The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009 (CARD) was a major piece of legislation signed into law on May 22, 2009. The Act was supposed to cause the credit card industry to make sweeping changes and alter the standard use of deceptive practices. “The new rules of the road established by the Credit Card Act will shield credit cardholders from widespread abusive practices,” Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the Bill’s author, said.

The changes would be made in two stages, the first effective in August 2009 and the last in February 2010. All of the law’s provisions can be read here. One extremely important thing to note, and a criticism why the law is extremely limited, is that it does not apply to business or corporate credit cards. Therefore, deceptive practices in the business arena will continue until legislation similar to the consumer act is proposed. There is a bill  (HR 3457) in the House right now which proposes to extend the Truth in Lending Act to small business credit cards, however, this bill was referred to committee last summer and has yet to see any other action.

As deceptive practices pervade the credit card industry, one action the business owner can take is to expect full transparency from his/her credit card processor. Anything less should be grounds for suspicion. To find a fully transparent processor, check out the marketplace of pre-screened processors on FeeFighters.com. Start and auction and have processors bid for your business with an average savings of 40%. We even offer complementary bill analysis of your current processor so as to see how much you’re actually paying and demystify hidden fees. Transparent Financial Services should be the standard practice and not the exception.

Image thanks to  http://www.flickr.com/photos/63583256@N00/4229010722/