Credit cards offered in conjunction with colleges, universities and affiliated organizations have continued to decline since the CARD Act was enacted in 2009, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a report today. The number of agreements between issuers and institutions has fallen 65 percent since then, while the total number of accounts has fallen by 58 percent.
Although new account figures continue to grow — by 12 percent overall since 2009 — the bureau noted that most of these new accounts fell under agreements between issuers and alumni associations and thus do not likely affect students.
The CARD Act requires issuers to report to the CFPB the terms of any agreements they enter into with colleges — and requires colleges to publicly disclose agreements they enter with card issuers. Taking a small sample of 20 colleges, the bureau said that only three provided copies of the agreements upon request.
