FW: A shorter, readable credit card agreement

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Title: FW: A shorter, readable credit card agreement

On Tuesday, President Obama traveled to Osawatomie, Kansas, to lay out his vision for America -- where everyone from Wall Street to Main Street plays by the same rules and all Americans have a fair shot at success. Check out his speech here.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a key part of achieving that vision. Unfortunately, some Republicans in Congress are trying to dismantle this important consumer watchdog, even before it gets fully off the ground by blocking the nomination of Richard Cordray, the President's nominee to be the director of CFPB. In his weekly address, President Obama calls on Congress to stop playing politics with important protections for American families.

Watch the video.

Despite not having a director, the CFPB is doing everything they can to fight for consumers. In fact, this week, they kicked off a pilot program to simplify credit card agreements, and we wanted to make sure you saw it. Read their email below.

From: Marla Blow, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Subject: A shorter, readable credit card agreement

 

Millions of times every year, financial institutions issue a new credit card agreement to their customers. And every year, millions of consumers receive new agreements and do not read them.
 
We have an idea that we think can make things better: a simplified credit card agreement.
 
Check it out, and tell us what you think.

 www.consumerfinance.gov/credit-cards/knowbeforeyouowe/

Credit cards are simple to use, but consumers have a lot of choice in exactly how they use them. Differences between cards provide even more choices to consumers.
 
Credit card agreements describe the terms and features of a particular card. They spell out the rights and obligations of both parties, and provide legal protections for the issuer.
 
This can result in a dense and complicated document that can be difficult for consumers to understand.
 
The thought-starter we’ve developed reduces this complexity. We’ve separated the key terms from the legalese, leaving a clear, readable document.
 
We think it makes sense to give consumers a short, understandable document with the key terms they need to know. And we think it makes sense to give issuers the option to use our definitions, freely available on our website. We think this could reduce the costs of compliance and printing.
 
But as credit card users and issuers, you’re the people who need these agreements to work for you, so we want to know what you think. Would consumers be more likely to read this? Could issuers use this approach for their own products?
 
Take a look at what we’ve come up with. Weigh in with your thoughts to help us make credit card agreements better.

www.consumerfinance.gov/credit-cards/knowbeforeyouowe/
 
Thank you,
 
Marla Blow
Acting Assistant Director, Card Markets
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

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