Find the best credit card offers online.In the event of two new laws becoming effective this year, college students and credit card companies in the State of Illinois would both have to confront new regulations and restrictions.
At the local level, the Credit Card Marketing Act of 2009 took effect last January 1. It is a state law which provides, among other things, a stricter regulation when it comes to “credit card marketing activity.”
This means that well-known marketing strategies such as “the act of placing a display or poster together with credit card applications on a campus of higher education” would be highly limited. This limitation would also basically revolve around “gifts and inducements” as defined by said Act.
Colleges and universities are now mandated not to knowingly tolerate activities “that involves the offer of gifts, coupons, or other tangible personal property to students” within their campuses. T-Shirts, gadgets and the like, which card issuers used to offer as free items in exchange for signing-up a credit card application are thus no longer permitted.
Non-disclosure rules have also taken effect. Alumni organizations, universities and other student groups are forbidden to disclose personal information of students who are below 21 years of age. Violators are set to be fined at least $1,000 per incident for any infraction of this provision.
Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias said in a press release that many young people do not have the financial know-how to manage money and thus fall victim to marketing tactics and become buried in debt. Earlier last year, Giannoulias was the one who drafted a version of the bill.
The Credit CARD Act of 2009, on the other hand, requires students to first obtain permission from their parents, spouse or legal guardian before they could own a credit card. Set to take full effect next month (February 22), the law basically provides more stringent requirements for consumers below 21 years of age to become a card holder. In order to forgo with the requirement of having said people to co-sign with them in a credit card contract, students must first show proof of income that they would be able to provide sufficient payments.
Both new laws have similarities in a way that both prohibit disclosure of agreements between students and universities as well as divulging personal information of undergraduates. It also makes illegal the act of using campus grounds to market credit cards. The provisions forbidding the use of items to be given away as inducement and as a marketing ploy are also somewhat similar. However, on top of this, though not mandated, universities are now well-advised that they also give financial education for students.
