The Federal Reserve has just launched a new website designed to help consumers compare terms for more than 1,000 credit cards from more than 300 issuers.
“The database will help consumers compare credit card agreements and find a card that best suits their personal finance needs,” said a statement from the Fed.
As part of the CARD Act of 2009, all credit card issuers are now required to post the terms of their agreements on their respective websites. What the Fed’s new site does is put all these agreements in one place so consumers can look for a specific issuer’s agreement, or search all agreements for specific text.
Despite the quote from the Fed, the new site isn’t really helpful to the average consumer. It doesn’t, for example, make the language of these numbingly complex agreements easier to understand. It doesn’t list specific cards. And, most important, the new site doesn’t allow consumers to search for interest rates, fees, rewards or other critical information often used to make decisions.
For that type of information, consumers will still need to turn to online search engines like the one operated by Money Talks News.
If you want to read more about the Fed’s efforts, here’s an article from the New York Times.
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