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
Most banks waive a checking account’s monthly fee if you just ask
Checking account holders across the United States pay monthly maintenance fees that, in most cases, their banks are willing to drop. Four of the largest...
Your bank deposits are insured up to $250,000 per depositor, and you can cover more by using several banks
Anyone with more than $250,000 in a single bank account faces a straightforward risk: if that institution fails, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation covers only...
Twelve million Americans — one in four federal borrowers — are now behind or in default on student loans
Roughly 12 million federal student-loan borrowers are now behind on payments or in outright default, a figure that represents nearly one in four people carrying...
A new student-loan plan launching July 1 waives the unpaid interest that builds when your payment falls short
Federal student-loan borrowers who watch their balances grow each month, even while making on-time payments, are about to get a new option. The Repayment Assistance...
Most cardholders who simply call and ask get their interest rate lowered — yet almost no one with a 21% APR picks up the phone
Millions of Americans carry credit card balances at annual percentage rates near or above 21 percent, yet the vast majority never contact their issuer to...
You can opt out of overdraft coverage, and your bank then has to decline the charge instead of charging a fee
Consumers who carry a debit card linked to a checking account can stop their bank from charging overdraft fees on everyday purchases and ATM withdrawals...
The best online savings accounts still pay about 4% — roughly ten times the national average
Savers who keep cash in a typical bank account earn a fraction of a penny on every dollar, while a smaller group of depositors at...
The FTC is refunding nearly $3 million to homeowners scammed by a mortgage-relief company
More than 1,800 homeowners who paid a mortgage-relief company for help that never came are now receiving refund checks from the Federal Trade Commission. The...
Scammers posing as the court are calling about “missed jury duty” and threatening arrest unless you pay — the FTC says hang up
Scammers are calling Americans, claiming to be court officials or U.S. Marshals, and demanding immediate payment for supposedly missed jury duty. The threat is always...
The Education Department is again pausing wage garnishment for borrowers in default on their federal student loans
For the roughly 5 million Americans whose federal student loans are in default, the money that was about to disappear from their paychecks and tax...
Pay your full credit card statement balance by the due date and you owe no interest at all
Credit card holders who pay every dollar of their statement balance before the printed due date owe zero interest on those purchases. That protection, written...
The FBI says scammers posing as banks and federal agents are increasingly sending couriers to pick up victims’ cash and gold
Scammers posing as bank officials and federal agents are dispatching couriers directly to victims’ homes to collect cash and gold bars, a tactic that has...
Naming a payable-on-death beneficiary on a bank account lets it skip probate and pay out within days
Families who lose a loved one often face weeks or months of probate court proceedings before they can access a single dollar in the deceased’s...
Turning on real-time transaction alerts in your bank’s app catches fraud in seconds, not on next month’s statement
Bank customers who wait for a monthly statement to spot unauthorized charges face a legal clock that can cost them hundreds or even thousands of...
Most cardholders who call and ask get their interest rate lowered, yet almost no one with a 21% rate picks up the phone
Credit card holders paying rates above 20% are leaving real money on the table by not making a single phone call. Survey data collected over...
Federal law gives you 60 days to dispute a credit card billing error and withhold payment on it
Credit card holders across the United States have a strict 60-day window to challenge billing errors and legally withhold payment while their card issuer investigates....
Pawn America will send breach victims at least $30, with up to $5,000 for documented losses, on claims filed by July 6
More than three years after hackers compromised systems at Pawn America, the pawn-and-retail chain is paying up. Under a proposed class action settlement, customers whose...
Three men are charged with stealing $8 million from older Americans who were told to turn their savings into gold bars for fake government couriers
Five people now face federal charges for allegedly running a tech-support fraud operation that drained at least $8 million from elderly victims across at least...
Complete Payroll Solutions will pay up to $5,000 to workers caught in its 2024 data breach, with claims due June 18
Workers whose personal data was exposed in the 2024 Complete Payroll Solutions breach face a June 18 deadline to file claims worth up to $5,000....
Scammers are sending fake graduation and party invites that ask you to “log in,” then steal your email password
Scammers have timed a new credential-theft campaign to graduation season, sending fake digital invitations that ask recipients to enter their email address and password before...