Not news. A story, told the way I'd tell a friend.
The statement comes. You skip past the balance, you skip past the minimum, and your eye lands on that little line near the bottom: interest charged. Then somebody on the news says credit card rates are going to be capped at 10%, and for a second it sounds like help is on the way. This week, after the election, Senator Elizabeth Warren said she wants to work with the President on a 10% cap, and that Democrats have the bills ready to go. The President called for a one-year 10% cap back in January.
Here's the rest of the story. Nothing has passed. The Senate bill for a 10% cap, S.381, shows one step on its official record: Introduced. PolitiFact rates the cap promise "Stalled," because no 10% bill has even come up in committee. And the banks say a cap would backfire, that lenders would close cards or turn people away, mostly people with lower credit scores. My bet? I don't think it has a chance in hell of becoming reality. Banks have too much lobbying power.
But there's already a cap most people have never heard of. Federal credit unions can't charge more than 18% on credit cards and most of their loans, and their regulator, the NCUA, kept that ceiling through September 2027. It isn't 10%, but if your card is in the mid-20s, 18 is a real difference. The catch: you have to join the credit union and get approved, so it isn't automatic. And the lowest cap of all is 0%: pay the statement balance in full. If paying it all at once feels too big, send a payment from your bank every week.
What I'd do this week: find the APR on my statement, in the Interest Charge Calculation section, and write it down. If it's well over 18, call the number on the back of the card and ask for a lower rate. The worst they can say is no.
Sources:
One Mile at a Time: https://onemileatatime.com/news/credit-card-interest-rates-capped/
Congress.gov, S.381: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/381
NCUA: https://ncua.gov/newsroom/press-release/2026/ncua-board-extends-loan-interest-rate-ceiling
The full story, free every weekday: https://www.yourmoneyactually.com/?utm_source=yma_podcast
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