For years banks have lied and hidden the reality of debit cards from you. What I’m about to tell you will sound counter-intuitive from everything you’ve been taught and believe. Here it is. Don’t use a debit card. It’s not smart financial management. By now, you probably think that I’ve lost my mind, but before … Read more
This week Damon Day and I talk about a wide variety of topics. Everything from why big TRS refunds spell trouble to what you really need to know about credit cards and debit cards. The advice is what you would least expect. As usual, the commentary is irreverent at times and we certainly don’t take … Read more
Sep 29 2015 By Will Wade-Gery Did your bank recently send you a new credit or debit card with a shiny, metallic chip on the front? You may have noticed that some cards have this chip in addition to the standard magnetic stripe on the back of the card. Lately, we’ve received questions from people … Read more
Sure, debit cards look almost identical to credit cards, but they’re very different. Among the biggest differences between these products is one of the most important: Debit cards do not have an effect on your credit score. Debit card activity isn’t reported to the credit bureaus. Because of that, they don’t show up on your credit … Read more
Money, Credit and Debt Advice – Get Out of Debt Guy Question: My Student Loans Leave Me Hopeless Dear Steve, I can’t believe how much student loan debt I have. It feels like I can barely get by each month and there is no way for me to ever get out from under these loans. … Read more
The new Next Step MasterCard has a special purpose, it’s supposed to make it harder for addicts to partake of their vice and use their debit card as the needle. The debit card restricts use at locations that people might be tempted to unload their debit card to feed their habit. Places like liquor stores, … Read more
It was announced today that a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action has banned a payment processor from using a new payment method to debit accounts after allegedly debiting millions from consumers’ bank accounts without their consent. Payment processors provide merchants with the ability to obtain customer payments for products and services via electronic banking. According … Read more
The state of South Carolina and Bank of America have teamed up together to administer unemployment benefits to South Carolina residents. Unemployment benefits used to come in the form of a check but are now being issued in the form of a Bank of America prepaid debit card. Bank of America claims that it’s good … Read more
Just one month ago I wrote about the implementation of debit card fees coming into play for big banks such as Chase, Wells Fargo and most notably Bank of America. Due to the change in a new government regulation that caps what banks can charge merchants for debit transactions they announced plans to implement a … Read more
After being convicted on July 5, 2011, Vicente Bilora Mbenga of Maryland, has been sentenced to six years in prison, three years supervised release after and an owed restitution of $27,218.06 for committing bank fraud and running an identity theft scheme. According to court documents and evidence presented at Mbenga’s trial, he participated in a … Read more
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before but I, Amanda Miller, am a Bank of America customer. Although, not a thrilled and loyal customer, I’m a customer nevertheless. In fact, this bank has done some things over the years I’m not very happy about but I continue to bank with them because I love … Read more
For years people continue to try and convince me that debit cards are better than credit cards. Those arguments just won’t fly because there is no getting around the basic fundamental problem of debt cards, they are a direct link into your bank account. Time and time again I’ve heard or read stories of people … Read more
by Marian Wang, ProPublica It’s April 21, and another Dodd-Frank deadline has come and gone. Today was the day the Fed’s regulations on debit card transaction fees, also known as interchange fees, were supposed to be finalized. Hasn’t happened. Controversy over the regulations caused the Fed to postpone finalizing the rules. But that win alone … Read more
by Marian Wang, ProPublica The banking industry has been busy fighting to defeat or delay a proposal that would cap the interchange fees they collect from merchants when customers pay with debit cards. As we’ve noted, they’ve lobbied extensively, and some banks have warned that they’ll end free checking, end some debit rewards, or place … Read more
Chase Bank is talking about significantly reining in debt card transaction limits to $50 or $100. The reason, so the can make more money. Recent legislation capped the amount the bank can charge retailers per transaction for using a debit card. Currently it is 44 cents per debit card transaction but soon it will be … Read more