US consumers and the banking industry are facing a season of upheaval as President Donald Trump’s surprise call to cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, starting January 20, 2026, sent shockwaves through financial markets and reignited fierce debate about credit access and consumer protection. Trump’s proposal, announced via a Truth Social post on January 10, 2026, has already triggered a tumble in the share prices of major credit card companies and banks, while also drawing attention to the ongoing risks consumers face from payment scams, especially as digital tools like Zelle become ever more popular.
"Effective January 20, 2026, I, as President of the United States, am calling for a one year cap on Credit Card Interest Rates of 10%," Trump declared. "Please be informed that we will no longer let the American Public be 'ripped off' by Credit Card Companies." The announcement, according to BBC, immediately rattled markets. American Express shares dropped 4% in early trading, while Visa and Mastercard each fell more than 2%. Barclays, which has a substantial US credit card operation, saw its London-listed shares slip 1.9% by the end of trading.
On January 12, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump doubled down, warning, "credit card companies would be 'in violation of the law' if they did not comply with the 10% cap." Yet, the mechanics of how such a cap would be enforced remain murky, with analysts and legal experts pointing out that executive action alone would likely face stiff legal challenges from the powerful banking industry.
For context, the average US credit card interest rate as of 2026 hovers around 20%, according to Federal Reserve data. Nearly half of American households carried credit card debt in 2022, with the average balance exceeding $6,000. That means, at current rates, many families are shelling out roughly $100 a month just in interest. The pain of these high rates has made the idea of a cap attractive to a diverse range of lawmakers—including progressive stalwart Bernie Sanders and populist Republican Josh Hawley, who introduced a bipartisan bill to cap rates at 10% for five years. But as of January 2026, that legislation has stalled in Congress.
Banking associations have responded with alarm, warning that capping rates so drastically would "reduce credit availability and be devastating for millions of American families and small businesses who rely on and value their credit cards, the very consumers this proposal intends to help." In a joint statement, five US banking bodies argued, "If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives." Matt Britzman, a senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, echoed these concerns, telling Reuters, "Most banks would respond by cutting credit limits, closing riskier accounts, and scaling back rewards programmes, because they simply couldn't cover losses at that price point."
Despite the uncertainty over implementation, Trump’s move has found some unlikely allies. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a longtime advocate for stricter financial regulation, said on X, "Begging credit card companies to play nice is a joke. I said a year ago if Trump was serious I'd work to pass a bill to cap rates. Since then, he's done nothing but try to shut down the CFPB [Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]." The CFPB, created after the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from abusive financial practices, has itself been a political football, with the Trump administration previously seeking to curtail its powers.
The debate over credit card interest rates comes at a time when consumers are also grappling with the risks of digital payment scams. According to a 2024 report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, US bank customers lost over $870 million to scams over just seven years, much of it through person-to-person payment platforms like Zelle. The appeal of Zelle is clear: it’s fast, convenient, and widely used for everything from splitting dinner checks to paying rent. But, as NBC 7 San Diego reports, its very speed and irreversibility have made it a favorite tool for scammers—especially when payments are sent to people met through social media.
Banks have responded with a patchwork of new security measures and warnings. Chase, for example, no longer allows customers to send Zelle payments to contacts made through social media, after finding that about half of all reported scams began there. The bank now asks customers questions about the nature of their payments and may block transactions based on their answers. "Zelle is designed for sending money to others you know and trust, not for buying things on social media. We've updated the language in our Terms and Conditions to help our customers protect themselves from scams that overwhelmingly originate from contact through social media platforms," a Chase spokesperson told NBC 7.
Citibank has introduced multiple layers of protection, including requiring customers to complete fraud attestations and reconfirm recipient names before sending money. The bank also sends out educational emails to help customers recognize and avoid scams. Bank of America, meanwhile, issues a series of pop-up warnings during Zelle transactions, alerting clients to potential red flags and reminding them to only send money to people they know personally.
Wells Fargo has set up a dedicated Online Security Center and provides customers with reminders that Zelle payments are immediate and often irreversible. When sending money to a new recipient, customers see a prompt displaying the legally registered name of the account owner, giving them a chance to double-check before they send. "We’ll never ask you to pay anyone, including yourself. Once you send this payment, you can’t cancel it," the bank warns.
US Bank and USAA have also stepped up their efforts, using pop-up notifications, educational campaigns, and transaction monitoring to help customers avoid falling victim to scams. USAA, in particular, focuses on "in-the-moment educational prompts" and ongoing adaptation to new fraud tactics. As a spokesperson put it, "We continue to evolve our protections as fraud tactics change, combining education, monitoring, and ongoing enhancements to help safeguard our members’ money."
Capital One, for its part, did not respond to media inquiries about its Zelle security measures, while Zelle itself referred customers to its website for safety tips. Across the board, the advice remains consistent: only send money to people you know and trust. If you believe you’ve been scammed, experts recommend contacting your bank immediately, filing a police report, and notifying authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission.
All of this comes against the backdrop of a shifting regulatory environment. In April 2025, the Trump administration moved to repeal a regulation that capped credit card late fees at $8—a rule introduced by the Biden administration as part of a broader crackdown on "junk fees." This reversal has added fuel to the ongoing debate about how best to protect consumers without stifling credit or innovation.
As the dust settles from Trump’s latest salvo against high credit card rates, it’s clear that both consumers and the banking industry are bracing for further turbulence. Whether the proposed cap becomes law or not, the underlying issues of credit access, consumer protection, and digital security are likely to remain front and center in America’s financial conversation for some time.
