Detected in the CFPB-filed cardholder agreements from Merrick Bank. Verbatim quotes below — CardSleuth flags the language; this isn't legal advice.
Forced arbitration
You give up your right to sue in court — disputes are pushed into private arbitration.
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“…ion basis instead of Binding between you and us. Contacts with Borrowers under the Military any merchants with whom you use Lending Act. Arbitration. Binding Arbitration the Account, any credit reporting you about your Account are not means an arbitration proceeding unsolicited and might result from This section is an…”
“…or INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS You may address any inquiries or questions which you have about your Agreement). Claims regarding the applicability of this arbitration provision or the validity of the entire Agreement shall be resolved exclusively by arbitration except advance any fees or costs to the arbitration Administrato…”
You can't band together with other cardholders in a class action.
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“Merrick Bank Visa?? or MasterCard?? Cardholder Agreement THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS AN ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER. PLEASE SEE THE G-18233 AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE DISPUTES AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER SECTION BELOW FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. 06/2023 1. Welcome to Merrick B…”
“…NY 11804, or you may call us at 1-833-845-2200. If you contact us by telephone instead of that any challenge to the enforceability or validity of the class action waiver above shall be decided only by a court. Solely as used in this Arbitration Provision, This arbitration agreement applies to all Claims now in existen…”
You waive your right to have a dispute heard by a jury.
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“…ed by federal law and OR YOUR ACCOUNT. or expenses that we are required to court. In no event will a Claim for the internal laws of the State of Utah JURY TRIAL WAIVER: IF YOU pay by law or the Arbitration Rules or public injunctive relief be arbitrated. without regard to rules concerning OR WE ELECT TO ARBITRATE…”
“…essors, assigns and any other third party including use of (or advancement of any claims, defenses or offsets in) bankruptcy you owe. ARBITRATION AND WAIVER OF JURY TRIAL YOUR CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT WITH US about the Account and its users as the Account holders. Notice to you any person that provides services of a…”
The contract lets you reject arbitration (usually within a short deadline) and keep your right to sue.
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“…nnection with, any (the Arbitration Rules ). If the AAA purchasing, marketing, soliciting, ask for and that are acceptable to us Agreement carefully. You may reject is unable or unwilling to serve, and in our sole discretion. this Arbitration Agreement by notifying servicing, debt collecting, or credit we cannot…”
The intro rate was not broken out by credit tier — the issuer reported a single range.
Lowest offered0%
Median0%
Highest offered0%
Balance transfer APR
Promotional window: 12 months
The transfer rate was not broken out by credit tier — the issuer reported a single range.
Lowest offered0%
Median0%
Highest offered0%
Cash advance APR
No score
28.74%
≤619
28.74%
620–719
28.74%
720+
24.74%
Lowest offered24.49%
Median—
Highest offered28.99%
Every fee on this card
Annual feeNone
Balance transfer fee4% (min $5)
Cash advance fee5% (min $10)
Foreign transaction feeNone
Purchase transaction feeNone
Late fee$29
Repeat late fee (6 mo)$40
Over-limit feeNone
Minimum finance charge$1.50
Balance computationAverage daily balance including new purchases
Additional fees
Expedited delivery fee$29
Rewards, benefits and features
Rewards
Cashback rewards
Services
Access to Free Credit Scores
Other
Features
Contactless Payments
Chip card
Fee-free foreign transactions
Mobile wallet provisioning (for example, Apple Pay)
Who can get this card
AvailabilityNational
Membership requirementsYes
RequirementProfessional Affiliation
Affiliation: Educators
Balance transfer calculator
Stay put — 12 mo at 24%$600
Transfer fee (4%)$200
Promo interest at 0.00%$0
You save$400
Assumes you pay the balance down evenly across the 12-month promotional window, so the average outstanding balance is about half the transfer. Rates revert to 28.74% afterwards.
Cost to carry a balance
Interest for a year at 28.74%$862.20
Annual / periodic fees$0
Total yearly cost$862.20
Simple interest on a constant balance — a plain-language upper bound rather than an amortisation schedule. Paying in full each month within the 25-day grace period avoids the interest entirely.
Cardholder agreements
3 documents filed by Merrick Bank in the 2026 Q1 archive.