For a biennial review of the consumer credit card industry, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) this week requested information from the public on various aspects of its experience with credit cards, be they consumers, industry, or advocates.
In particular, the CFPB seeks feedback on:
- Terms of credit card agreements and credit card issuer practices
- Efficacy of term disclosures, fees, and other expenses
- If protections against unfair or deceptive practices in credit card plans are adequate
- Cost and availability of consumer credit cards
- Safety of issuers
- Risk-based pricing in consumer credit cards
- Innovation in the market
“The CFPB undertakes a biennial review of the consumer credit card market to ensure guidelines and guardrails to protect consumers are working as intended,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said. “This request for information is a meaningful data point that will inform our decision-making on any potential changes, and the CFPB invites consumers, credit card issuers, industry analysts, consumer groups, and the general public to submit information and comments relevant to the topic.”
Reviews like this are required every two years as part of the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act), as part of fair and transparent practice enforcement in the credit card market. These reports are delivered to Congress, and in this case, the next report will be published later this year.
Beyond the request for feedback, the CFPB has also issued market-monitoring orders to various major and specialized credit card issuers in search of information, including practices surrounding applications and approvals, debt collection, digital account servicing, and other issues related to major credit card issuers.