Bipartisan bill would cap credit card interest rates at 10%

Written By ApurbaDa February 4, 2025 Add Comment

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) are expected to introduce bipartisan legislation in the Senate on Tuesday that would cap credit card interest rates at 10%.

“During the campaign, President Trump pledged to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent,” Sen. Sanders said in a press release. “Today, I am proud to be introducing bipartisan legislation with Senator Hawley to do just that.”

The legislation, if passed, would immediately cap credit card interest rates and would be in effect for five years.

“Working Americans are drowning in record credit card debt while the biggest credit card issuers get richer and richer by hiking their interest rates to the moon. It’s not just wrong, it’s exploitative. And it needs to end,” Hawley said.

A report from Forbes shows that the average credit card interest rate is as high as 28.6% and Americans owe a record $1.17 trillion on their credit cards, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Sen. Sanders and Sen. Hawley argue that credit card companies are making enormous profits from these high interest rates.

“We cannot continue to allow big banks to make huge profits ripping off the American people. This legislation will provide working families struggling to pay their bills with desperately needed financial relief," Sanders said.

However, critics argue that capping credit card interest rates could harm consumers.

According to research from the World Bank on credit card interest rate caps in other countries, caps can result in reduced access to credit. This can leave borrowers with no access to credit or force them to use other sources with higher rates or fees.

The American Bankers Association has opposed similar legislation in the past. Nexstar reached out to the American Bankers Association for a statement but did not hear back as of this writing.

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