CARD

Excited about new reforms taking place related to the Lilly Ledbetter Act, it seemed appropriate to look at the other signed bills. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (CARD) of 2009 signed on May 22, 2009. It generally takes awhile to develop the laws to enforce bills; however, this bill defines most aspects, so we will see a changes soon.

Content extracted from White House blog "A New Era for Credit Cards:"

• Statements will be required to tell credit card holders how long it will take to pay off a balance.
• What it will cost in interest if they only make the minimum monthly payments.
• Stop retroactive rate hikes that appear on a bill suddenly with no rhyme or reason.
• Every card company will have to post its credit card agreements online.
• The government will monitor online agreements to see if new protections are needed.
• Credit Card companies to mail statements 21 days before payment is due, not 14.
• No more sudden charges or changes to terms and conditions. At least 45 days notice is required if the credit card company is changing terms and conditions.

CARD makes credit card companies responsible for educating patrons. This does not stop people from making bad credit decisions; however, they will have time to prepare. Giving information on how long it will take to pay the balance might assist creditor reputations. If you have every read my blog "Calculating Interest" it explains how compound interest and annual percent rate lower interest payments.

Retroactive rate hikes and changes to terms and conditions are probably the main reason people distrust credit card companies. Prime rate is determined by the Federal Reserve. When it changes credit card companies increase rates. An interest rate rarely goes down after a person signed an agreement.

Monitoring agreements sounds good. Most credit card companies are honest. Quick loan companies need a watchdog. However, giving people more notice is great idea. Most people pay bills online or on the phone. The older generation uses standard mail. Timestamps indicate when payment was made according to SEC law. Unfortunately, it appears as though the United States Postal Service is no longer stamping each letter with the date.

The White House blog states the bill received heavy support in Congress. At least everyone agrees on some issues. Difficult to imagine how this bill could be implemented fairly, it could happen. Credit card companies might be dissatisfied with another government regulated act creating sudden expenditures and additional operating costs. Government is always passing laws to keep the IEO and information system technologists busy.

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