AmiSight 1/19: Lower Rates, Higher Barriers: The Unintended Costs of a Credit Card Cap
- Ami Kassar
- Jan 19
- 1 min read
With credit-card interest rates averaging around 23% and going up to 36% for consumers with lower credit scores, President Trump wants to put a temporary cap on rates.
In an effort to ease economic pressures on American households, Trump has called for a one-year 10% cap to begin Jan. 20, the Wall Street Journal reports.
While the move could save Americans billions in interest, it could also lead to tightened access to credit. The card industry warns that many people, especially those with lower incomes and lower credit scores, would lose access to credit cards.
It isn’t clear whether the cap would apply to new or existing balances, although other rate-cap proposals have focused more on new balances.
Nothing is a done deal as most legal experts say that the president can’t unilaterally cap interest rates by executive order. While such a move would require an act of Congress, similar proposals have seen bipartisan support.
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