New credit card regulations, some comfort to card holders

New credit card regulations that took effect nationwide Monday are comforting to card holders.

By Aaron Moselle

New credit card regulations that took effect nationwide Monday are comforting to card holders.

Credit card users will be protected from sudden upticks in interest rates and excessive fees.  They’ll also be able to see just how long it’ll take to pay off their balances if they pay only the minimum.

Josh Frank is a senior researcher with the Center for Responsible Lending. He says the law will give consumers confidence that card expenses will stay predictable in the future.

Josh Frank: It used to be the case that your interest rate and other terms would change in ways that were often surprising, and often there was little way out of it.

Under the new law, which President Obama signed, card companies must give 45 days’ notice before hiking rates.

Frank says many credit card companies fearing lost profits will turn to  new or higher fees. One possibility is a “inactivity” fee that could be charged to cardholders who don’ t use their cards.