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
Account alerts and a “positive pay” setting can stop a fraudulent withdrawal before it clears
Most fraud losses on a bank account are not caught by the bank noticing something wrong; they are caught by the account holder noticing first....
A brokered CD can pay more than a bank CD but lose value if you sell early
Brokered certificates of deposit routinely advertise yields above what a neighborhood bank pays on its own CDs, and that gap is what draws savers who...
A CD’s early-withdrawal penalty can wipe out months of interest, so match the term to your needs
Certificates of deposit look like the safest corner of a savings plan: a fixed rate, federal insurance, and no exposure to the market. The catch...
Crimson Wine shoppers can claim about $100 with no proof over a data breach before September 1
A $637,500 fund set aside to resolve claims over a 2024 Crimson Wine Group data breach is running up against a hard cutoff, and the...
Setting up a “my Social Security” account early blocks a thief from claiming your benefits first
One of the cheapest defenses against Social Security fraud costs nothing and takes a few minutes: claiming a personal online account before a criminal claims...
Freezing a deceased relative’s credit stops thieves from opening accounts in their name
In the weeks after a death, a grieving family is rarely thinking about a credit report, and identity thieves count on exactly that. A scheme...
A romance scam can drain a lifetime of savings, and the money is almost never recovered
Among the frauds the Federal Trade Commission tracks, romance scams sit near the top for total dollars lost, and they carry a second cruelty that...
A “pig butchering” crypto-investment scam has drained retirees of six-figure savings, the FBI warns
Federal investigators have a blunt name for one of the costliest frauds now aimed at older Americans: “pig butchering,” a scheme in which a stranger...
Scammers now pose as your own bank’s fraud department to talk you into moving money
The Federal Trade Commission warns that a fast-growing con now opens with a phone call or a text from what looks like a bank’s own...
Freezing your credit is free and does not lower your credit score
The single most effective defense against having a loan or credit card opened in someone else’s name is also one of the least used, and...
A bank must give provisional credit while it investigates an unauthorized charge you reported in time
When an unauthorized charge drains a checking account, the immediate crisis is not who is at fault but how long the money stays gone. Federal...
Credit unions often pay higher savings rates and charge lower fees than big banks
The gap between what a savings account pays and what a bank charges to keep it can quietly cost a saver hundreds of dollars a...
A credit “lock” lets you block and unblock new-account access from your phone in seconds
Identity thieves make their money by opening accounts in someone else’s name, and the most direct way to stop them is to cut off access...
Setting account alerts and a daily-withdrawal limit can blunt the damage from a drained account
When a thief gets into a bank account, the money that leaves in the first hours is rarely the whole story. What determines how much...
A CD ladder spreads savings across terms so cash frees up regularly while locking in yields
Certificates of deposit are paying some of their most competitive yields in years, but every dollar locked into one is a dollar a saver cannot...
Older Americans reported losing billions to fraud last year, with investment scams draining the most
Older Americans reported losing about $2.4 billion to fraud in the most recent year the government tallied, a figure that has quadrupled since 2020, and...
Comcast is paying Xfinity customers $50 with no proof over a data breach, with a September 14 deadline
Current and former Xfinity customers have until September 14 to claim a flat $50 payment, with no documentation required, from Comcast’s $117.5 million settlement over...
Adding a joint owner to a bank account can override your will and cut out other heirs
Adding an adult child to a bank account for help with bills is one of the most common financial moves older Americans make, and one...
Applying for a mortgage can unleash a flood of calls from lenders who bought your data
Filing a mortgage application can set off a barrage of phone calls, texts, and mailers from lenders the applicant never contacted, sometimes within hours of...
New FDIC trust rules can insure up to $1.25 million at a single bank
A single depositor can now protect as much as $1.25 million at one insured bank by holding the money in a trust account and naming...