Credit Card Rates To Be Lowered
All credit card rate hikes since January 2009 are going to be reviewed, and this could mean lower rates for millions of cardholders.
The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009, ordered banks to reduce interest rates for some cardholders, as many of the hikes were directly related to the failing economy, The Associated Press reported.
The Federal Reserve released data showing that credit card interest rates rose from 13.57 percent in 2008, to 14.31 percent in 2009, according to the news source. While no major credit card company said how many cards will have lower rates, all said that there will be some type of rate lowering for consumers.
The new credit card law requires companies to inform their cardholders of a rate hike 45 days in advance, the news source said. Consumers do not have to accept the interest rate rise if they do not want to. Instead, the cardholder can close the account and pay off their credit card debt at the rate they currently have with the company.