NEW YORK–American Express has moved to raise its fees slightly on late payments.
Effective in January, American Express said it will charge its cardholders as much as $38 if they are late on more than one payment in a six-month period. That is a $1 increase over its current highest fee.
The increase coincides with updated guidelines from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that also go into effect in January and which allow the slightly higher cap. Late fees were capped by the Card Act, which was passed in 2009.
The Wall Street Journal reported that “AmEx has good reason to focus on such fees since its revenue growth has been under some pressure and its business is more concentrated on cards than other big banks…”
In a statement, American Express said,
There are business costs associated with not paying on time, and late fees are intended to recapture some of that cost.”
The company added that a “very small number” of its customers miss two payments over a six-month period.
The CFPB reported that approximately 20% of active credit card accounts incur a late fee, according to the CFPB.