Price controls on credit cards sound good in theory—help people save money, right? But here's the thing: they rarely work the way policymakers hope. When governments cap what lenders can charge, the market doesn't just accept the rules and move on. Instead, you get creative workarounds. Banks start tightening credit standards, rewarding only the safest borrowers while leaving others out in the cold. Annual fees climb, rewards programs shrivel up, and the people who need credit most end up getting squeezed harder.
Looking at history, price caps in finance tend to backfire. Lenders compensate el