#CFPB
Related posts · 6 posts
The Exchange Rate Spread — Why "No Fee" Isn't "No Cost"
A regulator wrote that charging through the spread while calling it free is deceptive. Two bank screens, worked back: 1.73% and 1.75% — and the rate at the top of the app already had the fee inside it.
Sending Money Abroad — The Question Isn't "What's the Fee?"
Scattered costs collapse into one line: exactly how much will they receive. And you still have thirty minutes after sending.
Refinancing — The First Question Is Not the Rate Gap but How Long You'll Hold It
Halve the rate gap and the payback period doubles. The CFPB handout has no break-even formula, so we ran one.
Pay Down the Loan or Save? The Rule Everyone Quotes Leaves Out Tax
After tax, the deposit rate must run about 18% above the loan rate just to break even. And a CFPB experiment says people keep a cushion anyway.
Foreign Payment Fees — Paying in Your Home Currency Doesn't Remove Them
The wording reads "foreign currency, or outside the country, or with a foreign merchant." Switching currency leaves nowhere to escape to.
Compounding and the Saving/Investing Line — CFPB's Example Ends at Year Two, Worth $2.50
Run the same conditions for thirty years and it becomes $1,821. Tax takes close to half of that.