The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday gave a final approval to a landmark credit card bill that will eliminate sudden interest rate increases and excessive fees to protect millions of consumers.

The 361-64 vote, following a 95-5 vote in the Senate on Tuesday, ensured that President Barack Obama could sign it into law by week's end.

"This cements a victory for every American consumer who has ever suffered at the hands of a credit card company," said Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate's Banking Committee.

"Many Americans depend on credit cards to get by in this economy, and today they have won a giant victory that ensures they are protected from practices that would drive them further into debt, while also making our economy stronger," he said.

The legislation requires those under 21 who seek a credit card to prove first that they can repay the money or that a parent or guardian is willing to pay off their debt if they default.

Consumers would have to be notified of rate increases 45 days in advance. And companies could not charge a late fee if they were late processing a payment.

As millions of credit card holders struggle with high balances amid a deep recession, President Obama has been pushing for more actions to give consumers greater protections.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday that the bill will help create "a more fair, transparent and simple consumer credit market."

Credit card companies, however, have argued that new regulations may make economic situation even worse by shrinking lenders' ability, resulting in less credit available to consumers at just the wrong time.

"What has been a short-term revolving unsecured loan will now become a medium-term unsecured loan, which is significantly more risky," said Edward Yingling, president and CEO of American Bankers Association.

"It is a fundamental rule of lending that an increase in risk means that less credit will be available and that the credit that is available will often have a higher interest rate," he said on Tuesday.

Almost 80 percent of U.S. households have credit cards. Credit-card debt has increased by 25 percent in the past 10 years, reaching 963 billion dollars by January, according to figures released by the White House.

(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2009)