Bloomberg
The Biden administration is moving to slash billions in credit-card late fees and calling on Congress to open up mobile app stores to greater competition, alleging that Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc. act as gatekeepers in ways that harm consumers and inflate prices.
President Joe Biden will announce the measures at a meeting Wednesday of his “competition council,” a group of cabinet officials and top aides assembled to ease the grip of corporate consolidation in key industries.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will formally propose a rule to cap late payment credit-card fees at $8, from an average now of roughly $30, and estimates the move will save consumers a total of $9 billion a year. The fees are applied to payments made even a few hours late and appear to be a source of profit rather than cost recovery, White House officials told reporters.