Are Credit Card Interest Rate Caps Imminent?
By Robert Wilkins
February 6, 2026
In January, President Trump called on Congress to pass a law that would limit interest rates on credit cards to ten percent for one year. Originally calling for lawmakers to pass this law by January 20th, the President reiterated this demand on January 21st at the World Economic Forum in Davos, stating that this proposal would “help millions of Americans save for a home.”
This is not the first time a ten percent cap on credit card interest has been proposed, as a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate last year to limit interest rates for five years. That bill has not gained traction and remains in the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Given that there is at least some support for this type of legislation from lawmakers of both parties, and President Trump has shown an ability in his second term to unite his party for legislation that he wants passed, it begs the question of whether we may be on the verge of seeing credit card interest rates capped, at least for some limited period of time.
Of course, the pushback from financial institutions and credit card issuers has been swift and forceful. Bank and credit card company CEOs claim that a ten percent cap would lead to a significant reduction in access to credit for a large segment of current credit card account holders. In response to the President’s demand at Davos, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, also speaking at Davos, claimed that the credit card companies would not be the most hurt by this proposed policy, but rather, it would be many businesses that would see more missed payments, whether due to a consumer’s inability to pay by credit card due to account closures, or due to the fact that some consumers rely on access to credit to pay their expenses.
Since President Trump has proposed this policy, there does not appear to have been any significant movement by Congress to work towards writing a law that would implement an interest rate cap on credit cards. However, given the current political environment, where “affordability” is a consistent talking point from both sides of the political aisle, we should expect to continue to hear about proposals that will serve to reduce costs for consumers. It remains to be seen whether an interest rate cap will be one of the proposals that ultimately gets implemented.
About the Author
Robert Wilkins
Robert Wilkins is a Senior Associate Attorney at SW&M with experience in regulatory compliance, trust and decedent accounts, operational matters and cannabis banking. Robert was instrumental in creating the firm’s Cannabis Banking practice. Additionally, he co-authored SW&M’s California Trust Accounts […]
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