The financial news that actually matters
Try to wire $400,000 to a title company for a home closing in June 2026 and the bank will tack on a fee that has barely budged since the Obama administration. Chase charges $25 for a domestic outgoing wire and $40 to $50 for an international send, according to its most recent published fee schedule….
Illinois restaurant owners spent months reprogramming point-of-sale terminals and renegotiating processing contracts, all to prepare for a state law that would have stopped banks from collecting swipe fees on the tax and tip portions of credit card transactions. That law was set to kick in on July 1, 2026. It will never apply to the…
Twenty-one days from now, federal bank examiners will lose one of the quietest and most consequential powers they have held over American depositors: the ability to pressure a bank into shutting your account because someone in Washington decided your politics, your faith, or your perfectly legal business posed a “reputation risk” to the institution. The…
On June 9, 2026, federal bank examiners will lose one of their most controversial tools: the ability to pressure banks into closing accounts because a customer’s business, beliefs, or public statements are politically inconvenient. A final rule jointly issued by the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency takes effect that day,…
A borrower earning $40,000 a year with $35,000 in federal student loans was paying about $50 a month under the SAVE repayment plan. Under the 10-year Standard Repayment Plan, that same person would owe closer to $350, a sevenfold increase that hits before rent, groceries, or child care get any cheaper. That jump is now…
You spot a $347 charge on your credit card statement that you never authorized. You open your banking app, tap “Dispute,” and assume the problem is solved. Weeks later, the issuer denies your claim. The reason? Federal law required you to mail a physical letter to a specific address within 60 days of the statement…
Roughly 8 million people were enrolled in the federal SAVE repayment plan before courts blocked it. If you are one of them, a 37-day countdown is now running. On July 1, 2026, your loan servicer will mail you a transition notice and start a 90-day clock. Pick a new repayment plan before that clock runs…
A gun shop owner in Texas gets a polite letter: his business account is being closed, no further explanation. A cryptocurrency startup in Wyoming hears the same thing from a different bank. A faith-based charity in the Midwest loses its payment processor overnight. None of them were accused of fraud. None had bounced a check….
A checking account at one of America’s biggest banks now costs $15.45 a month if you don’t jump through the right hoop. That is the average monthly maintenance fee on non-interest checking accounts at the largest U.S. institutions, a record high according to Bankrate’s most recent checking account survey. Over a year, the charge totals…
If you run a restaurant and watch your card-processing bill climb every month, here is the part that stings: you are paying a swipe fee on the sales tax you collect for the state and on the tip your customer leaves for the server. Illinois passed a law to stop that. On June 30, 2026,…