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
Direct Express, which served about 3.4 million people in September 2025, will move existing cardholders from Comerica to new Fifth Third cards in phases
Direct Express, the prepaid debit card that carries federal benefits for people without a bank account, is changing banks. Fifth Third has replaced Comerica as...
The average credit score held at 714 while recent student-loan delinquents lost 38 points on average
The average FICO Score in the United States held at 714, flat since October 2025 and down one point from a year earlier, FICO reported....
About 1.08 million people who booked dental appointments through the LocalMed portal can claim from a $5.75 million privacy settlement by January 25
A $5.75 million settlement over how a dental scheduling portal handled patient information covers about 1.08 million people, and anyone in that group has until...
The OneTouchPoint breach claim window closes November 16
People whose information was swept up in the OneTouchPoint breach have until November 16, 2026 to file a claim in a class action settlement. The...
Drivers in the GEICO settlement over LexisNexis insurance reports have until October 20 to opt out, and until January 14 to choose how the money reaches them
People whose disputes over their insurance claims history went nowhere may soon get about $150 from GEICO, with no claim form to fill out. The...
A $1.75 million American Vision Partners data breach settlement lets about 258,070 people with exposed Social Security numbers claim up to $3,000 in documented losses by November 12
People whose Social Security numbers were exposed in the American Vision Partners cyberattack have until November 12, 2026 to file for money from a $1.75...
Credit card and other revolving balances fell to $1.35 trillion in August
Americans owed less on credit cards and other revolving accounts at the end of August than a month earlier. The Federal Reserve’s monthly consumer credit...
Families with bank accounts held a median $8,200 in checking and savings in 2025
Nearly every American family has a bank account, but the typical balance in it is smaller than many emergency bills. Among families that held checking,...
Idaho’s attorney general says almost 400 Idaho Power customer accounts have experienced fraud as impostors threaten shutoffs and demand deposits
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador warned on Oct. 15 that almost 400 Idaho Power customer accounts have experienced fraud, with impostors posing as the utility,...
A federal prisoner pleaded guilty to helping scammers get a 93-year-old North Dakota woman to mail a $45,000 check, and faces sentencing December 21
Sumit Kumar Singh, a 32-year-old Indian national already in federal custody, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for helping scammers get a 93-year-old...
Southwest credit card sign-up bonuses stop counting toward the Companion Pass on January 1, 2027, when the unlimited pass takes 140,000 qualifying points or 100 flights
Southwest Airlines will stop counting credit card sign-up bonuses toward the Companion Pass on January 1, 2027, and the unlimited pass will take 140,000 qualifying...
Credit Acceptance borrowers with certain risky car loans made from 2015 to 2025 are due debt relief by November 2 under a $694 million settlement with 41 attorneys general
Credit Acceptance Corporation has until November 2, 2026 to deliver debt relief to borrowers with certain risky car loans made from November 1, 2015 through...
The FTC is sending 6,205 payments totaling more than $100,000 to GOAT shoppers, and checks must be cashed within 90 days
The Federal Trade Commission is sending 6,205 payments totaling more than $100,000 to people who bought from the sneaker and apparel marketplace GOAT and were...
Discover checking customers converted to Capital One 360 get new routing numbers, and wires sent with the old routing number will be returned
Discover Bank checking accounts are being turned into Capital One 360 Checking accounts one account at a time, and each one gets a Capital One...
Former Barclays Aviator cardholders moved to Citi lose Wi-Fi credits and the companion certificate benefit October 25
Citi is ending a set of grandfathered perks for people whose Barclays Aviator cards were moved to Citi, with the changes starting October 25, 2026....
Minnesotans reported losing $86.5 million to fraud in 2026, per the FTC, as the OCC announced a direct line for community banks to report payment fraud on October 7
Minnesotans filed 15,601 fraud reports in 2026 with total reported losses of $86.5 million and a median loss of $288, according to figures the Office...
Social Security’s watchdog warns scammers posing as the agency cite fake my Social Security account and direct deposit problems and mail fake Supreme Court letters
The Social Security Administration’s inspector general is warning that scammers posing as the agency keep pointing to made-up problems with a Social Security online account...
Banks in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and three other U.S. territories can hold checks drawn on out-of-state banks one extra business day under federal rules
A bank branch in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Guam, or in any of three other U.S. territories (American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands and...
Social Security, SSI, VA and federal retirement deposits from the past two months must be shielded automatically when a creditor garnishes a bank account
When a creditor with a court order garnishes a bank account, the bank must set aside deposits from Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Veterans Affairs...
Premier Martial Arts’ franchisor and its former sales firm agreed to pay $1.85 million to settle FTC charges over claims that studios could run on under 15 hours a week
Premier Franchising Group, the franchisor of Premier Martial Arts, and its former franchise sales organization, Franchise Fastlane, have agreed to pay a combined $1.85 million...