Sponsors (2)
The bill lowers credit costs and curbs hidden fees for many consumers—particularly low-income borrowers—at the risk of reducing credit availability and imposing costs and uncertainty on lenders, markets, and state actors.
Low-income consumers would pay substantially less on revolving credit because credit-card APRs would be capped at 10 percentage points inclusive of finance charges.
Consumers would be protected from hidden, fee-based workarounds because non-finance fees would be limited to no more than finance charges, reducing surprise costs.
Consumers who were charged interest or fees above the cap could recover those overcharges for up to two years, enabling reimbursement for recent past abuses.
Creditors and card-issuing businesses would likely see lower revenue and face higher compliance costs, which could push lenders to raise prices elsewhere or reduce services.
Some borrowers—especially low-income individuals and small businesses—could lose access to credit if issuers tighten underwriting or exit markets to avoid legal risk.
State governments and taxpayers face temporary legal and market uncertainty because the rule sunsets in 2031, complicating long-term planning and interactions with state laws.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Caps credit-card APRs at 10 percentage points inclusive of finance charges, limits non-finance fees, adds consumer remedies, and sunsets on Jan 1, 2031.
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez · Last progress March 6, 2025
Caps the annual percentage rate (APR) on credit-card extensions at 10 percentage points, counting all finance charges, and limits non-finance fees so they cannot be used to evade that cap. Knowingly charging above the cap triggers forfeiture of all interest and lets the consumer recover interest, finance charges, and fees paid through a private suit brought within two years of the last usurious collection. The measure adds these rules to federal consumer credit law, preserves stronger state protections, and automatically sunsets the new federal cap and related conforming change on January 1, 2031.