Citizens for Equal Access to Credit is a diverse, national multicultural nonprofit coalition that is comprised of past and present low limit credit card customers, leading national minority organizations, providers of low limit credit cards, Chambers of Commerce, leading national small business associations, and groups and individuals from across the nation. For a list of our members click here

The coalition is dedicated to creating a positive dialogue between leading national organizations representing minorities and other key stakeholders to promote positive change in our credit market, conduct financial literacy education in underserved communities and provide information on the need protect access to credit in underserved communities.

New: Statement of Principals For Credit Card Reform

The Statement of Principles hopes to inform decision makers and the public about the sensitivities, goals and concerns of cardholders, minorities, and businesses regarding credit card reform. One of the key principles in the Statement is “The Federal Government should understand, and remain sensitive to, the reality that low limit cards represent a bridge to the economic mainstream for persons from underserved and unbanked communities.

• The Federal Government should understand, and remain sensitive to the reality that low limit cards represent a bridge to the economic mainstream for persons from underserved and unbanked communities.



• The Federal Government should understand that requiring otherwise qualified applicants to pay a significant portion of credit card fees upfront would have an adverse impact on access to credit for persons from underserved communities, as many of these individuals do not have the resources to pay fees in a “lump sum” upfront.



• The Federal Government should act to protect consumers by requiring credit providers to meet high standards in disclosing obligations to consumers and affording customers flexibility in making payments.However these efforts should be balanced to ensure that access to credit for minority and underserved communities is protected.

New: Code of Fair Practices for Credit Providers to Underserved Communities

The Code of Practices proposal for low limit credit providers is the product of a Virtual Summit on Minority Access to Credit held on August 21, 2008. The Summit was convened by CEAC to enable a direct dialogue between communities of interest and card issuers to discuss concerns and ideas for improving current practices with leading national organizations representing minorities, underserved communities and small businesses and past and current low limit credit card customers. The Code is designed to serve as a template for credit card industry reform.

• Clear disclosure in solicitations, applications and advertisements of the total of fees, total credit limit, and remaining available credit after fees are applied;



• Issuers should be able to provide disclosures in both English and Spanish and have bilingual customer service capability.



• Clear disclosure of consumer’s right to pay fees upfront or post fees to the account;



• Separate additional disclosure of total of fees and remaining available credit with fulfillment kit accompanying the card;



• Clear disclosure of consumer’s right to full and immediate refund if consumer changes mind after receiving card and the separate fee/credit limit disclosure;



• Reporting of the account payment experience to all 3 major credit reporting agencies; and



• No reporting to credit reporting agencies if consumer changes mind and opts for a refund (or alternatively, report account as closed at consumer’s request).



• Clear disclosure of the total fees, total credit limit, and remaining available credit after fees are applied;



• Clear disclosure of consumer’s right to pay fees upfront or post fees to the account; and



• No finance charges on fees posted to the account, provided initial payments could be applied to repay the fees.