Gas stations top the list of riskiest places to use a debit card

Financial institutions check for lots of things before authorizing a purchase

Before authorizing a purchase, card issuers consider whether or not the cardholder has a high enough available credit limit to make the purchase, where the purchase is being made in order to reduce fraud, and more.

Only 14% of transactions are in cash, as of 2025

Credit (35%) and debit (30%) cards have long eclipsed cash as the primary method of payment in the US. It is a primary backup, however, with 90% of customers intending to use cash to pay or store value and 80% carrying cash.

Some banks derive half of their income from overdraft fees on checking accounts

The fees are incurred when a customer withdraws more money than is left in the account, typically around $35 per overdraft. One in 11 Americans pays more than $350 a year in such fees, generating tens of billions of dollars each year for banks..

Customers wrote just one check a year in 2024, on average

Major retailers like Target have stopped accepting checks in recent years as real-time payment systems are increasingly being implemented across the US. This shift is considered an improvement in safety—as checks are vulnerable to fraud—but can lead to some exclusion for those without access to digital devices.

Chip technology replaced magstripes to stop easy card cloning and fraud

The magstripe on bank cards always gives the same data, making it simple to copy using a device called a grabber. In contrast, embedded chips create a unique code with every transaction, making it much harder to clone or steal card information.

Over one-third of Americans have lost money on a gift card

They've done so by letting it expire (20%), losing the card (17%), or due to a retailer going out of business before they could redeem a card (12%). That's according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited Bankrate research from 2024. This article explains how to maximize your gift card's value.

Six bills experts say you shouldn't put on autopay

Autopay has plenty of benefits, such as helping to avoid late fees and streamlining your bill paying process. But some experts say there are a few types of bills that you shouldn't autopay, especially if you're not confident you can pay these bills in full each term. The list includes utility bills and annual subscriptions. Read the full list here.

The hidden engineering of gas stations

Contemporary gas stations are the result of a century of engineering progress. In the early 1900s, only a few thousand cars drove around, and they used kerosene. As vehicles and cheaper gasoline became more popular, fire hazards grew, forcing the invention of fuel pumps, underground storage tanks, and the automatic shutoff valve—all engineering marvels.

See an original Diner’s Club charge card

Before credit cards, there were charge cards from companies like Diner’s Club. While credit cards allow cardholders to carry a balance from month to month (potentially accruing interest), charge cards like Diner’s Club cards had to be paid off right away.

ATMs drastically expanded access to checking accounts in the 1960s

The invention disrupted the local bank industry, allowing customers to access cash around the clock and when out of town. The innovation also reduced the headcount needed for bank services and created a new revenue stream via ATM fees for noncustomers. This 50-year anniversary retrospective revisits the cash kiosk.

See where Americans spend the most on gas

Drivers in Wyoming spend the most on gas per month at about $279, while New York drivers pay the least at $132. Longer driving distances have a significant impact on how much American drivers spend on gas.

American Express charges merchants more than other card companies to accept AmEx, making Visa a more accessible option for many merchants.

Each card network charges merchants a discount rate, which is a fee merchants pay to accept cards. American Express charges higher discount fees than competitors like Visa and Mastercard as the business is more reliant on fees for operation.

Gas station sushi is actually pretty safe to eat, experts say

Vending machine food, in general, gets a bad rap for its seeming lack of freshness, but whether the food you eat is safe usually depends on the quality of the cold chain supply logistics that brought it to the point of sale. Most prepackaged sushi fish has been flash frozen, and the rice has been mixed with vinegar to inhibit bacteria.

Alaska has the highest lifetime credit card debt of all US states at $484,620

That's 21.8% above the national average, partly due to Alaska's high cost of living and remote nature, which makes shipping in food and fuel more expensive. Iowa had the lowest average lifetime credit card debt out of all the states in the US at $319,740.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The worst things to buy at the dollar store, according to a financial expert

Some dollar store products can be low quality, and experts advise not purchasing them. This list includes 17 products to avoid at dollar stores, including batteries, toys, costumes, and more.

US consumers collectively owe more than $1T to credit card companies—almost as much as they owe in auto loans.

Fraud and identity theft are among the most common dark web-related crimes

Credit card information, driver's license or passport scans, and login credentials are among the data bought and sold on dark web marketplaces, which can appear there without users' knowledge through data breaches. Medical records can fetch higher sums of money for their potential use in blackmail and insurance fraud.

Despite electric usage concerns, EV charging accounts for less than 1% of grid load

Other popular myths about EVs include battery failure concerns—failure rates are less than 1% on newer models—and that there are no places to charge cars, though both at-home outlets and more than 77,000 stations on the road are available.

A list of major companies that accept cryptocurrency as payment

Have a fistful of Bitcoin? SpendMeNot provides a fascinating infographic that shows which companies currently accept the cryptocurrency. If you want to know where you can engage in Bitcoin transactions, this extensive resource directs you to the right merchants. Food, jewelry, banks, travel services and more are all represented here.

Certificates of deposit are low-risk savings tools that offer a stable way to grow your money over time

Unlike standard savings accounts, CDs require you to lock in a fixed deposit for a set term, earning higher interest rates in exchange for limited access to your funds.

A credit card’s grace period is a minimum of 21 days

Under federal law in the United States, an individual’s credit card payment due date must fall on the same day of each month, at least 21 days after the cardholder’s statement closing date.

The $1 bill hasn’t been redesigned in over 60 years

From a counterfeiting and forgery perspective, this makes the $1 bill one of the least secure American banknotes. In this video, the Wall Street Journal sits down with a leading currency expert to explore the techniques used to keep cash safe and figure out what's going on with the $1 bill.

About 69% of dangerous Black Friday incidents happen inside retail stores

Some posit that this is because tensions tend to run high there as customers fight over a limited physical supply of discounted goods. Another 20% of incidents take place at store entrances, where long lines often form well before the retailer opens its doors.

Retail investors are getting burned by long/short strategies

In the US, many retail investors lack the SEC-mandated status (a high enough net worth, income, and other factors) to directly invest in hedge funds. The regulator considers hedge funds too risky for the masses. Hedge fund-like strategies have emerged as a workaround, despite potential pitfalls.

Ethereum’s biggest risks and top criticisms

As it evolves, critics say Ethereum’s constant changes make the platform overly complex and fundamentally less secure. They also say the Ethereum Foundation and a handful of developers wield too much control over the crypto platform, and that gas fees are prohibitively expensive. Some criticisms are addressed in Ethereum’s roadmap, but others strike at the crypto platform’s core. Go deeper on why here.

Soybean oil fraud almost decimated American Express in 1963

A New York commodities trader who had defrauded the American government over uninspected meat for school lunches, Anthony "Tino" De Angelis, used American Express warehouses to sell soybean oil. However, Angelis had actually filled the tanks with water and placed just enough soybean oil on top of the tanks to pass inspection. American Express was liable for many of the tanks and its stock faced a huge downturn, opening the door for a then 33-year-old Warren Buffett to make his first purchase in the company.

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Lesser-known phobias include turophobia, or the fear of cheese, and nomophobia, the fear of being without your cell phone.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

When caught in the mouths of cardinal fish, seed shrimp release glowing, bioluminescent chemicals, which alert predators of the cardinal fish, prompting the shrimp's ejection.

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.