CFPB Seeks Public Input on Consumer Credit Card Market

By: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Feedback from consumers, industry, advocates will help inform biennial credit card market report

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a request for information today seeking public feedback on how the consumer credit market is functioning as part of a biennial review of the industry. The CFPB is seeking more and current information on various aspects of the consumer experience with credit cards. Congress enacted the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD Act) to establish fair and transparent practices related to the extension of credit in the credit card market. The CARD Act mandates the CFPB to conduct a review of the credit card industry every two years and report to Congress.

“The CFPB undertakes a biennial review of the consumer credit card market to ensure guidelines and guardrails to protect consumers are working as intended,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra. “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.”

The CARD Act directs the CFPB to undertake a comprehensive review of the entire industry to help determine whether regulatory adjustments are needed. This review includes seeking public feedback as well as issuing market-monitoring orders to major credit card issuers to collect information on their business practices. The CFPB publishes a report to Congress of its biennial review of the credit card market, and will publish its sixth report later in 2023.

The CFPB is interested in hearing about people’s overall experiences with credit card products. In particular, the request is seeking information on:

  • Terms of credit card agreements and the practices of credit card issuers
  • Effectiveness of disclosure of terms, fees, and other expenses of credit card plans
  • Adequacy of protections against unfair or deceptive acts or practices relating to credit card plans
  • Cost and availability of consumer credit cards
  • Safety and soundness of credit card issuers
  • Use of risk-based pricing for consumer credit cards
  • Consumer credit card product innovation

This list of topics should not be viewed as exhaustive. The request for information will be published in the Federal Register, and the public will have until April 24, 2023 to submit their comments.

The CFPB has also issued market-monitoring orders to a diverse group of major and specialized credit card issuers. The orders seek information that no other data-gathering mechanisms currently address, such as the practices of major credit card issuers relating to, among other topics, applications and approvals, debt collection, and digital account servicing.

For more information, read the Request for Information Regarding Consumer Credit Card Market.

Consumers having an issue with a consumer financial product or service can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).