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
A credit freeze is free and blocks new accounts opened in your name
Identity thieves do not need to drain an existing account to cause real damage. The more common play is to open something new — a...
The Fair Credit Billing Act gives you 60 days to dispute a wrong credit-card charge
A wrong number on a credit-card statement is not something an account holder simply has to swallow. A federal law written for exactly this problem,...
You can turn off debit-card overdraft and dodge fees that average about $27
For many older account holders, an overdraft fee arrives as an ambush: a debit card swiped a few dollars over the balance, and the bank...
Naming a trusted contact on a brokerage account lets a firm step in if it spots a scam
A single line on a brokerage form, the name of a trusted contact, can be the difference between a scammer draining an account and a...
Banks can now place a short hold on a suspicious withdrawal to stop elder financial abuse
For years, a bank teller who suspected an older customer was being scammed faced an uncomfortable choice: hand over the money as instructed, or risk...
A second-chance bank account can reopen the banking system after a ChexSystems black mark
Being turned down for a checking account can feel like a locked door, and for many older Americans it arrives without warning after an overdraft...
Scammers are targeting people who already lost money, demanding an upfront fee to “recover” it, the FTC warns
Federal regulators are warning that con artists have a favorite new list of targets: people who have already been cheated once. A recent consumer alert...
You can dispute a credit-card billing error in writing and force the issuer to investigate
A wrong charge on a credit-card statement is not something a cardholder simply has to absorb. Federal law gives every consumer the right to challenge...
High-yield savings accounts still pay far more than the big banks’ near-zero rates
The gap between what an online high-yield savings account pays and what a big national bank offers has rarely been this wide. As of late...
A courier scam talks seniors into handing cash or gold bars to a fake investigator
The knock at the door is the last step in a scam that can cost a retiree a lifetime of savings. A supposed federal agent,...
Thieves are “washing” checks stolen from mailboxes, so pay bills online or at the counter
A stolen check rarely stays the amount it was written for. Mail thieves lift envelopes from home mailboxes and the blue collection boxes on the...
A flat $80 with no proof is on the table for people caught in the Lucent Health data breach
About 37,000 people notified in the Lucent Health Solutions data breach can now claim a flat $80 with no documentation required, part of a $1.95...
A \”brushing\” scam sends an unordered package to use your stolen personal data
An unordered package arriving on a doorstep can look like a harmless mistake or an unexpected gift, but investigators treat it as a warning light....
Banks may refuse to refund a Zelle payment you were tricked into sending yourself
A payment sent through Zelle can be nearly impossible to claw back, and federal rules draw a sharp line that surprises many people who assume...
Credit-card interest now averages above 20%, so carrying a balance costs more than ever
The average interest rate on credit card accounts that carry a balance climbed to 22.15% in the second quarter of 2026, one of the highest...
A fifth U.S. bank failed in 2026, and naming beneficiaries can insure far more than the basic $250,000
The list of 2026 bank failures grew to five on August 21, when regulators closed Tioga-Franklin Savings Bank of Philadelphia and handed its roughly $67...
An ex-Fidelity broker got six and a half years for draining $2 million from a 75-year-old over 600 transfers
A former Fidelity Investments broker was sentenced on August 20 to six years and eight months in federal prison for siphoning more than $2 million...
Medicare’s fall enrollment opens the door to scam calls, and seniors reported over $100 million in losses last year
Medicare’s Open Enrollment runs from October 15 to December 7, and every year that six-week window brings a surge of calls, texts and emails from...
Anyone caught in the Doxim data breach has until October 13 to file for up to $100
People whose personal information was exposed in the 2023 Doxim data breach have a limited window to claim money, and the clock runs out on...
NCUA insurance covers credit-union deposits up to $250,000, just like the FDIC
Retirees who keep savings at a credit union instead of a bank sometimes wonder whether the money is protected the same way. It is. Deposits...