What Would $220 Buy for Your Family?

Pueblo Shoppers Highlight What They Would Buy with Savings from the New Credit Card Fee Ban

In Pueblo today, local shoppers highlighted the cost of Republicans siding with big credit card companies to block a rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that would ban excessive credit card late fees, lowering the typical fee from $32 to $8.

The CFPB estimates that families will save more than $10 billion in late fees each year if the final rule goes into effect. This will be an average savings of $220 per year for the more than 45 million people who are charged late fees.

What would $220 help Coloradans afford?

• One week of groceries 68 gallons of regular gas

• Six weeks of car insurance coverage

• 2 months of prescription medication

• 1-2 weeks after school care

Reports show that “​​low-income Americans disproportionately bear the costs of fees charged by financial institutions.” As Coloradans work hard to make ends meet, the nickel and diming schemes take a toll, especially for families in areas like Pueblo where poverty rates are some of the highest in the state.

Which makes it baffling why – immediately following the CFPB new rule to cut these fees – Republicans in the House and the Senate filed resolutions of disapproval aimed to block capping credit card late fees. The CFPB is the only federal agency with the sole mission of protecting consumers from exploitative practices by banks and credit card companies.

When the new rule was released in March, the CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated, “For over a decade, credit card giants have been exploiting a loophole to harvest billions of dollars in junk fees from American consumers. Today's rule ends the era of big credit card companies hiding behind the excuse of inflation when they hike fees on borrowers and boost their own bottom lines.”

“Coloradans are tired of being nickel and dimed by these fees that mask the true price of what we’re buying. It feels like a daily struggle to sift through these hidden charges including from credit card companies and banks that charge a wide range of fees. Such immediate action by Republicans to side with big credit card companies is unacceptable. We are calling on Colorado Congressional members to oppose these resolutions that only encourage more hidden fees," Sol Sandoval, Pueblo resident.