President Trump has called for a 10% APR cap on credit card interest rates, posting the following on Truth Social:
Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be “ripped off” by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration. AFFORDABILITY! Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%. Coincidentally, the January 20th date will coincide with the one year anniversary of the historic and very successful Trump Administration. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
It’s unclear if President Trump plans to use executive action or legislation to impose this cap but there has been heavy backlash from card issuers. The American Bankers Association made the following statement:
We share the President’s goal of helping Americans access more affordable credit. At the same time, evidence shows that a 10% interest rate cap would reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small businesses who rely on and value their credit cards, the very consumers this proposal intends to help. If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives. We look forward to working with the administration to ensure Americans have access to the credit they need
Trump had previously made this 10% cap as a pledge during election campaigning and it’s estimated it would save Americans ~$100 billion a year if imposed although in reality card issuers would have to make up that revenue elsewhere. For example, rewards programs on credit cards.
In most cases credit card issuers don’t have caps imposed on them, but there are some caps currently:
- Lenders cannot charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product, including credit cards
- National regulator for credit unions has imposed an 18% cap
- Arkansas has a 17% cap. This was raised from 10% in 2011. Issue is that the cap does not apply to most state national and FDIC-insured banks as they are allowed to charge rates permitted by their home state
Please act civilly in the comments and remember the commenting rules.
