8th Circuit Blocks SAVE Plan—Is Student Loan Forgiveness Doomed? A major legal setback for student loan forgiveness has just emerged. On Tuesday, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an injunction that blocks the Biden administration’s Saving on a Valuable Education Plan and casts a long shadow over other income-driven repayment programs. While the ruling stops short of completely overturning these programs, it signals that their most generous features — designed to lower monthly payments and accelerate forgiveness — may ultimately fall under judicial scrutiny. The SAVE Student Loan Forgiveness Plan Under Fire SAVE was heralded as a breakthrough for…

No Cancelled Student Loans For Student Loan Borrowers Due To FERPA Violations In recent weeks, social media platforms, particularly TikTok, have been abuzz with misleading claims suggesting that filing a complaint under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) could lead to the cancellation of student loans. As just one egregious TikTok example, Laverne Mickens, who goes by scholarshipcollegemama, provides a “free template” for student loan borrowers to submit that she claims will “get your loan debt discharged and forgiven.” The video has been viewed over 850,000 times and has over 118,000 likes as of Sunday night. Not to…

A federal appeals court issued a new ruling on Tuesday extending and expanding a block on student loan forgiveness under several popular repayment plans. While the court stopped short of fully striking down the plans, the decision suggests that loan forgiveness under these programs may ultimately not survive judicial scrutiny. The ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals was issued in a response to a legal challenge over the SAVE plan, one of former President Joe Biden’s signature policy initiatives to reduce student loan payments. SAVE is an income-driven repayment, or IDR, plan – one of several such options…

A federal court declined to issue an order preventing the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, from accessing sensitive student loan borrower data housed at the Department of Education, according to a ruling issued on Monday. But the legal battle isn’t over. Student loan borrower advocacy groups and Democratic lawmakers in Congress have expressed alarm that DOGE, spearheaded by Elon Musk, had gained access to data systems containing sensitive information about millions of Americans who had applied for federal student aid or were repaying their federal student loans. Advocates have been concerned that accessing this data could put people at…

Their startups do everything from using AI to fight fraud, to helping caregivers manage money for those with dementia. Five of the six are immigrants. By Francesca Walton, Forbes Staff In the 10 years since Forbes launched its first Fintech 50 list, we’ve always kept an eye out for new ideas and entrepreneurs, while also showcasing powerhouse private companies that continue to make a big impact on the industry. There are an impressive 18 first-timers on 2025’s list. They represent a mix of relatively new startups and those whose products are finally breaking through after their founders plugged away for…

Even as venture capital funding for the industry continued to fall in 2024, many fintechs–especially those serving other businesses—flourished. Here’s the Forbes Fintech 50 for 2025. By Jeff Kauflin and Janet Novack, Forbes Staff After a bruising 2023, when market values for financial technology companies hit their lowest levels in years, the industry showed signs of recovery in 2024. Valuations for some of the biggest private fintechs like Stripe and Ramp ticked back up, and publicly traded players such as Affirm, Coinbase and Robinhood saw their stocks rise. That didn’t stop worldwide funding for private fintechs from continuing to slide–to…

S ince digital payments became the backbone of global commerce, fintech startups have been racing to gain a piece of this growing pie. This year, payments ranks among the largest categories in the Forbes Fintech 50–tied with B2B banking with 11 winners each–driven by the demand for faster settlements, immediate access to money and the integration of payments with other business services. Payments is also the only category with fintechs that have been on the Forbes list for all 10 years we’ve published it: Stripe and Plaid. Founded in 2009, Stripe processes payments online and has 300,000 business customers for…

The promise of fintech–particularly in the personal finance space–has always been a more inclusive financial system. That’s at the heart of the success of some list veterans. Chime, in its seventh year on the Fintech 50, is the largest digital bank in America with seven million monthly users of its app. It has been a leader in driving down costs–it charges no monthly or overdraft fees on its checking accounts and makes paychecks available sooner. Tala, on the list for an impressive ninth consecutive year, leverages smartphone data and proprietary algorithms to make loans of $20 to $500 each to…

Navigating a divorce can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to understanding and managing finances. Among the many financial aspects that need to be addressed, one area that might seem particularly daunting is cryptocurrency. Whether you’ve heard about it in the news or you are trying to understand its impact on your financial future, having a basic understanding of what cryptocurrency is, some of the known benefits and drawbacks, and how it factors into your divorce proceedings is essential so you can make informed decisions when discussing with your divorce attorney and financial advisor. What is cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency (“Crypto”) is…

Turmoil at the Federal Bureau of Prisons: Leadership Exodus and Mounting Challenges The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is currently experiencing significant upheaval, with a wave of leadership departures leaving the agency without clear direction during a critical time. Acting Director William Lathrop, who stepped into the role on January 20, 2025, after former Director Colette Peters was reportedly fired, has now announced his retirement, effective February 28. Lathrop’s statement acknowledged the gravity of the situation, saying, “We are in unprecedented times as an Agency.” His departure is accompanied by the resignations of five other senior leaders, including General Counsel…