On March 5, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its long-awaited final rule capping credit card late fees at $8 for only the largest credit card issuers. The 338-page final rule applies only to credit card issuers with more than 1 million open accounts. Larger card issuers will be able to charge fees above the $8 threshold if they can prove the higher fee is necessary to cover their actual collection costs. The final rule stipulates that annual adjustments to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) do not apply to the $8 amount. The effective date of the final rule will be 60 days after publication of the rule in the Federal Register.

The largest credit card issuers account for more than 95% of total outstanding credit card balances. The CFPB stated the final rule will save cardholders more than $10 billion in late fees by reducing the typical fee from $32 to $8.

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