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Congress·In Committee·about 2 months ago

Congress Proposes $8 Limit on Credit Card Late Fees for Large Banks

Also known as: Credit Card Fairness Act

Legislative Progress

✓ Filed
Review
Senate
House
President

Impact Analysis

Scores: 1 = low, 5 = highSentiment: -5 to +5 (net benefit)

Key Points

  • This bill would limit how much big credit card companies can charge you if you miss a payment deadline. It targets large banks that have 1 million or more open accounts.
  • Under this plan, the maximum late fee a large credit card company could charge would be $8. Currently, many companies charge significantly more, often between $30 and $40.
  • The policy requires that late fees only cover the actual cost the bank pays to handle a late payment. This prevents companies from using these fees as a way to increase their overall profits.
  • The government would be allowed to raise the $8 limit in the future, but only to keep up with the rising cost of living. Any increase would be tied to the official inflation rate.
  • Before any new rules are made about these fees, the government must publicly release the research and data used to justify the changes. This is intended to make the process more transparent for consumers.
Economy Finance

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions
Jan 15, 2026Senate

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Jan 15, 2026

Introduced in Senate

Related News

5 articles
The Hill·about 2 months ago

Democratic Sens. Fetterman, Booker and Baldwin introduce legislation to cap credit card late fees at $8

Democratic Sens. John Fetterman (Pa.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) introduced the Credit Card Fairness Act on Thursday. The bill aims to codify a 2024 CFPB rule that reduced the typical late fee from $32 to $8 for banks with over 1 million accounts.

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ABA Banking Journal·about 2 months ago

Democratic senators introduce bill to lower credit card late fee cap

Sens. John Fetterman, Cory Booker, and Tammy Baldwin introduced the Credit Card Fairness Act to lower the late fee safe harbor to $8. The bill seeks to provide a statutory basis for a cap previously struck down in court and directs future challenges to the D.C. Circuit Court.

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Consumer Affairs·about 1 month ago

Bill would renew Biden caps on credit card late fees

New legislation aims to cap credit card late fees at $8, promoting affordability. The Credit Card Fairness Act would codify the cap in law, which supporters say will save over $200 a year on average for the more than 45 million people who are charged late fees.

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Source Information

Document Type

Congressional Bill

Official Title

Credit Card Fairness Act

Bill NumberS 3660
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Sponsor

Cosponsors

(5)
D: 5

Analysis generated by AI. While we strive for accuracy, this should not be considered legal or professional advice. Always verify information with official government sources.