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119-s-3660119th CongressWALLET

Credit Card Fairness Act

Sponsored By: Senator Fetterman, John [D-PA]

Introduced

Summary

Cap late fees for large credit card issuers. This bill would limit how much big credit card companies can charge for late payments and tie allowed fees to the issuer's actual costs.

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  • Families and consumers: Cardholders would face lower late fees on many accounts because fees from large issuers would be capped at $8 and must reflect issuer costs.
  • Large credit card issuers: Any issuer with 1 million or more open accounts would be subject to the $8 limit and a Bureau review that prevents fees from exceeding measured costs.
  • Regulators: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau must publish the research behind its proposed rules before notice and comment and may update the cap using the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.
  • Courts and challengers: Any legal challenge to the new fee rules or Bureau decisions must be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

Lower late fees for big card issuers

This bill would cap late fees charged by a "large credit card issuer" at $8 when enacted. A "large" issuer is one with 1,000,000 or more open accounts in the prior year. The CFPB could raise the cap later by no more than the percent change in the CPI‑U. The bill would also require the CFPB to publish the research it used before starting notice-and-comment rulemaking, require that late fees not exceed issuer costs, change a TILA review standard to focus on creditor costs, and require any legal challenges to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Fetterman, John [D-PA]

PA • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 1/15/2026

  • Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI]

    WI • D

    Sponsored 1/15/2026

  • Sen. Smith, Tina [D-MN]

    MN • D

    Sponsored 1/29/2026

  • Sen. Schatz, Brian [D-HI]

    HI • D

    Sponsored 2/12/2026

  • Sen. Blumenthal, Richard [D-CT]

    CT • D

    Sponsored 2/25/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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