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
Interest on a held deposit still starts the day the bank is credited
A bank that places a hold on a deposited check still owes interest on that money from a date set on the bank’s own books,...
The Federal Trade Commission warned September 28 about lookalike Medicare.gov sites
Ahead of Open Enrollment, scammers build lookalike versions of Medicare.gov and HealthCare.gov and sell plans that are not insurance, the Federal Trade Commission warned on...
The SEC charged two men over an $8.7 million fund it says targeted Navy veterans and medical professionals tied to a VA clinic
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced charges on September 30 against two men over what it describes as a fraud scheme that raised $8.7 million...
Social Security’s inspector general warned September 21 against paying anyone to raise a benefit
Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General warned on September 21 that operators are charging an upfront fee to boost, unlock or maximize a Social...
Navy Federal’s proposed settlement will cancel loans opened in members’ names by third parties and pay an extra $250 to members who claim by November 29
Navy Federal Credit Union has agreed, in a proposed settlement of Edey v. Navy Federal Credit Union, to cancel personal loans that the lawsuit says...
Unauthorized transfers unreported past 60 days fall outside the federal liability caps
Federal law gives bank customers a bounded loss on unauthorized electronic transfers, then removes the bound once a statement sits unreported for 60 days. Under...
A credit card issuer may not take money from a deposit account at the same bank to cover a card balance without separate written authorization
Federal rules bar a credit card issuer from reaching into a customer’s checking or savings account at the same bank to pay down an unpaid...
A bank may not hold a check because of the kind of customer
Federal rules let a bank delay access to a deposited check when it has reasonable cause to believe the check will not be paid, but...
Network rules now require direct deposits available by 9 a.m. on settlement day
Since September 18, 2026, the bank that receives an ordinary ACH credit has been required to make the money available for withdrawal no later than...
Anyone surcharged at an independent ATM between October 2007 and August 2026 has until December 11 to opt out of the Visa and Mastercard class
People surcharged for a domestic cash withdrawal at an independent ATM between October 2007 and August 2026 have until December 11, 2026 to opt out...
A class action over a bank’s funds-availability failures is capped at $672,950 or 1% of the bank’s net worth, and has to be filed within a year
A depositor whose paycheck or check deposit sits unavailable longer than federal rules allow has a federal damages claim, and a group of depositors can...
Treasury sanctioned a network that made ATMs dispense cash without debiting accounts, part of $40.73 million in US losses
The Treasury Department sanctioned a financial network tied to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua on September 30, 2026, accusing it of draining U.S. bank...
The SEC says two men raised $8.7 million off veterans’ networks promising returns up to 153%
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on September 30 that it had charged two men, Christopher Kenji Dinelli and Jacob David “Kobe” Frankel, over a...
FINRA barred an LPL broker who moved $1,731,000 out of two customers’ accounts
FINRA announced on September 29 that Rudy Anguiano, a broker from Chino Hills, California, who was registered with LPL Financial LLC, has been barred from...
Vanguard’s new terms let it call a trusted contact when it suspects an older holder is being drained
Vanguard Brokerage Services began operating under a rewritten account agreement on October 1, 2026, and one of the new provisions addresses a problem that rarely...
Regulators say most people who joined two Amway groups after 2020 spent more than Amway paid them
The Federal Trade Commission said on September 17, 2026 that most independent business owners who joined two Amway-affiliated groups, World Wide Group and Leadership Team...
Truist’s out-of-network ATM fee goes to $3.50 on Nov. 9, and instant transfers now cost $3
Truist Bank will raise the fee on withdrawals at non-Truist ATMs from $3.00 to $3.50 per transaction on Nov. 9, 2026, according to its own...
A man who spoofed U.S. Bank’s caller ID got 57 months and owes $270,000 to victims aged 72 and 80
Franco Fuentes, a 30-year-old from Woodland Hills, California, was sentenced on a federal bank-impostor case to 57 months in prison and ordered to pay more...
The SEC charged a money manager over funds promising access to SpaceX shares
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint on September 30, 2026, against money manager Meyer Global Management LLC and its CEO, Owen E.H....
Discover cards moving to Capital One keep their fee, rate and credit-file opening date
Capital One has told Discover credit card customers that the move of their accounts to Capital One will not change the annual fee, the rewards...