Washington, D.C.--A Government Accountability Office report indicates that providing additional minimum payment information on credit card monthly bills is possible and consumers with credit card balances would find the information useful. The study, assessing the feasibility and cost of requiring credit card companies to provide cardholders with customized minimum payment information, the usefulness of providing customized information to cardholders, and options for providing cardholders with customized or other information about the financial consequences of making minimum payments, was requested by Senators Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) and Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD).

The study found that the card issuers and processors have the technological capacity to provide cardholders with customized minimum payment information. The report indicated that "known estimated costs appear to be small relative to the income of the largest card issuers, which account for the vast majority of cardholders."

"Currently, credit card statements fail to include vital information that would allow individuals to make fully informed financial decisions," says Senator Akaka. "Additional disclosure is needed to ensure that individuals completely understand the implications of their credit card use and the costs of only making the minimum payments as determined by credit card companies."

Citing cardholder interviews, the GAO report states that "most who typically carry credit card balances (revolvers) found customized disclosures very useful and would prefer to receive them in their billing statements."

"Consumers should have the right to know how long it is going to take them to pay off their credit card debt and how much it is going to cost them above and beyond the cost of their initial purchases," added Sarbanes. "This important report reinforces the need for cooperation between a credit card company and a consumer to enable the consumer to make more informed choices as to whether they want to assume more debt. This report should be a guide for more responsible behavior by both creditors and debtors alike."

"This report confirms that provided credit card users with detailed, personalized information is possible and would help consumers make better debt management decisions," says Senator Akaka. "I will continue to work with consumer advocates, industry representatives, and my colleagues to ensure that consumers are provided with the detailed, personalized information that is needed to make better informed debt management decisions."

Senator Sarbanes is the Ranking Member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Senator Akaka is a long-time advocate of financial literacy education and the author of several related bills including S. 393, the Credit Card Minimum Payment Warning Act of 2005, which requires credit card companies to provide a minimum payment warning on monthly statements and information detailing the interest cost and the number of years it will take cardholders to repay their entire balance if they make only minimum payments.