The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act of 2009)

I wonder how many people know how this “Act of Congress” affects them. This affects all loans, not just credit cards. How does this help the little guy? Probably just another bill that no one read because it was too big to read.

This is a statement from my company's credit union:

Recently Congress approved a new regulation called The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Credit CARD Act of 2009). This act requires lenders to mail or deliver periodic statements for credit cards and other open-end loans at least 21 days before a payment is due.

To comply with this and other requirements of the new law, AHCU must implement the following:

• Delivery of a monthly Statement 21 days prior to your loan due date.
• A uniform monthly due date. All open-ended loans will have a uniform monthly due date of the 28th, beginning the month of October.

For all loans, except Home Equity and Overdraft Line of Credits, if your payments are made by payroll deduction, ACH automatic draft, automatic transfer from your checking or savings account, or any other payment arrangements that may have specific due dates, those payment dates will not change; however, the payment amount may need to adjusted to an amount that will be the equivalent of the minimum monthly payment due. This will only affect those who are currently paying on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Line of Credits (HELOC and Overdraft) do not have a standard payment, rather a percentage of your balance is due each month requiring that all payments to be changed to a monthly payment.