US President Donald Trump has called for a one year cap on credit card interest rate charges at 10% – around half of the average current US rate – starting from January 20.
Vanderbilt University analysis from September last year found there were “astronomical profit margins in the [US] credit card market”. It concluded a 10% cap could save Americans as much as US$100 billion (A$149 billion) a year. But it also found likely unintended consequences with a cap that low, including reduced lending for people with lower credit scores.
