Posts Tagged ‘ CARD Act ’

Reminder: CARD Act goes live Monday

February 20th, 2010. By AbiK

Monday, February 22 is the day we finally see the new credit card rules go into effect. For those of you who missed all the news on this last fall, the new rules come as a result of the Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act—aka CARD Act for short.

We outlined what the CARD Act will mean to you in an earlier post—and we wrote about some of the credit card pitfalls you should look out for—but just to recap:

Limits on Interest Rate Hikes: Interest rate increases on existing balances would only be allowed under certain conditions, such as when a promotional rate ends, there is a variable rate, or if the cardholder makes a late payment. Interest rates on new transactions can increase only after the first year. Significant changes in terms on accounts cannot occur without 45 days’ advance notice of the change.

No more Universal Default: “Universal default,” when interest rates are raised based on customers’ payment records with other unrelated credit issuers (such as utility companies), would end. 

More Time to Pay Monthly Bills: Credit care issuers will have to give card account holders “a reasonable amount of time” to make payments on monthly bills. That means payments would be due at least 21 days after they are mailed or delivered.

Clear Due Dates and Times: Credit card issuers would no longer be able to set early morning or Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: CARD Act, Credit Card
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