Credit cards offered in conjunction with colleges, universities and affiliated organizations have continued to decline since the CARD Act was enacted in 2009, the CFPB said in a report yesterday. 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.
The number of agreements between issuers and institutions has fallen from 1,045 in 2009 to 179, while the total number of accounts open at the end of 2020 has fallen from over 2 million to just over 546,000. The bureau noted that agreements with alumni associations dominate the market, and that a majority of accounts opened at the end of 2020—385,000—were issued under these types of agreements and thus do not likely affect students.
