College Credit: Card Deals Drop Among Issuers, Universities

Credit card issuers are gaining fewer accounts from U.S. colleges.

That was the finding of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) report indicating that the number of new accounts opened through colleges, alumni groups and foundations dropped to 43,010; down 7 percent from the previous year.

Some other troubling stats from issuers: the number of agreements between card companies and U.S universities fell 21 percent, to 798, and nationwide payments by issuers to colleges dropped 15 percent to just $62 million.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the source of this downfall is the 2009 Credit Card Accountability Responsibility & Disclosure (CARD) Act, which limits actions issuers can take when encouraging product enrollment. For example, the CARD act disallows giving gifts to encourage students to apply for cards, and requires issuers to annually disclose their agreements.

The Penn State Alumni Association made the largest agreement last year, grabbing $2.7 million from Bank of America. The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan was second, while the University of Southern California was third. FIA Card Services, a BOA subsidiary, came in first among issuers, while U.S. Bank and Capital One finished second and third among issuer payments.

For more on the effect the CARD act has had on college credit cards, and a complete list of the Top 10 agreements, read here.