Banking & Credit Cards
How banks, credit cards, and payment systems work. Covers products, rates, fees, regulations, and what consumers need to know to navigate the banking system.
Latest in Banking & Credit Cards
AI-powered scams cost older Americans more than $352 million last year, the FBI says
Older Americans lost more than $352 million to scams powered by artificial intelligence last year, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. Across all...
Capital One is automatically mailing checks from its $425 million settlement around July 27
Capital One customers who were overcharged on savings-account interest rates are set to receive automatic restitution checks starting around July 27, part of a revised...
Parent PLUS borrowers who take a new loan after July 1 lose access to income-driven plans
Parents who borrow federal loans to help pay for a child’s college education after July 1, 2026, will no longer be able to enroll in...
Banks and government agencies never ask you to move money to keep it safe
Scammers posing as bank officials and federal agents are draining savings accounts by telling people to move their money into a “safe” account or convert...
A woman lost $500,000 in cash and gift cards to a call center that staged a fake fraud alert
A woman in her seventies sent more than $500,000 in cash, wire transfers, and gift cards to a fraudulent call center operating out of India...
The new RAP student-loan plan sets payments at 1% to 10% of income, minus $50 per child
Millions of federal student-loan borrowers with children stand to see sharply lower monthly bills starting next summer. The U.S. Department of Education has finalized a...
Americans over 60 lost $7.7 billion to scams last year, about $38,500 per victim
Older Americans are losing retirement savings, home equity, and financial independence to internet-enabled fraud at a record pace. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center reported...
West Marine is closing about 60 stores after filing for bankruptcy
West Marine, the specialty retailer known for selling boating supplies and marine gear across the United States, filed for bankruptcy protection and announced plans to...
A payable-on-death beneficiary on a bank account lets it skip probate and pass to heirs
Bank account holders across the United States can keep their deposits out of probate court by adding a payable-on-death beneficiary designation, a simple form that...
A California widow lost $700,000 to a man she met on the messaging app WeChat
A California widow lost $700,000 after sending repeated wire transfers to a man she connected with on the messaging app WeChat, a case that fits...
Aspire Health Alliance data-breach victims can claim up to $2,500 for their losses
Thousands of people who received mental health and substance-use services through a Massachusetts-based provider now face the fallout of a hacking incident that exposed their...
Police arrested a Maryland man in a gold-bar scam that told seniors to move savings to the “Federal Reserve”
Loudoun County sheriff’s deputies arrested Junjie Wu, 29, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, on charges tied to a gold-bar fraud scheme that targeted seniors by telling them...
Ask and most cardholders get a lower APR, yet few paying 20% ever call
Millions of credit card holders carry balances at purchase APRs above 20 percent, and some pay rates that top 30 percent, yet a striking number...
Crypto-ATM scam losses hit $388 million last year, and courts never demand Bitcoin
Scammers posing as federal marshals and court officers directed victims to cryptocurrency kiosks and stole more than $388 million in 2025, according to the FBI’s...
Truist will pay $4.1 million over robocalls placed to people who were not its customers
Truist Financial will pay $4.1 million to settle federal allegations that it placed robocalls to people who had no banking relationship with the company. The...
Georgia now lets banks freeze a transfer up to 15 days to stop scams draining older customers
Georgia banks can now freeze a suspicious transfer for up to 15 business days when they suspect someone is draining money from an older or...
A new income-based student-loan plan called RAP replaces SAVE this month
Federal student-loan borrowers with dependents face a direct financial shift starting this month, as the Repayment Assistance Plan, known as RAP, opens for enrollment on...
The FTC is mailing $3 million in refunds to homeowners tricked by a fake COVID mortgage-relief program
The Federal Trade Commission is sending 1,821 refund checks to homeowners who paid money to a fake mortgage-relief operation that falsely claimed ties to government...
An 85-year-old woman lost $154,000 after scammers said her Amazon account had been hacked
An 85-year-old woman in South Huntingdon Township, Pennsylvania, lost more than $154,000 after scammers told her that her Amazon account had been hacked. The payments...
Many banks now reimburse Zelle victims of “me-to-me” scams that spoof the bank’s own number
Bank customers tricked into sending Zelle payments to themselves after receiving spoofed calls from what appeared to be their own bank’s phone number are now...