The standoff exposes the limits of presidential authority over consumer lending rates: the Dodd-Frank Act bars at least one federal bank regulator from setting usury caps on loans, and no executive order or legislation has been issued to back the demand. Without either, analysts and lobbyists say the White House would be relying on the same political pressure Trump has deployed against other industries.

With President Donald Trump’s self-imposed Jan. 20 deadline for a 10% credit card interest rate cap days away, banks, consumer advocates, and members of Congress remained uncertain Friday about what the White House has planned — or whether any enforcement mechanism exists. The White House has not specified what consequences, if any, credit card companies will face if they decline to comply.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump has “an expectation” that credit card companies will accede to the demand, but stopped short of identifying any specific penalties.

“I don’t have a specific consequence to outline for you but certainly this is an expectation and frankly a demand that the president has made,” Leavitt said Friday.

Research amplified by the White House found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest per year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same research found the credit card industry would take a significant financial hit but would remain profitable, though rewards programs and other perks could be scaled back.

A substantial legal barrier stands between Trump’s demand and any regulatory action. The Dodd-Frank Act, enacted following the 2008 financial crisis, explicitly prohibits at least one federal bank regulator from setting usury limits on loans. Bills to cap credit card rates have been introduced in both chambers of Congress by members of both parties, but House and Senate Republican leadership have been cool to the idea of passing such a law.

Without legislation or an executive order, the pressure campaign may rely on the same approach Trump has used with other industries. He demanded pharmaceutical companies cut drug prices, which produced pledges from some chief executives. He demanded chipmakers and tech companies move production to the United States, which led companies including Apple to commit to additional domestic manufacturing capacity.

Bank lobbyists said they spent much of the past week trying to determine what the White House has planned and received no clear answers.

Banks signal resistance while leaving room to negotiate

Wall Street has limited appetite for a direct confrontation with the White House, particularly given the benefits banks have drawn from the administration’s deregulatory posture. The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law in July, delivered another significant round of tax cuts, and reduced regulation spurred a surge in dealmaking that generated substantial investment banking fees.

JPMorgan Chase Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Barnum, speaking on a call with reporters Tuesday, indicated the industry was prepared to use all resources available to oppose a rate cap. JPMorgan is among the nation’s largest credit card lenders, with customers collectively holding $239.4 billion in card balances. The bank holds co-brand partnerships with United Airlines and Amazon, and recently acquired the Apple Card portfolio from Goldman Sachs.

Citigroup Chief Financial Officer Mark Mason told reporters Wednesday that a cap “is not something we could or would support,” arguing it would restrict consumer credit and harm the economy. But Mason signaled openness to talks.

“Affordability is a big issue, and we look forward to collaborating with the administration on ways we can address this,” Mason said.

Trump has extended his pressure on the card industry beyond rate caps, endorsing legislation in Congress that could reduce the interchange fees banks collect from merchants each time a customer uses a credit card.

One fintech moves without waiting

Not every company is waiting for the administration’s next step. Fintech company Bilt launched a new set of credit cards this week and announced it would cap customers’ interest rates at 10% on new purchases for one year — effectively a promotional rate of the kind other card issuers have offered in the past, but framed explicitly around the White House demand.

“If (a credit card rate cap) is going to happen, we’d rather be at the forefront,” Ankur Jain, Bilt’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.

The move offered one model for how the card industry might respond to the White House’s demands without fundamentally restructuring its business.