Bank Accounts & Fees
Checking and savings accounts, bank fee changes, high-yield accounts, CD rates, neobanks, and policy changes that affect your money.
Latest in Bank Accounts & Fees
Overdraft fees have mostly vanished at big banks, now capped near $5 to $10
Millions of checking-account holders who once faced $35 overdraft penalties at the largest U.S. banks now stand to pay no more than $5 to $10...
A free state search can reunite you with forgotten bank accounts, paychecks and deposits held as unclaimed property
Forgotten bank accounts, uncashed paychecks and dormant deposits are sitting in state custody right now, waiting for their rightful owners to file a free claim....
Your bank deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, and spreading money across banks covers more
Anyone holding more than $250,000 in a single bank account risks losing the excess if that institution fails. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation sets the...
Naming a payable-on-death beneficiary moves a bank account to heirs without probate
Bank account holders who die without a payable-on-death designation in place can leave their heirs waiting months for a probate court to release funds, even...
Congress killed the $5 overdraft cap, and $225 in yearly savings vanished
Households that regularly overdraw their bank accounts lost a projected $225 in annual savings on May 9, 2025, when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s overdraft...
Your bank deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, and spreading money across banks covers more
Anyone with more than $250,000 in a single bank account faces a real risk if that institution fails: the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will cover...
Cardholders and merchants have until July 15 to claim a share of American Express’s $250 million card-fee deal
Cardholders who paid fees on non-rewards American Express credit cards or debit cards in certain states now face a July 15 deadline to file claims...
Who can still get a check from Capital One’s $425 million settlement? Anyone who held a 360 Savings account from 2019 to 2025.
Millions of Capital One customers who watched their savings account interest rates stagnate while the bank promoted higher yields on a nearly identical product now...
Banks can again charge about $35 per overdraft after Congress repealed the fee cap, and a court tossed the $8 late-fee limit
Consumers at the largest U.S. banks face a return to roughly $35 overdraft charges after Congress nullified the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rule that would...
Denied a checking account? Dispute the errors on your free ChexSystems report
Consumers across the United States who walk into a bank expecting to open a simple checking account can find themselves turned away for reasons they...
A payable-on-death beneficiary on a bank account skips probate entirely
When a bank account holder dies with a payable-on-death designation in place, the named beneficiary can walk into the branch with a death certificate and...
Report a lost debit card within two days and your fraud liability is capped at $50; wait longer and it can hit $500
Anyone who has ever lost a debit card knows the sinking feeling of checking a bank balance and finding charges they never made. Federal law...
You can tell your bank to turn off overdraft coverage so a $5 debit-card purchase can’t trigger a $35 fee
A single debit-card swipe for coffee or gas can still cost a bank customer $35 in overdraft fees, but federal rules give consumers a straightforward...
$250,000 per person is FDIC-insured at each bank, so spread cash to cover more
Anyone holding more than $250,000 in a single bank account faces a straightforward risk: the amount above that threshold is not federally insured. The Federal...
The average U.S. savings account still pays just 0.38%, while top online accounts now pay around 5%
Tens of millions of American savers are earning a fraction of what their money could generate. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation set the national deposit...
Ten banks now charge no overdraft fee at all, as the average fee falls to about $27
Checking-account holders at ten U.S. banks now pay nothing when they overdraw their accounts, a shift that has pulled the national average overdraft fee down...
Top online banks now pay over 4%, more than ten times the average savings account
Savers who keep their money in a typical bank account are earning roughly one-tenth of what top online competitors now offer. The FDIC’s March 2026...
Naming a payable-on-death beneficiary on a bank account lets the money skip probate and reach your heirs in days
Families who lose a loved one often wait months, sometimes longer, for probate courts to release even basic bank-account funds. A payable-on-death designation, recorded directly...
Banks are dangling $200 to $400 cash bonuses to open a new checking account, a quick win most people skip
Most Americans already have a bank account, yet dozens of banks are offering cash bonuses of $200 to $400 simply for opening a new checking...
A bank CD often auto-renews at a far lower rate unless you act in the grace period
Millions of Americans holding certificates of deposit face a quiet deadline that can cost them hundreds of dollars in lost interest. When a CD matures,...