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
New car loans cost 7.14% over 60 months and 6.97% over 72
New car loans at commercial banks averaged 7.14% over a 60-month term and 6.97% over a 72-month term in the second quarter of 2026, according...
The prime rate behind every home equity line is 7.00% while the Fed’s rate is 3.88%
The bank prime loan rate stood at 7.00% in the Federal Reserve’s latest H.15 release, published September 30, 2026, while the effective federal funds rate...
Cardholders who carry a balance pay 22.15%, not the 20.94% average
Federal Reserve data show that credit cardholders who carry a balance are charged more than the commonly quoted average rate. The latest G.19 consumer credit...
A representative payee took $121,980 from her disabled uncle, prosecutors say
Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Michigan allege that Laura Whisenant, appointed as representative payee for her elderly, mentally disabled uncle, stole and misused...
Marcus pays 4.35% on CDs from 18 months to six years
Picking the six-year Marcus certificate of deposit over the 18-month one earns no extra interest: Marcus by Goldman Sachs lists the same 4.35% annual percentage...
Bank of America’s variable home equity line rate stood at 8.525% on Sept. 23, after a 5.74% six-month intro rate
Two different rates sit on Bank of America’s home equity line of credit page: 5.74% for the first six months and 8.525% once that introductory...
TransUnion is holding VantageScore 4.0 mortgage scores at 99 cents through 2028
TransUnion announced on Sept. 29 that it will keep charging 99 cents for each VantageScore 4.0 mortgage score through the end of 2028, extending a...
An Arizona benefits CEO admitted taking $8.8 million from workers’ health and 401(k) plans and spending it on big-game hunts, jewelry and gambling
James Vincent Campbell, the 49-year-old founder and CEO of a Scottsdale benefits processor, pleaded guilty on Sept. 29, 2026, to embezzling more than $8.8 million...
Prosecutors charged 17 people in a Social Security fraud sweep with an intended loss of $1.34 million
Between Aug. 21 and Sept. 18, 2026, prosecutors in 11 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices charged 17 people in a Social Security fraud sweep, and the Justice...
The IRS says paper refund checks are more than 16 times more likely to be lost, stolen, altered or delayed, a year after Trump’s order began phasing them out
A year after the phase-out of paper tax refund checks began on Sept. 30, 2025, the IRS still describes paper as the riskier way to...
Chase now lets cardholders turn Ultimate Rewards points into cash in a J.P. Morgan investment account
Chase announced on Sept. 16 that Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed as cash deposited into a J.P. Morgan investment account, a new option for...
Chase Freedom cardholders can earn 5% at grocery stores and restaurants from Oct. 1, but only if they activate by Dec. 14
Chase Freedom and Freedom Flex cardholders can earn 5% cash back on grocery stores and dining from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, along with American...
Credit union loan delinquencies rose to 0.96% in the second quarter, NCUA says
Delinquent loans at federally insured credit unions reached 0.96% of loans in the second quarter of 2026, up 6 basis points from a year earlier,...
A bank personal loan averaged 11.86% last quarter, about 9 points below the 20.94% charged on credit card accounts, the Fed says
A 24-month personal loan at commercial banks carried an average rate of 11.86% in the second quarter, about 9 points below the 20.94% on credit...
The FTC is weighing whether social media and search platforms should answer for scam ads, after $2.1 billion in losses to scams that started on social media
The Federal Trade Commission is weighing whether social media and search platforms should answer for scam ads, after reporting $2.1 billion in consumer losses in...
Raymond James Bank pays 4.95% APY on a five-year CD, the top bank rate CD Valet tracked this week
Raymond James Bank is offering 4.95% APY on a five-year certificate of deposit, the highest bank rate CD Valet tracked among the institutions it monitors...
More than 3,780 CDs now pay at least 4% APY after 180 were added in a week
A running count kept by CD Valet found 3,780 certificate-of-deposit offerings paying 4.00% APY or higher in the week ending September 21, 180 more than...
Southland Credit Union is paying 9% APY on a 9-month certificate, the top credit union rate CD Valet tracked this week
Southland Credit Union is now paying 9.00% APY on a nine-month certificate of deposit, the highest credit-union rate CD Valet found among the institutions it...
Credit card accounts that were charged interest paid an average 22.15% rate in the second quarter, the Fed reports
Credit card accounts that carried a balance and were actually charged interest paid an average rate of 22.15% in the second quarter of 2026, according...
Six Discover card types are moving to Capital One in waves through early 2027, keeping no annual fee and Cashback Match
Discover it Cash Back, Miles, Chrome, Secured Credit Card, Student Cash Back and Student Chrome, six specific Discover products, are migrating to Capital One in...