A gas station can hold up to $175 on your card before you've filled the tank. A hotel can hold $200 a night before you've ordered room service. Here's why the placeholder outlasts the receipt.

Millions of Americans use buy now, pay later loans that have never touched a credit report. That's ending this fall, and regulators are already asking hard questions.

A federal judge voided the CFPB's $8 late-fee cap last year. This month, without much explanation, the agency reopened the file.