Consumerist
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credit
Taking Credit Card Offers Hurts Your Credit
Last week, I wrote about how to turn your good credit into cash. I purposely excluded credit card offers from the list because I wanted things that, should you implement them, wouldn't hurt your credit. Today, I want to warn to the overzealous. More » -
hot infographics
Revealing The Hidden Cost Of PrePaid Debit Cards
With credit cards harder to come by and more annoying to use, the prepaid debit card market is projected to explode from $8.7 billion loaded on the cards to $119 billion in 2012, but a good chunk of that is going to be eaten up by hidden fees and gotchas. This sexy graphic visualization shows how. More » -
banking
"I Mailed A Check, So Why Is It Showing Up As An Electronic Debit?"
Dylan wants to know why the check he mailed in for a payment wasn't processed as a check, but instead was converted into an electronic debit. In particular, he's worried that now the business might use his info to set up a recurring charge. More » -
Bank Failures
100 Bank Failures And Counting!
"More banks have failed in 2009 than the rest of the decade combined," writes Ariel Nelson at CNBC. Today, Partners Bank in Naples, Florida closed its doors, making it the 100th bank to fail this year. Click the link to see a map of where bank failures have happened the most over the past 10 months.
"100th Bank Failure of the Year" [CNBC]
(Photo: naught_facility) -
hidden fees
Prepaid Debit Cards Are Money Sucking Black Holes In Your Pocket
Be very careful about activating any sort of over-the-counter prepaid debit card, reports the New York Times. They looked at a handful of prepaids currently on the market and discovered ridiculously high hidden fees—the first two months of use can cost you up to $80. More » -
phishing
FBI Charges 100 People In Phishing Investigation
Since 2007, the FBI and authorities in Egypt have been running an investigation they've called "Operation Phish Phry," sigh, and this week it paid off with 53 charges against U.S. defendants and 47 against people in Egypt. Three of the 53 in the U.S. have been arrested, and the FBI are looking for the other 50. To prove you're not one of the remaining 50, please send the FBI your login credentials to your bank. Ha ha, we kid. More » -
propaganda
How The Banking Industry Wants You To Think About Overdraft Fees
Earlier today, a public relations person sent in the following suggested "follow up" story about the explosion in overdraft fees. She was quite friendly and complimentary and made it clear she just wants to help educate consumers about banking fees. The only problem is, the entire story is a jumble of propaganda designed to spread FUD about any attempt to change current overdraft policies. We figured it might be fun to see how the banking industry wants you to think. More » -
CFPA
Consumer And Banking Scholars Speak Out In Favor Of Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Earlier this week, a group of 70 law professors from universities across the country released a 16-page Statement of Support (pdf) detailing why they're in favor of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Act. You can read the statement yourself via the link above, but we've summarized them below. More » -
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banking
All About Reward Checking Accounts
Reward checking accounts offer above market interest rates, higher than almost any other bank deposit account, if you can satisfy their requirements. More » -
banks
Citibank Markets To Only Rich People, Large Cities
True to its name, we suppose, Citibank will be focusing its marketing efforts on six major U.S. metropolitan areas and wealthy customers, and not the rest of us deadbeats. More » -
overdraft fees
Wells Fargo Also Pledges To Reduce Overdraft Fees
Chase and Bank of America aren't the only ones suddenly growing pseudo-human faces and reducing their money-sucking overdraft policies. Today Wells Fargo squirted out a press release that says they "will eliminate overdraft fees for customers when they overdraw their accounts by $5 or less and will charge no more than four overdraft fees per day." More » -
opposite day
FDIC May Ask Banks For Bailout
Due to the record number of bank failures this year, the FDIC is low on funds. Instead of borrowing from the Treasury as they did in the early '90s savings and loan crisis, regulators have a new idea: asking banks for a bailout. More » -
personal finance
Where To Find Great Personal Finance Writing Online
If you don't know about the Carnival of Personal Finance, it's a weekly round-up of interesting posts from the glut of personal finance blogs and websites that now litter the web. I discovered two of today's posts—the 23 debt-saving tips and the the alkaline-vs-rechargeables story—through the most recent Carnival. More » -
banking
Bank Of America Has High Money Order Fees, Teller Recommends You Go Elsewhere
Christian writes in telling us he went into Bank of America looking for a cashier's check or money order, and the teller was so embarrassed of his bank's high fees — for customers, mind you — he recommended Christian look elsewhere. He writes: More » -
banking
The Free Checking Account Myth
One of the biggest myths of the financial industry is the "free" checking account. They have high minimum balance requirements, offer 0% interest, and have other annoying requirements. The worst part is that they're not even free. More » -
plastic only
NYC Restaurant Stops Accepting Cash
If you decide to eat at Commerce, an unpleasantly named upscale restaurant in New York City that charges nearly $25 for spaghetti, your cash is no longer welcome.
More »"If you don't have a credit card, you can use a debit card," said the restaurant's co-owner, Tony Zazula. "If you don't have a debit card, you probably don't have a checking account. And if you don't have a checking account, you probably shouldn't be eating at Commerce to begin with."
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trapped
Bank Piles On Overdraft Fees Due To Merchant Error, Doesn't Seem Too Keen On Refunding Them
Here's a story from a reader about a bad bank practice that we hear about too frequently—a bank cascades hundreds of dollars worth of overdraft fees on an error that's beyond the customer's control, but then is unresponsive or uncooperative on refunding those fees. More » -
when profit models go bad
Banks Cling To Overdraft Fees Because They Need Them To Survive
Banks now make more on debit card overdraft fees than credit card penalties—they'll rake in about $27 billion in 2009 alone, according to the New York Times. They obviously have zero incentive to curb the practice. In fact, one economist told the paper that "45 percent of the nation's banks and credit unions collect more from overdraft services than they make in profits." More »
banking
New York, 5:12 AM
Sun Nov 8
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