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
Banks can again charge about $35 per overdraft after Congress repealed the fee cap, and a court tossed the $8 late-fee limit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...
A new federal student-loan plan starting July 1 wipes out unpaid interest for borrowers who pay on time
Federal student-loan borrowers who make their monthly payments on time will no longer watch unpaid interest pile onto their balances under a new repayment structure...
A 0% balance-transfer card can pause credit-card interest for over a year
Cardholders carrying revolving balances on high-rate credit cards can stop interest charges from growing for 15 to 21 months by transferring those balances to a...
A secured credit card with a small deposit rebuilds a damaged score fast
Consumers locked out of traditional credit cards because of low scores now have a clear, low-cost path back: a secured credit card backed by a...
About 12 million federal student-loan borrowers, more than 1 in 4, are now behind or in default
Roughly 12 million people with federal student loans are now behind on payments or sitting in default, a figure that amounts to more than one...
Comcast data-breach victims can claim about $50 with no proof, or up to $10,000 with records, with claims open this summer
Nearly 35.9 million Comcast and Xfinity customers whose personal data was exposed during an October 2023 breach can soon file claims for compensation, with a...
A buyer can assume a seller’s FHA or VA loan and inherit its lower interest rate
Homebuyers locked into mortgage rates above 6 percent have a federal workaround that most never hear about: taking over a seller’s existing FHA or VA...
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...
Enroll Confidently data-breach victims can take about $100 with no proof, or up to $3,500 with records, before the July 22 deadline
People affected by the Enroll Confidently, Inc. data breach face a narrow window to file settlement claims, with a July 22 deadline that splits claimants...
About 2.6 million more federal student-loan borrowers slid into default and were sent to collections in just the first quarter of this year
Roughly 2.6 million federal student-loan borrowers fell into default and were referred to collections during the first quarter of the current fiscal cycle, pushing the...
Adding a trusted relative as an authorized user on a long-held credit card can quietly lift their credit score
Families looking for a low-effort way to help a young adult or credit-thin relative build a stronger credit profile have long turned to a simple...
Compex data-breach victims can claim $100 to $200, or up to $5,000 with proof of losses, before the August 19 deadline
People affected by the Compex Legal Services Inc. data breach face a narrow window to file claims for payments ranging from $100 to $200, or...
Signing up for free USPS Informed Delivery shows you photos of incoming mail so you can spot a stolen check or card
Federal prosecutors charged three Philadelphia-area men for allegedly stealing checks from USPS collection boxes and washing them for redeposit, while the FBI warned that mail-theft...
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...
A new federal student-loan plan called RAP launches July 1, replacing the income-driven options millions of borrowers use now
Millions of federal student-loan borrowers will lose access to every existing income-driven repayment plan when a new option called the Repayment Assistance Plan takes effect...
A 401(k) loan lets you borrow from your own balance and pay the interest back to yourself instead of a bank
Workers who need short-term cash but want to avoid bank interest payments have a built-in option sitting inside their retirement accounts. A 401(k) loan allows...
Flagstar Bank will pay data-breach victims about $60 with no proof, or up to $25,000 with documentation, if they file by August 11
Roughly 1.5 million people whose personal information was stolen in a late-2021 hack of Flagstar Bank now face a decision with a hard deadline: file...
A free one-call fraud alert forces lenders to verify your identity before opening credit, and it lasts a full year
Any consumer in the United States can pick up the phone, call one of the three major credit bureaus, and place a fraud alert that...
A lawsuit says Bitcoin Depot’s crypto ATMs let scammers drain $76,000 from a victim
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell filed a lawsuit against Bitcoin Depot, alleging the crypto ATM operator let scammers drain $76,000 from a single consumer...
No real government agency will ever ask you to pay with gift cards, wire transfers, or cash handed to a courier
Scammers posing as federal agents are pressing victims to buy gift cards, wire money, or hand cash to couriers, and three separate U.S. agencies have...