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
Ten banks now charge no overdraft fee at all, as the average fee falls to about $27
Checking-account holders at ten U.S. banks now pay nothing when they overdraw their accounts, a shift that has pulled the national average overdraft fee down...
$333 million vanished into Bitcoin ATMs last year, mostly seniors’ savings
Older Americans lost hundreds of millions of dollars through cryptocurrency kiosks last year, fed by a scam playbook that turns corner-store Bitcoin ATMs into one-way...
A retired teacher lost $16,000 to a fake Social Security agent who sent her to a Bitcoin ATM
A retired teacher lost $16,000 after a caller claiming to be a Social Security agent told her that her benefits would be suspended unless she...
A family code word can stop AI voice-cloning scams that fake a grandchild’s emergency call
Americans lost $3.5 billion to imposter scams in 2025, and a growing share of those losses trace back to a simple trick: a phone call...
Borrowers in student-loan default can still get out through rehabilitation or consolidation
Federal student loan borrowers stuck in default have two formal exit routes available to them: rehabilitation and consolidation. The U.S. Department of Education and the...
Top online banks now pay over 4%, more than ten times the average savings account
Savers who keep their money in a typical bank account are earning roughly one-tenth of what top online competitors now offer. The FDIC’s March 2026...
The Education Department paused wage garnishment for defaulted student-loan borrowers
Millions of federal student-loan borrowers who have fallen into default will not see their paychecks or tax refunds seized for the time being. The U.S....
19% credit card rates aren’t dropping after the Fed’s hold this week
Cardholders carrying balances at commercial banks are stuck paying average interest rates near 19 percent after the Federal Reserve held its benchmark rate steady at...
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...