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1 week ago | 
finder.com | Megan B. Shepherd |Holly Jennings
"Taking out a hardship loan might make sense when the expense you’re facing is unavoidable and truly urgent. For example, if your car breaks down and it’s the only way you can get to work, then a short-term loan might actually help keep your income flowing. But if you’re borrowing just to keep up with lifestyle habits or to delay dealing with deeper financial problems, you’re probably just stacking another bill on top of the others.
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
Let’s be clear — getting a 7% interest savings account isn’t going to be easy. In 2025, most traditional institutions max out savings rates at 4.50%. While 7% interest rates aren’t very common, there are a few accounts with APYs above 5% and one even offering 8% APY. We’ve located 9 checking, savings and CMAs with APYs around that 7% target rate. Compare some of the best rates available from banks, credit unions and fintechs, including BCU, Netspend, Greenlight, Varo and more.
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
Cash App is a very popular peer-to-peer (P2P) money app, but it also offers a debit card, cash advances, investing, tax filing and more. Zelle is a payment service that integrates directly with US banks and credit unions, allowing for fast transfers between deposit accounts without needing to download another app — but that’s about it. So, do you need to have both Zelle and Cash App, or is one better than the other?
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
Overdraft fees are charged when you spend more than what’s in your account balance — talk about getting kicked when you’re down. The good news is that more banks are ditching overdraft fees or offering some sort of overdraft protection. Compare top bank accounts without overdraft fees and accounts that offer overdraft protection programs.
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
Certificates of deposit, or CDs, are a popular deposit account that grows your deposit passively. Compared to other savings accounts, CDs tend to have higher interest rates, and they’re extremely low-maintenance. Learn more about CDs, if they’re a smart investment right now, average rates and their advantages. CDs, sometimes called share certificates, are accounts that earn interest on your deposited funds. CDs “lock” your funds away for a certain amount of time to earn interest passively.
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
New and existing Checking and Savings members who have not previously enrolled in Direct Deposit with SoFi are eligible to earn a cash bonus of either $50 (with at least $1,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period) OR $300 (with at least $5,000 total Direct Deposits received during the Direct Deposit Bonus Period). Cash bonus will be based on the total amount of Direct Deposit. Direct Deposit Promotion begins on 12/7/2023 and will be available through 1/31/2026.
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
Nobody wants to jump through hoops just to open a bank account. What’s easiest for you may not be what’s easiest for the next person — but when it comes to an easy-to-open bank account, we know you mean free accounts with no deposit and fast application times. You might also be looking for the easiest bank account to open with bad credit, so we paid special attention to accounts with no credit checks or ChexSystems reviews.
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1 month ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
The Financial Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the FDIC, is a government agency that offers federal deposit insurance for deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and certificates of deposit. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) does the same thing for deposit accounts opened at credit unions, also offering at least $250,000 in coverage.
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2 months ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
A hard-to-reach part of the internet ripe with criminal activity: the dark web. Unless you have special software and the know-how to access it, you may not realize your information is on it. Learn about the dark web and how identity theft protection services could safeguard your information. The dark web is the term for the part of the internet that isn’t accessible through typical search engines, like Google or Bing, and can’t be accessed with a regular internet browser, like Chrome or Firefox.
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2 months ago | 
finder.com | Bethany Hickey |Holly Jennings
Identity theft protection can be complimentary with some financial products, but purchasing it separately can cost around $30 or more per month. So, is it worth the cost? We break down what it offers and some alternative methods you can use to protect yourself. Identity protection is designed to help you monitor, detect and respond to suspicious activity involving your personal information.
