Last updated: September 30, 2026.
Primary sources first
For current product terms, BusinessBanks.us prefers official bank product pages, fee schedules, account disclosures, account agreements, service documentation, regulatory materials and government publications. The source closest to the actual rule or product term normally carries the most weight.
A search-result snippet, aggregator or unsourced summary is not treated as authoritative when the provider or responsible agency publishes the underlying information directly.
Our source hierarchy
- Governing or primary document: account agreements, fee schedules, official disclosures, agency rules, statutes, formal program materials and payment-network rules.
- Official supporting material: provider product pages, FAQs, regulator explainers, service documentation and operational guides.
- Established secondary research: used for context when a primary source does not answer the question directly or when independent market context is necessary.
Source quality is evaluated together with date, scope and applicability. A newer marketing page is not automatically stronger than a governing disclosure, and an old regulation summary is not automatically representative of a current rule.
Changing figures
Monthly fees, waiver rules, transaction allowances, interest rates, cash-deposit limits, wire pricing, lending terms, bonuses and product availability can change. Articles that rely on these figures display a meaningful review or update date and should link to the relevant provider material where practical.
When a price is negotiated or depends on a relationship tier, we describe the condition rather than inventing a public number. When a bank directs customers to contact treasury sales for pricing, the article should say that instead of filling the gap with an unsupported estimate.
Regulatory and network sources
For deposit insurance, lending programs, customer due diligence, tax reporting, payment rails and related rules, we prioritize the responsible authority or operator. Examples include the FDIC, SBA, FinCEN, Federal Reserve, IRS, Nacha and other agencies or networks relevant to the specific claim.
We identify the relevant population and effective date where they matter. A rule for consumer accounts should not be silently applied to commercial accounts, and a future effective date should not be described as if the rule were already in force.
Context sources and statistics
Government datasets, regulator publications and established industry research can be useful for market context. Statistics are described with their covered population and period so older or broader data is not presented as a live product fact.
Context evidence supports explanation; it does not substitute for current account disclosures when the question is about a specific bank fee, limit or eligibility rule.
Conflicting official information
If two official sources appear inconsistent, we first check effective dates, product tier, geography and whether one document governs the other. A newer fee schedule or account agreement usually carries more authority than an undated promotional page.
If the conflict remains material and unresolved, the article should disclose the uncertainty rather than silently choose the more convenient figure. Readers may be directed to verify the term with the provider before acting.
How sources are used in the article
We do not copy large blocks of provider language. Facts are extracted, their conditions preserved and the result explained in original prose. Source links are placed where readers can verify the factual basis without turning the article into a list of citations.
Research pages also display a source-basis label or source section. That label summarizes the evidence used and does not imply that every sentence comes from one document.
Source maintenance
Links can move, provider pages can be retired and disclosures can be replaced. A broken source link is therefore treated as a maintenance signal. When possible, we replace it with the provider's current authoritative document and recheck the affected claim rather than simply deleting the citation.