Aggressive late fee policies by credit card issuers may drive more consumers to utilize direct debit for recurring payments and point-of-sale transactions. The Atlanta-based Direct Deposit and Direct Payment Coalition released a survey last week that found 35% of U.S. cardholders have been late with major credit card payments at least once. The poll also found that 19% had been late on car loan payments, and 17% were late with payments to gas station or department store accounts. The Coalition is gearing up to educate consumers about the consequences of late payments on personal credit ratings and the benefits of using direct payments for credit card payments. The group says about 35% of the FICOŽ score is based on payment history. The Direct Deposit and Direct Payment Coalition is composed of the Federal Reserve, NACHA, and regional ACH associations. For more information visit www.directdeposit.org/.