Credit Card Fairness Act

This bill amends the Truth in Lending Act to limit credit card late fees for large issuers. It caps late fees at $8 for large credit card issuers (those with 1 million or more open accounts in the prior year), allows the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to increase the cap based on inflation, and requires any legal challenges to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Bureau must also publicly release research before rulemaking.

Sec. 3, Reasonable credit card late fees: The bill amends Section 149 of the Truth in Lending Act to require that when determining reasonable late fees, the Bureau must consider only the creditor's cost from the late payment. It adds a new subsection (f) that defines a large credit card issuer as one with 1 million or more open accounts in the preceding year. For such issuers, late fees cannot exceed $8 and must not exceed total costs, thus not contributing to profits. The Bureau may increase the $8 cap based on changes in the Consumer Price Index. Any legal challenge to this subsection or Bureau decisions must be brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Bureau must follow standard rulemaking procedures and publicly release research used to develop rules before the notice and comment period.