CFPB Proposes Change to Credit Card Ability to Pay Rules

Credit Cards TILA

On October 17, the CFPB proposed a rule to amend the current Regulation Z requirement that credit card issuers consider an applicant's independent ability to pay regardless of age. The current regulation, as amended by the Federal Reserve Board, and which took effect October 1, 2011, has received criticism from members of Congress and other stakeholders that the rule limits access to credit for stay-at-home spouses and partners. The CFPB's proposed revision would remove the ability to pay requirement for consumers who are twenty-one and older and permit issuers to consider income to which such consumers have a "reasonable expectation of access." The proposed rule would not change the independent ability to pay requirement for individuals under the age of twenty-one. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted for sixty days following publication in the Federal Register.