A consumer's ability to repay the credit limit under a credit card contract "should be assessed based on interest charged over the three-year period", ASIC declared yesterday.Kicking off a consultation period to make a draft determination law, ASIC dropped a review into credit card lending in Australia which found that 18.5 per cent of consumers are struggling with credit card debt. ASIC reviewed 21.4 million credit card accounts open between July 2012 and June 2017.ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said that "only a handful of credit providers take proactive steps to address persistent debt, low repayments or poorly suited products. "There are a number of failures by lenders to act in the interests of consumers and we expect them to respond swiftly to our findings. "We will be following up to ensure the problems we have identified are addressed, including public updates later this year."ASIC advised lenders "we think it would be good practice for the assessment to assume interest is accruing at the highest rate that applies under the credit card contract," not that this is all that novel."We understand that this is consistent with some current practices, including how some providers calculate their mandatory warnings about the effect of repeatedly making the minimum allowable repayment," ASIC said.ASIC analysed "approximately 20 million lines of data for 12 lenders representing approximately 21.4 million credit card accounts that were open during the five-year period."The regulator said it "asked each provider to respond to a qualitative survey. The survey contained 51 questions requesting information about:•    consumers and their cards;•    responsible lending;•    balance transfers; •    consumer repayments; and•    financial hardship. "Credit providers should develop tools to help consumers choose credit cards that reflect their actual needs and use," is one theme of the ASIC cards review."The tools provided should also cater as much as possible to known consumer biases that may affect product choice and use, as these biases can result in additional costs or risks of harm. "In our view, developing tools to encourage consumers to choose cards that align with actual needs and use is consistent with credit providers' obligations to engage in credit activities efficiently, honestly and fairly, as well as culture of prioritising consumers' interests."