RateSmart Finance publishes independent comparisons of credit cards, debt consolidation loans, high-yield savings accounts, and business banking for U.S. consumers. We have one editorial rule that shapes everything else: we do not accept compensation, affiliate commissions, or sponsorships from any financial institution we cover. Our only revenue comes from display advertising, which has no influence on which products we recommend or how we rank them.
Our mission
Most financial comparison sites earn a commission when you click “Apply Now.” That business model rewards them for steering you toward the products that pay the most, not the ones that cost you the least. We built RateSmart Finance to answer one question honestly: which product actually saves you the most money, given your specific situation?
How we review products
Every comparison on this site follows the same methodology:
- Primary sources only. Rates, fees, and terms come from the issuer’s or bank’s own published disclosures — never from third-party summaries.
- Every number is dated. Each article shows the date its data was last verified. Financial products change constantly; an undated rate is a useless rate.
- Rankings are cost-based. We rank products by total cost to the consumer (APR, fees, penalties) for a defined user profile, not by brand recognition or advertising relationships.
- No pay-to-play. No company can pay to appear in, move up in, or be removed from a comparison.
The full process is documented in our editorial guidelines.
Who writes this site
Our content is written and reviewed by Jaime Casado Portuondo. Jaime is a computer science student based in Madrid who built RateSmart Finance to apply the same rigor he uses in software — verifying every claim against a primary source — to comparing U.S. financial products. He has no financial industry affiliation or professional credentials in finance; every rate on this site is checked against the issuing bank's own disclosures before publication.
Contact
Found an outdated rate or an error? Tell us — corrections are our fastest queue.