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President Donald Trump said Sunday that credit card companies would be in violation of the law if they fail to comply with his demand for a 10 percent cap on interest rates by Jan. 20, even as legal and financial experts said such a limit would require new legislation from Congress to take effect.
Reviving a campaign pledge, the president is calling for a one-year cap on credit card interest rates at 10 percent, a move supporters say could save Americans tens of billions of dollars annually. The proposal, however, drew swift opposition from the financial industry, including banks and credit card companies that largely backed President Trump during the 2024 election.
The president did not specify in a Truth Social post Friday night whether the cap would be imposed through executive action or legislation.
“Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be ‘ripped off’ by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%, and even more, which festered unimpeded during the Sleepy Joe Biden Administration. AFFORDABILITY!” President Trump posted.
“Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%. Coincidentally, the January 20th date will coincide with the one year anniversary of the historic and very successful Trump Administration,” he added.
Researchers who analyzed Trump’s campaign proposal found that Americans could save roughly $100 billion a year in interest payments if rates were capped at 10 percent. The same research concluded that while the credit card industry would face reduced profits, it would remain viable, though rewards programs and other benefits could be scaled back.
About 195 million Americans held credit cards in 2024 and paid approximately $160 billion in interest charges, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. U.S. consumers are carrying a record $1.23 trillion in credit card debt, based on New York Federal Reserve data from the third quarter of last year.
Average credit card interest rates currently range between 19.65 percent and 21.5 percent, according to the Federal Reserve and industry tracking firms. Rates have declined slightly over the past year as the Fed lowered benchmark rates, but remain near their highest levels since regulators began tracking the data in the mid-1990s. A decade ago, average rates were closer to 12 percent.
