On Friday, President Trump urged credit card companies to limit interest rates to 10% for a year, starting late this month.
He stated, “We will not allow Americans to be ‘ripped off’ by credit card companies charging 20-30% or more, especially as this situation has worsened under the Biden administration. Affordable rates are essential!” It’s interesting how he framed it, right? He added that this initiative would begin on January 20, 2026, marking the first anniversary of what he called a historic and successful administration.
“I appreciate your consideration in this matter,” he concluded.
Trump had initially brought up the idea of capping interest rates during his campaign. In September 2024, he told a crowd at Nassau Coliseum that a temporary cap was essential to help working Americans catch up financially.
This proposal, however, faced criticism from banking groups. They argued that government-imposed price controls could limit credit card access mainly to consumers with higher incomes and better credit ratings.
Interestingly, a month after the proposal was announced, average credit card interest rates soared to a record 21.76% in August 2024. Comparatively, rates had dropped to just below 21% (20.97%) under the Trump administration as of November last year.
In response to the initiative, Senators Josh Hawley and Bernie Sanders previously introduced a bill that, if passed, would have capped credit card interest rates at 10% for five years. While it was referred to a committee, it never received a vote.
Hawley remarked, “Great idea. I’m eager to vote for this,” suggesting that legislative action is necessary to compel credit card companies to lower their rates.
