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
36% is the rate on the most expensive credit card you can get today
Borrowers who carry a balance on the most expensive credit cards available right now face annual percentage rates that reach 36 percent. That figure sits...
0% interest for up to 21 months is what a balance-transfer card buys you to clear a balance without new charges piling on
Cardholders who open a balance-transfer card expecting a clean runway to pay off debt can walk into an expensive trap if they keep swiping for...
Check washing is surging again, and thieves who fish checks from the mail can rewrite the payee, so pay bills online or use gel-ink pens
Thieves armed with household chemicals and homemade fishing tools are stealing checks straight from U.S. mailboxes, erasing the original payee and dollar amount, and rewriting...
Fidelity will pay data-breach victims up to $5,000, with claims due July 27
Fidelity Investments is preparing to pay eligible data-breach victims up to $5,000 each, with a claims deadline of July 27 fast approaching. The breach itself...
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...
84% of cardholders who asked for a lower interest rate got one this year, trimming their APR about 6 points
Cardholders who call their issuer and ask for a lower interest rate are succeeding far more often than most people expect. A LendingTree survey series...
Fake unpaid-toll texts are now the fastest-growing government scam
Fake texts claiming drivers owe unpaid tolls have become the single fastest-growing category of government imposter fraud in the United States. Reports of government imposter...
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 97-year-old San Diego widow lost her entire life savings to a $65 million senior-scam ring — the man who laundered it is sentenced June 23
A 97-year-old San Diego widow who survived the Holocaust through her late husband lost every dollar she had saved over a lifetime. The money flowed...
A real bank will never tell you to move your money to a “safe account” — that one sentence is the costliest scam in America right now
Americans lost $12.5 billion to fraud in 2024, and one of the fastest-growing tactics behind those losses starts with a single instruction: move your money...
Comcast will pay data-breach victims $50, or up to $10,000 with proof, if they file by August 14
Nearly 36 million people affected by a Comcast data breach in late 2023 can file for a flat $50 payment or claim up to $10,000...
Paying your credit card in full each month means you never owe a cent of interest
Credit cardholders who settle their full statement balance every month can avoid paying any interest on purchases, a protection built into federal law and enforced...
A secured credit card rebuilds damaged credit using a refundable deposit as your limit
Consumers with poor or thin credit histories face a familiar catch: they need credit to build a score, but lenders rarely extend credit without one....
Most credit-builder cards still cap the late fee near $8, even after a court tossed the federal rule
Consumers who rely on credit-builder cards to establish or repair their credit scores are still seeing late fees near $8 on their monthly statements, even...
Americans reported losing billions to scams that started on social media, the FTC says
Americans reported losing $2.1 billion to scams that started on social media in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Nearly 30% of people who...
AIC will pay data-breach victims about $50, or up to $5,000 with proof, by July 22
People whose personal data was exposed in the American International College breach can expect payments by July 22, with most receiving roughly $50 and those...
Turning on account alerts for every transaction can catch fraud the same day it happens
Reported fraud losses in the United States hit $12.5 billion in 2024, and federal regulators are now telling consumers that a single settings change on...
Scammers are impersonating the FTC’s own chairman to talk people into emptying their savings
Scammers are calling Americans and claiming to be FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, pressuring targets to drain their bank accounts, 401(k) plans, and savings under the...
Opting out of pre-screened credit offers at OptOutPrescreen.com is free and cuts identity-theft risk
Every pre-screened credit card offer that lands in a household mailbox carries a quiet risk: if stolen from the mail, it can give a thief...
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,...