Chase Expands Clear & Simple Plan to Empower And Educate Customers on Smart Credit Use
Ten-point plan includes $10 incentive to help customers pay on time, avoid fees and maintain their best interest rate
WILMINGTON, DE (June 6, 2007) - Today, Chase Card Services announced the expansion of Chase Clear & Simple, an ongoing program designed
to help Chase customers better understand and manage their accounts, with 10 consumer-friendly initiatives. In addition, Chase is launching an online
site, www.chaseclearandsimple.com that will feature tools and information to empower customers.
In creating the suite of Chase Clear & Simple materials, the company wants to increase transparency with easy-to-understand
communications and empower cardmembers to make smart choices with tools that will help them more effectively control credit card accounts and avoid
the fees they don't want to pay.
"Through extensive research, we listened to what consumers had to say, and more than one in five tell us that when choosing a new credit card,
easy-to-understand terms and rules was a very important selection criteria for them," said Carter Franke, marketing executive, JP Morgan Chase.
"More than half of consumers also believe that a credit card company should be proactive in contacting them with advice if they make late payments,
exceed their credit limits or exhibit other behavior that could get them into financial difficulty."
The Chase Clear & Simple program offers 10 initiatives:
Incentives to Pay on Time & Avoid Fees: This summer, Chase will offer cardmembers a $10 credit when they sign-up for
helpful tools like free alerts, auto-pay and online statements so that they can more easily manage their accounts, avoid late fees and preserve
their best rates.
Proactive Outreach: Because Chase wants to help its customers stay out of financial trouble, Chase is proactively sending
letters, e-mails or phone calls to customers who are showing signs of financial stress, and even before they get behind on their payments, to offer
solutions and custom payment strategies.
Choose Your Due Date: Chase customers can select their own payment due date, choosing the date that is most convenient for
them.
Over-Limit Controls: Customers can protect their accounts against over-limit fees by adding customized "controls" to
their accounts that contain their spending within their credit limit.
Military Shouldn't Pay Extra Price: Chase knows that military members sacrifice greatly to serve their country and wants to
make managing Chase accounts especially easy for customers making that commitment. Chase has a history of going above and beyond federal law in
its treatment of military customers, such as reducing interest rates on all balances - including those incurred after going on active duty - and
not charging late or over-limit fees on those accounts.
Helping Those Who Are New to Credit: Chase is committed to helping first-time users of credit cards - especially college
students - learn how to use credit responsibly. To help them pay on time, the company has a range of programs to remind them of due dates, let them
know if a payment is late and offer advice on how to manage their credit card use.
Simplified Cardmember Communications: Chase has designed an ongoing series of communications to help cardmembers easily
understand and control their credit card accounts and avoid fees. For example, Chase is testing a new card "user's guide" that lays out the rules
for credit card use in clear and simple language so that customers understand what responsible credit use means. A communication has already gone
to about 30 million cardmembers outlining for them - in plain language - tools and tips on avoiding fees and keeping their accounts in good
standing.
Chase Clear & Simple Web Site: The Chase Clear & Simple Web site
(www.chaseclearandsimple.com) provides consumers with tips and information to help them better manage their personal
finances and easy-to-use tools that empower customers to use credit cards wisely.
Payment & Budget Calculators: Chase offers a variety of free payment and budget calculators on its Web site to help
with a wide range of financial planning, including a payment calculator that will allow consumers to calculate the length of time it will take to
pay off any credit card balance.
Rate Reset: Even though 92 percent of Chase customers start and end the year with the same or better interest rate,
Chase offers a solution for those customers who have slipped and made a few late payments. If a customer signs up for automatic payment and makes
on-time payments for 12 consecutive months, Chase will ensure that the customer's rate is reset to the lower, original non-promotional rate.
Today's 10 actions represent the next phase in a series of Clear & Simple initiatives Chase began in March. These initiatives are
organized around three central themes guiding Chase's programs and policies:
Tools to Empower Customers, including free alerts and proactive outreach to customers experiencing financial difficulty.
Financial Literacy and Education, including student-focused financial education materials and a new $3.9 million grant
program designed to help support financial literacy efforts for people of all ages.
Clearer Communication of Terms and Conditions, including new easy-to-understand supplemental materials for customers and
outreach to consumer advocacy groups for additional input and suggested improvements.
"We believe that providing consumers with information and easy-to-use tools that empower them to effectively control their credit card accounts
is smart business," Franke said. "Our best customers are those who are knowledgeable and responsible. When our customers succeed, so
do we."
About Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.4 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries.
The company has more than 140 million credit cards issued. Under the Chase and JPMorgan brands, the firm serves millions of consumers in the United States
and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients. Information about the firm is available at
www.jpmorganchase.com.
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