Source hierarchy
Not all sources carry equal weight. We work down this order and stop at the highest level that supports the claim.
- Primary provider documentation — product pages, agreements, disclosures.
- Regulator and standards bodies — supervisory authorities, standards organisations, tax authorities.
- Payment networks — technical and commercial documentation.
- Accounting frameworks — codified standards.
- Reputable primary reporting — used only for events, always dated and attributed.
Checks applied to every reference page
| Check | What it confirms |
|---|---|
| Source existence | Every factual claim traces to a source we have read |
| Currency | The source is current, and the page states its own update date |
| Jurisdiction | Rules that are country-specific are labelled as such |
| Terminology | Regulated terms such as “bank” and “deposit” are used precisely |
| Volatility | Figures that change frequently are described, not quoted |
| Neutrality | No ratings, rankings, endorsements or promotional language |
| Safety | No page collects credentials, applications or financial data |
How we treat volatile figures
Credit limits, fees, rewards rates, valuations and headcounts change without notice. Publishing them as current facts guarantees the page will be wrong, usually within a quarter, and readers have no way to know when it went stale.
So we describe the structure instead. Rather than “the limit is X”, we explain what drives a limit, how often it is reassessed and what to ask. That statement stays true for years.
- No specific credit limits or approval thresholds.
- No fee schedules or interest rates.
- No valuation, revenue, headcount or customer figures presented as current.
- No approval odds or eligibility guarantees.
Review cycle
Reference pages are reviewed at least annually, and sooner when a source changes materially or a reader reports an issue. The update date shown on each page reflects the last substantive review, not a cosmetic edit.
Security-sensitive pages — anything touching account access or credentials — are reviewed more frequently, because the threat landscape changes faster than the products do.
Corrections
Confirmed factual errors are corrected promptly. Material corrections are noted on the page so readers can see what changed. We do not quietly rewrite a claim and leave the date unchanged.
Frequently asked questions
We say so on the page rather than choosing the more convenient version, and we link to both so readers can judge. Contradictions between a product page and an agreement are common and worth surfacing.
We work from public documentation. We do not have a partnership or review arrangement with any company we write about, and no company sees a page before it is published.
As soon as they are confirmed, usually within a few working days of a report. Security-sensitive errors are treated as urgent.
Keep reading
Sources and further reading
Every factual statement on this page is checked against primary documentation. Terms change frequently, so confirm details with the provider before acting on them.
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — credit card resources Background on card terminology, billing cycles and consumer-vs-commercial distinctions.
- FDIC — deposit insurance and pass-through coverage Reference for how deposit insurance applies, including through third-party arrangements.
- NIST Digital Identity Guidelines (SP 800-63B) Technical basis for our descriptions of MFA, passkeys and authenticator strength.
- FASB Accounting Standards Codification Reference point for accrual, expense recognition and close-process statements.