COLLEGE STUDENTS STILL UNDER SIEGE FROM BANKS ON CAMPUS

Media Contacts
Chris Lindstrom

U.S. PIRG

WASHINGTON, DC —   In response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s annual report detailing campus credit card agreements, the U.S. PIRG Higher Education Program Director Christine Lindstrom said:

“College students are the recipients of billions in financial aid yearly, and financial institutions act aggressively to access those dollars.   From over-the-top marketing tactics, to revenue-sharing agreements with colleges, to fees that are hard to avoid, banks make it tough for students in the campus marketplace.   Today’s report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau demonstrates that the financial deals between banks and colleges that accommodate students are still not transparent enough to ensure them the consumer protections they deserve under law.

“Worse, financial institutions avoid the strict rules for marketing credit cards on campus laid out in the law and have moved toward offering campus checking accounts and prepaid cards to students that carry little consumer protections.

“College students need protections from the onslaught of banks and financial institutions clamoring for market share on campus.   The CFPB’s report makes it clear that colleges must do more to disclose their campus credit card and debit card agreements.   Additionally, U.S. PIRG calls on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to do more to enforce existing campus credit card law.   And finally, U.S. PIRG urges the U.S. Department of Education to strengthen consumer protections in the campus debit card marketplace by issuing a strong new rule in area.”

Topics