rates used to be calculated and how today they’re just a vehicle for greed in the banking industry. And we spoke with a consumer who is paying roughly $700 per month in credit card interest -- virtually the same amount as her monthly mortgage payment. Even as smaller banks and credit unions offer lower interest rates, the 10 largest banks hold over 80% of credit card balances. The bottom line is that these credit card companies aren’t participating in a fair market. They operate like loan sharks. And the only way to rein them in is by mandating it with legislation. Let’s make Donald Trump follow through on this campaign promise. Sign and send a direct message urging Congress to cap credit card interest rates at 10% now. If Congress cares about making America affordable again, capping credit card interest rates at 10% is a no brainer. In solidarity, -Faiz Faiz Shakir, Co-Founder More Perfect Union SUPPORT OUR WORK Paid for by More Perfect Union