Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada is pushing for the passage of a bill that would ban the issuance of pre-approved credit cards to individuals who did not apply for them.
“This is a debt trap. Banks and credit card companies must respect individuals’ rights to make decisions about their financial transactions,” he said.
Estrada filed Senate Bill No. 2952, or the Pre-Approved Credit Card Prohibition Act, to institutionalize the prohibition despite existing regulations from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
“There is something wrong with this practice, especially when a credit card user receives a pre-approved credit card without their consent,” he said.
The bill seeks to prohibit credit card providers from sending unsolicited credit cards, supplementary cards, or cards with additional features that are not replacements for existing ones.
The measure further aims to prevent credit card issuers from mailing credit cards that are considered accepted upon receipt without explicit consumer consent.
It would also ban making unsolicited calls offering credit cards as rewards for using other financial products or automatically issuing credit cards to depositors with good standing.
“Failure to prove consent means that the client cannot be bound by the terms and conditions of the credit card,” he reminded.
Violators of the proposed law would face escalating penalties, starting with a censure and a P300,000 fine for first offenses.
A second offense would lead to the suspension of the credit card issuer from BSP’s credit facilities and a fine of P500,000.
A third offense would result in the revocation of the issuer’s license to engage in the credit card business and a fine of P800,000.