By Gao Yun
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, Jan. 9, that he is calling for a one-year cap of 10 percent on credit card interest rates starting Jan. 20, 2026.
“Starting Jan. 20, 2026, as President of the United States, I am calling for a one-year cap of 10 percent on credit card interest rates,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We will no longer allow the American public to be ‘slaughtered’ by credit card companies.”
Trump put forward a similar pledge during the 2024 campaign. In September of that year, he told a group of supporters at Nassau Coliseum: “As America’s working class struggles to catch up, we will impose a temporary cap on credit card interest rates.”
This campaign promise came just one month after the average credit card interest rate surged to a record 21.76 percent in August 2024. At the time, some analysts were skeptical, arguing that such a policy would require approval from Congress to be implemented.
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Currently, lawmakers from both the Democratic and Republican parties have expressed concern about high credit card interest rates and have called for action. Republicans now hold narrow majorities in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Although there have previously been legislative attempts in Congress to advance similar proposals, those efforts have not yet become law.
Some banking industry advocacy groups have publicly voiced opposition. In a joint statement, they said that a 10 percent interest-rate cap would “reduce access to credit” and “only force consumers toward less-regulated, higher-cost alternatives.”
The statement was jointly issued by the Consumer Bankers Association, the Bank Policy Institute, the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Forum, and the Independent Community Bankers of America.
Meanwhile, bipartisan efforts in Congress to promote an “interest-rate cap” have also emerged.
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri previously introduced bipartisan legislation proposing to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent for five years.
In the House of Representatives, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna of Florida also proposed a bill to set a 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates.
Under Trump’s administration, as of last November, the average credit card interest rate had fallen to just under 21 percent, at 20.97 percent.
