American Express agreed to pay $112.5 million to resolve charges from banking regulators that it engaged in illegal card practices, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The company charged unlawful late fees, misled consumers on debt collection issues and discriminated against new account applicants on the basis of age between 2003 and 2012, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other federal regulators. The card company will pay $85 million to about 250,000 consumers via a check or a credit in their accounts by March, the CFPB said Monday. In addition to paying customers refunds, American Express is required to pay $27.5 million in penalties: a $14.1 million fine to the CFPB, $3.9 million to the FDIC, $9 million to the Federal Reserve and $500,000 to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
