CFPB Director Richard Cordray, CFPB Associate Director Steve Antonakes and a panel of financial industry experts and consumer advocates convened in Chicago on October 2nd to discuss credit, debit, and payroll card issues. Director Cordray announced the release of a CFPB Credit CARD Act report and summarized lingering concerns in the card marketplace, such as hidden fees and “surprise” interest rate increases. Notably, Cordray also reported that overall consumer satisfaction with credit cards has increased, and that the number of cardholders under the age of twenty-five has been halved since the CARD Act was implemented.

Cordray and the consumer advocates on the panel mainly focused on a number of other perceived problems in the card industry: (1) add-on products that are deceptively advertised, (2) upfront fees that exceed 25% of a credit card's limit (which are exempt from the current restrictions on credit card fees if paid before the account opening), (3) deferred interest products, particularly those that carry the possibility of retroactive interest, (4) transparency concerns, (5) disclosures for reward products, and (6) bill payment grace periods and their effect on interest charges. Watch the full video of the hearing here.