The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has quietly submitted a new Request for Information on "Credit Card Late Fees and Late Payments" to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for interagency review, according to Consumer Finance Monitor. The filing is the first formal step toward a possible new rule — and it’s a notable reversal from an agency that spent the past year walking away from Biden-era late-fee regulation.
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What happened
An RFI is typically the opening move in a rulemaking process: an agency asks for data and public comment before deciding whether to propose a rule at all. The CFPB, now led by Acting Director Russell Vought, had spent 2025 pulling back from a March 2024 final rule that would have slashed the safe-harbor late fee for large card issuers from $30 for a first violation ($41 for repeat violations) down to $8 — a change the agency projected would save consumers roughly $10 billion a year, per Consumer Finance Monitor’s reporting.
That 2024 rule never took effect. Banking trade groups sued immediately, arguing it amounted to unlawful price control, and after the change in administration the CFPB stopped defending it in court. The parties agreed to vacate the rule in 2025, leaving the old $30/$41 framework — with annual inflation adjustments — back in place.
Now the same agency that abandoned that fight is asking for new data on the same topic. American Banker and PYMNTS both flagged the RFI this week, with one analyst quoted suggesting it could be a way for the administration "to send voters a message on ‘affordability’ ahead of the midterms."
Why it matters
An RFI is not a rule. The CFPB itself has not signaled a new late-fee cap is imminent — this is an information-gathering step, and it could go nowhere. But it does mean late fees on business and consumer credit cards are back on a federal regulator’s radar for the first time since the 2024 rule was scrapped.
For businesses carrying balances on business credit cards, the current $30/$41 safe-harbor structure (adjusted annually for inflation) is still the operative rule. Nothing changes today.
What this means for small business owners
If your business runs any float on a business credit card — common for covering payroll gaps, inventory purchases, or seasonal cash flow — a missed or late payment under today’s rules can cost significantly more than it would have under the vacated 2024 rule. That’s a good prompt to revisit two things now, regardless of where the CFPB’s new inquiry lands:
- Autopay minimum payments on every business card, even if you plan to pay the full balance manually. It caps your late-fee exposure to zero while you wait to see whether this rulemaking goes anywhere.
- Track your effective APR + fee cost, not just the advertised rate, when comparing business card offers. Late-fee policy is one more variable that can shift under a new rulemaking cycle, and a card with a lower headline rate isn’t always cheaper once fees are counted.
The vacated 2024 rule would have cut the safe-harbor late fee from $30 (first violation) / $41 (repeat) down to $8 — a change the CFPB projected would have saved consumers about $10 billion a year. (Consumer Finance Monitor)
The bottom line
Nothing about your business credit card terms changes today. But the CFPB reopening its late-fee file is worth a calendar note — if this RFI turns into a proposed rule later this year, it could reshape a real, recurring cost line for any business that runs balances on plastic. Worth revisiting your card terms and payment automation now rather than reacting later.
