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American Express and Discover Financial Services are eliminating overlimit fees on consumer credit cards, in one of the first concrete examples of how a new law will restrict issuers' abilities to turn a profit.
August 7
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd renewed his support for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency on Monday, even as he declared a "victory" on credit card overlimit fees.
American Banker reported Monday that American Express Co. and Discover Financial Services will eliminate the fees they charge customers for exceeding their credit limits, rather than comply with a new law's "opt-in" restrictions on those fees.
In a news release Monday, Dodd called the issuers' decision "good news for credit card customers." But he said that other types of fees, including overdraft fees, still need to be reined in.
"Congress and the Federal Reserve can act on these problems as we discover them, but we need to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that makes looking out for problems like these their full time job," Dodd said in the release.
Dodd has called for the Fed to regulate overdraft fees by requiring consumers to opt in for overdraft protection.
