The financial news that actually matters
Every time you tap your credit card at a coffee shop or swipe at a gas pump, the merchant pays a fee you never see on your receipt. On June 30, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency made sure it stays that way. The federal banking regulator finalized an interim rule that…
Mark McCloskey kept his bank account for more than two decades. Then he pointed a rifle at protesters outside his St. Louis home during the 2020 unrest, became a national lightning rod, and within months received a letter from his bank: account closed, no further explanation. McCloskey is far from alone. Gun shop owners, cryptocurrency…
A borrower earning $35,000 a year and carrying $40,000 in federal student loans could see their monthly payment leap from under $100 to roughly $424 if they don’t act before July 1, 2026. That is the difference between an income-driven formula and the standard repayment plan the Department of Education will assign by default to…
In 2014, a licensed firearms dealer in Wisconsin opened his monthly bank statement and found a letter instead. His account was being closed. No fraud allegation, no compliance violation, no explanation beyond a boilerplate reference to the bank’s right to terminate relationships at its discretion. He was one of dozens of gun retailers, payday lenders,…
The average monthly payment on a new car loan in the United States has reached $773, according to Edmunds’ quarterly auto financing data. In 2018, that figure was $506. The 53% jump did not happen because Americans suddenly developed a taste for gold-plated bumpers. It happened because vehicle prices climbed, interest rates roughly doubled, and…
Pay your property taxes in Cook County, Illinois, with a credit card and you will see a convenience fee tacked on at checkout. That fee exists because the county has to cover the interchange charge, typically 1.5% to 3% of the transaction on a credit card, that flows to the bank behind your card every…
The clock is ticking for millions of federal student loan borrowers, and the math is unforgiving. If you are among the estimated 8 million people who enrolled in the SAVE repayment plan, that plan is being shut down. Starting July 1, 2025, loan servicers will begin sending notices giving each borrower 90 days to choose…
On June 30, 2026, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a preemption determination that stopped Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act from ever touching a single transaction processed by a nationally chartered bank. The state law was set to take effect the very next day, July 1. That one-day gap between the federal…
Starting July 1, federal loan servicers will begin notifying the roughly 8 million borrowers still enrolled in the frozen SAVE repayment plan that they must choose a new way to pay back their student debt. Each borrower will have 90 days from the date of their individual notice to pick a plan. Those who don’t…
The Federal Reserve last cut interest rates in December 2025. Six months later, the federal funds rate is still parked at 3.50% to 3.75%, right where the FOMC left it. But Capital One, Marcus by Goldman Sachs, and Synchrony Bank didn’t wait around. All three have quietly trimmed the APYs on their high-yield savings accounts…