Category: Saving & Banking
-
Treasury can now check that a bank account belongs to the payee before sending federal payments and return payments that fail, under a Trump executive order
The Treasury Department can now confirm that a bank account belongs to the person being paid before a federal payment goes out, and it can send back payments that fail the test. Treasury said in an October 6 announcement that its capabilities to validate bank account ownership and the presence and format of Taxpayer Identification…
-
The Federal Reserve proposed that bank-owned stablecoin issuers back their coins with assets such as short-term Treasury bills
Nothing about a bank account changes yet. The Federal Reserve Board proposed rules on Sept. 24 that would set reserve requirements for payment stablecoins issued by firms the Board supervises, including subsidiaries of state member banks, and the proposals are still open for public comment. Under the first proposal, those issuers would have to fully…
-
Every lender can now use VantageScore 4.0 on loans sold to Fannie Mae
A home buyer does not get to choose the credit score model. The lender does. That is the catch inside Fannie Mae’s decision to open VantageScore 4.0 to every lender, which the mortgage giant set out in Lender Letter LL-2026-06, dated Sept. 9 and updated Sept. 30. The letter says “All lenders may use VantageScore…
-
Credit Acceptance must forgive 95 percent of the debt when certain at-risk borrowers default within 12 or 18 months and the car is repossessed and sold
A subprime car loan can turn into a debt that outlives the car. Under a settlement announced September 17, 2026, Credit Acceptance Corporation must now forgive 95 percent of what is owed when certain at-risk borrowers default within 12 or 18 months and the vehicle is repossessed and sold. New York Attorney General Letitia James’s…
-
Treasury’s Direct Express page still says nothing about the switch to Fifth Third
Treasury runs the Direct Express program, and its public Direct Express pages say nothing about the move to Fifth Third Bank. As of a read on October 6, 2026, the main Direct Express page and the news page, both marked last updated September 1, 2026, carry no notice, no timeline and no instructions for cardholders…
-
Credit union insurance excludes annuities, safe deposit box contents and cryptocurrency
A credit union balance sitting in a share account is covered by federal insurance. A credit union member’s retirement annuity, the papers in a safe deposit box and a cryptocurrency wallet are not. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) says so plainly on its share insurance coverage page, in two sentences that many savers never…
-
Treasury requires a notarized statement, or a certification on its own form, to keep a federal benefit on paper checks for mental-impairment or remote-location hardship
Paper checks are now the exception for federal benefits, and keeping one takes paperwork. The Social Security Administration’s electronic payment page states the rule bluntly: “Federal law mandates that all federal benefit payments – including Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – be made electronically.” Treasury, not SSA, decides who gets out of…
-
A bank may add one, five or six business days to a check hold
A deposit that the bank says will be available Thursday can turn into the following Wednesday, and the regulation lets that happen. Under 12 CFR 229.13, a bank that invokes one of the Federal Reserve Board’s hold exceptions may add one, five or six business days to a check hold, depending on the kind of…
-
Seven kinds of deposit must be available the next business day, among them a Treasury check and a cashier’s check handed over in person
A paycheck, a tax refund or a cashier’s check for a car sale all land in a bank account the same way, but the rules do not treat them the same. Under Federal Reserve Board Regulation CC, seven kinds of check deposit must be available the next business day, and the list includes a Treasury…
-
The credit union for City of Jackson and Hinds County employees closed September 30, after regulators put it in conservatorship on May 6
Jackson Area Federal Credit Union, chartered in 1953 to serve City of Jackson and Hinds County employees in Mississippi, no longer exists as a separate institution. The National Credit Union Administration announced on September 30, 2026 that the credit union was closed and that Five Star Credit Union, based in Dothan, Alabama, had taken over…