These guidelines govern every article published on RateSmart Finance. They exist so you can judge for yourself whether our process deserves your trust.
1. Independence
We accept no affiliate commissions, referral fees, sponsored placements, or free products from any company we cover. Our revenue comes exclusively from display advertising served by Google AdSense. Advertisers cannot see, approve, or influence editorial content, and ad placement is handled programmatically with no connection to which products we recommend.
2. Data sourcing and verification
- Every APR, APY, fee, bonus, and product term is taken from the financial institution’s own published terms, pricing pages, or required disclosures (Schumer boxes, truth-in-savings disclosures, fee schedules).
- Each data point carries a verification date. If we cannot verify a number against a primary source, we do not publish it.
- National averages and market statistics are cited to their source (Federal Reserve, FDIC, CFPB, or the named research provider).
3. Update policy
Rate-sensitive articles display a “last updated” date and are reviewed on a recurring schedule. When a reader reports an outdated figure through our contact page, we verify and correct it as the top editorial priority.
4. Ranking methodology
Comparisons are ranked by estimated total cost or total yield to the consumer for the user profile named in the article (for example, “someone carrying $6,000 in credit card debt for 18 months”). Where two products tie on cost, we break the tie with consumer-protection factors: fee transparency, penalty terms, and account minimums.
5. What we don’t do
- We don’t write “reviews” of products we were paid to cover — we are never paid to cover anything.
- We don’t use AI-generated statistics. Every number is verified by a human against a primary source before publication.
- We don’t give individualized financial advice. Our content is educational; see our disclaimer.
6. Corrections
Material errors are corrected in the article body and acknowledged with an updated verification date. To report an error, use the contact page.