Advocacy in the fee environment

What it's about

The credit card industry was under political and competition-law pressure due to interest rates, fees and the structure of the four-party market. Against this backdrop, we took on the advocacy for the credit card issuers over several years. The goal was to make the services of the issuers and the associated costs transparent and thereby increase understanding of the fees.

Challenge

The industry had to actively address complex and sensitive topics such as fee structures, the maximum interest rate and restrictions on advertising for default interest. This required continuous dialogue with politics, authorities, associations, NGOs and the public in order to build trust and safeguard the industry's reputation.

Result

We carried out comprehensive political monitoring, initiated economic studies on the costs in the credit card business and supported the dialogue with politics, associations and NGOs. As a result, the maximum interest rate for revolving credit in the Consumer Credit Act was set above the required level and looming advertising restrictions were averted through an industry convention.