Table of Contents

Credit Card Competition Act would break up Visa-Mastercard duopoly
Advocates urged members of Congress to swiftly pass the Credit Card Competition Act in an effort to address the Visa-Mastercard duopoly in the U.S., which has resulted in the highest credit card swipe fees in the industrialized world.

Comment submitted in support of CFPB’s proposed rule that would cap credit card late fees at $8
Consumer Action and allies submitted comments in support of a proposed CFPB rule that would cap credit card late fees at $8, unless the card issuer can justify a higher amount.

Regulators should reject FinTech startup’s bank charter application
Advocates called upon federal banking regulators to reject a worrisome and inadequate bank charter application recently filed by Figure Bank, National Association. The coalition warns that the FinTech company’s bank application is silent about core issues of honesty, transparency and sustainability. Federal banking regulators are the public’s first line of defense. They have a duty to protect the public from investors who are more interested in lining their own pockets than in helping their customers and communities build wealth.

Everyone should have equal opportunities and access to products and services
Both Republicans and Democrats are calling for the continued universal acceptance of U.S. currency as a payment option for all consumers in the United States. The bipartisan Payment Choice Act of 2021 would make it illegal for retail businesses to refuse to accept cash for in-person, consumer transactions at stores nationwide. Consumer advocates support this important legislation, explaining that there are roughly 37 million adults in the United States who lack a bank account or credit card and need to use cash to pay for their necessities. 

FinTech users deserve strong data use protections
Groups sent a joint letter to the Consumer Financial Protection asking the agency for strong rules to ensure that consumers are protected when their account data is shared with, accessed by or used by third parties, such as financial technology (FinTech) mobile apps and account aggregation services.

Allies urge CFPB Director not to weaken its enforcement arm
A coalition of more than 80 consumer and civil rights groups urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) Director Kathy Kraninger to "abandon" her "October Surprise" proposed reorganization. Instead of strengthening the arm of the CFPB that holds predatory financial institutions accountable, the proposal would drastically weaken its authority, independence, and ultimately, effectiveness, leaving consumers vulnerable and defenseless during an already financially stressful time.

The next COVID-19 relief package should include these critical consumer protections
Millions of people and small businesses in the United States are experiencing tremendous financial distress because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unemployment is skyrocketing and families are struggling to put food on the table. Congress and the administration need to enact broad-based, efficient, and effective relief that goes far beyond the CARES Act to protect people’s homes, cars, bank accounts, income, and benefits so that they can weather this crisis. Consumer Action joined nearly 100 consumer, civil rights, community and other public interest groups weigh in on recommendations for Congress' next stimulus package.

Advocates call foul as CFPB hides consumer complaint narratives from public view
Consumer Action joined nearly three dozen consumer, civil rights, community, housing, and privacy groups in urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to reconsider its decision to bury the narratives of consumer complaints, making it much harder for non-experts to find this essential material in its consumer complaint database. Access to the complaint narratives helps to educate and empower consumers to make wise financial decisions and meets the Bureau’s mandate to inform and protect consumers. Public access to this critical information also helps to hold companies accountable for their behavior in the financial marketplace.

Congress: Pass a clean budget for FY2021
Advocates called on Congress to pass an upcoming federal budget that funds the things that Americans care about, not undo essential consumer and environmental safeguards through policy riders. Policy riders are attached to legislation and rarely have anything to do with the bill. In fact, most riders are handouts to big corporations and special favors for interest groups that could not become law on their own merits. As Congress prepares the federal budget for fiscal year 2021, no appropriations titles, package of bills, or continuing resolutions should pass if they contain poison pill policy riders that go against the public interest, including policies that ensure safe and healthy food, restrain Wall Street abuses, provide access to justice and fair housing, and guarantee access to safe healthcare.

New credit report portal would make resolving errors easier for consumers
Advocates wrote to Congress in support of the Protecting Your Credit Score Act of 2019 (H.R. 5332). The bipartisan bill directs the three credit reporting bureaus to work together to create one online portal to provide free and unlimited access to credit reports and scores, the ability to more easily initiate and resolve disputes with a credit bureau and to provide access to see who the bureaus have sold consumer data to in the prior two years. One of the biggest issues facing low-income communities is access to credit. In many cases, inaccurate credit information limits low-income individuals from accessing affordable loan products. This can lead to borrowing from high-cost pay-day lenders, or using high-rate credit facilities. This bill places the burden of resolving inaccurate credit information on the bureaus, instead of on the consumer.