About
Who we are and how we check our answers
Money Mechanics is a free, plain-language guide to how money works — credit, banking, debt, scams and the everyday decisions in between. Here's who's behind it, and why you can rely on what it says.
Who we are
Money Mechanics is published by The Payments Corner LLC, an independent publication about how payments and money systems work. Its founder and editorial lead, Franco Di Pietro, spent thirty years working in the payments industry. Money Mechanics turns that inside view into plain explanations for everyone the system was never built to explain itself to.
It’s free, with no sign-in, no ads, no affiliate links and nothing to sell. We don’t take payment to mention, rank or recommend any company or product.
How we check our answers
- Primary sources first. Every figure and rule is checked against the source that sets it: federal laws and regulations as published by the agencies that enforce them, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Social Security Administration.
- Sources on the page. Each answer lists the sources it relies on, so you can read the rule yourself.
- A “Verified” date. Each answer shows the month its figures were last checked. Numbers that change on a schedule, like the yearly Social Security wage cap, are reviewed when they change.
- Where it’s uncertain, we say so. If the rule depends on your state or your situation, the answer says that rather than guessing.
- How it’s written. Answers are researched and drafted with the help of AI tools, then checked against those sources and reviewed by the editor before they’re published.
Money Mechanics explains how money systems work. It isn’t personal financial, legal or tax advice — for a decision about your own situation, a qualified professional such as a nonprofit credit counselor or a legal aid office can help.
Independence and conflicts of interest
Money Mechanics is published by The Payments Corner, whose founder is employed at Euronet Worldwide, a payments-processing company. Money Mechanics explains how money systems work at a category level; it is educational and is not financial, investment, or tax advice.
Because of that, Money Mechanics keeps its explanations at the level of how a system works — what the law requires of every card issuer or debt collector — and doesn’t single out companies for praise or criticism.
Corrections
If you spot something wrong — a figure, a rule that has changed, or a sentence that could mislead — email editorial@thepaymentscorner.com and tell us which page. We check every report against the source, fix confirmed errors promptly, and update the page’s “Verified” date.
What happens to what you type
- Calculators run entirely in your browser. Your numbers are saved only on your own device, and go into a link only if you press “Copy shareable link”.
- Questions you send through “Ask a question” are emailed to the editor so they can become free answers. Nothing is published, and your email address, if you give one, is only used to tell you the answer is up.
- Email signups are used to send new guides and tools. You can unsubscribe at any time.
The full privacy policy is on The Payments Corner.