CFPB To Modernize How Credit Card Data is Collected

On August 19, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published a blog stating that the Bureau will “modernize” how credit card data is collected.

Currently, when consumers are considering credit card options, they are presented with information that makes it difficult to compare the interest rates associated with each card. Additionally, when rates are displayed for each card, “card issuers do not have to disclose realistic rates based on someone’s creditworthiness and instead report the midpoints of broad ranges that are often meaningless to people trying to compare cards.” As a result, consumers often select a card that has the most impressive “promotional terms, such as introductory rates, cash back rewards, or sign-up bonuses.”

The Bureau is committed to changing this process by updating the Terms of Credit Card Plans (“TCCP”) Survey that receives 150 issuer response relating to their largest credit card plans, “including data on interest rates and fees” to make it “a more useful resource on credit card price and availability for consumers.”  Proposed changes to this survey include:

• collecting median annual percentage rates (“APR”) in each credit score tiers;

• collecting information on credit cards that are available to categories of communities or groups;

• requiring the top 25 credit card issuers to submit to the CFPB data on their general-purpose credit cards; and

• enabling more institutions to participate in the voluntary survey.

The Bureau is accepting comments on these proposed changes until October 17, 2022.