Sep 21, 2022 | Federal Regulation, News
CFPB Aims to Bring Credit Card Protections to Buy Now Pay Later The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering ways to regulate “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) companies, which have surged in popularity since the pandemic, with the Bureau saying that it...
Sep 19, 2022 | Congressional Legislation, News
Senate Banking Committee Holds Hearing on New Consumer Financial Products Last week, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs convened a hearing to examine “New Consumer Financial Products and the Impacts to Workers.” It proved to be another hearing...
Sep 16, 2022 | Financial Literacy, News
Credit Card Interest Rates Hit 26-Year High Last week, the average interest on variable-rate credit cards reached 18.03 percent, the highest rate seen since January 1996, according to recent Bankrate data. Since June 25, rates charged to cardholders have increased by...
Sep 14, 2022 | Financial Literacy, News
Majority of Americans Say Inflation is Causing Financial Hardship A recent Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans are facing moderate or severe financial hardship due to inflation-driven price increases. 56 percent of respondents said they are experiencing...
Sep 12, 2022 | Federal Regulation, News
OCC Head Indicates Scrutiny of Bank-Fintech Relationships May Be on the Horizon Speaking before a conference of bankers in New York hosted by the Bank Policy Institute and the Clearing House Association last week, Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu said...
Sep 9, 2022 | Federal Regulation, Financial Literacy, News
CFPB Issues Report Detailing Family Finances and Debt in Rural Appalachia Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the first in a series of reports about the finances of consumers in rural areas, with this first report focusing on consumers in...
Sep 7, 2022 | Financial Literacy, News
After Jumping During Pandemic, Credit Scores Have Leveled Off FICO credit scores have stabilized this year after significantly increasing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, breaking an almost decade-long streak of upward movement as consumer debt and missed...
Sep 5, 2022 | Congressional Legislation, News
Mary Peltola Wins Special Election, Becoming the First Alaska Native Elected to Congress Last week, Mary Peltola, a Yup’ik Alaska Native, was declared the winner in a special election for Alaska’s at large Congressional seat, which became vacant when Rep. Don Young...
Sep 2, 2022 | Financial Literacy, FinTech, News
Analyst: In the Future Everyone Will Be Unbanked (By Choice) Last week, a new article appearing in Morning Consult and written by Morning Consult’s financial services analyst examines recent data to break down the banking status of U.S. adults. One of its prime...
Aug 31, 2022 | Financial Literacy, News
Bottom 50% of Americans Building Wealth Despite Inflation Recent economic data filtered through the Realtime Inequality tracker revealed that the bottom 50 percent of U.S. households, mostly those who had a net worth of $166,000 or less before the pandemic, are in...
