President Trump has announced that Visa cash back credit card rewards can soon be deposited into Trump Accounts, thanks to a new platform. Say what now?!
Visa partners with Trump on credit card rewards
Today, Trump announced Visa is creating a new platform that will allow credit card holders to deposit their cash back rewards directly into Trump Accounts. Here’s how Trump explained this development, during an announcement:
“I’m pleased to announce that Visa is creating a brand new platform which will allow credit card holders to deposit their cash back rewards directly into Trump Accounts. That’s a big deal. Where’s the head of Visa? Thank you very much, Visa.”
“These initiatives couldn’t come at a better moment, because there’s never been a better time to invest in the United States of America than right now. Who knew it would’ve happened this fast? I inherited a mess, we were a country that was laughed at a year and a half ago, we were laughed at, now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world, nobody even close, so who knew this was going to take place this quickly?”
Wait, what on earth are Trump Accounts?
What’s actually going on here? The “Trump Accounts” branding makes this sound like you’re depositing money directly into Trump’s account, or something, or like he’s launching a bank. Or like you’re buying Trump or Melania meme coins…
However, that’s not quite what’s going on here. Here’s the explanation of Trump Accounts on the IRS website:
The Working Families Tax Cuts allows parents, guardians and other authorized individuals to establish a new type of individual retirement account for their children, called Trump Accounts. The account is for a child who has not turned age 18 before the end of the calendar year in which the election is made and has a valid Social Security number.
The account features a pilot program contribution of $1,000 for children born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, and who are U.S. citizens with a valid Social Security number.
So branding aside, the idea is that this is just a savings account for kids, and for a limited time, newly born children can receive a contribution of $1,000. The idea is that you can contribute your credit card rewards to grow this account.
That’s actually not a radical concept, as there are even several credit cards that specifically are intended to contribute to savings accounts for children. Of course the branding here will no doubt be controversial, though.
So yeah, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this, and it seems like a fine initiative. I’m not sure it’ll prove that popular, but giving people more options to contribute credit card cash back toward a savings account for children is a win-win.
I will say, I am curious how this plays into Trump’s threats to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. He said he’d require that for a year, and that if credit card companies don’t comply, they’d be “in violation of the law.” It seems like not a whole lot has come of that, so I wonder if Visa getting onboard with the Trump Accounts concept is intended as a way to smooth things over.
Bottom line
Visa cardmembers will soon be able to deposit their cash back credit card rewards into Trump Accounts, which are savings accounts for children. Giving cardmembers more options to contribute cash back to their savings accounts for children seems like a good thing. I’m not sure this will move the needle much on anything, since it’s not like people couldn’t have done that before, but…
What do you make of this new Visa Trump Accounts concept?
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