CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile

Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)

What 2,086 consumer complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reveal about how this company handles credit, billing and collection disputes.

Data updated 2026-08-14

2,086
Total complaints
Among the highest
101
Last 12 months
98.3%
Timely response
Above median
51
States affected

Subscribe to this company's annual complaint changes (RSS)

The verdict

Among 3,843 financial companies tracked by CFPB complaint volume, Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) sits at #203, with 2,086 complaints logged. On-time replies land at 98.3%, the 51st percentile for the 100+ complaint peer group.

#203
of 3,843 companies by volume
98.3%
on time (51st pctile)
Debt collection
most-complained product
51
states with complaints
C
PlainCredit Trust Score
56/100
Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) · 3 of 3 dimensions reported

Based on this company's own CFPB response record -- timely response, dispute rate, and relief rate, each benchmarked against every tracked company with 10+ complaints. Not a measure of product quality, pricing, or company size.

Timely Response B- 98.3%
Share of complaints answered within the CFPB response window
Dispute Rate B- 10.2%
Share of responses the consumer disputed (lower is better)
Relief Rate F 0.3%
Share of complaints closed with monetary or non-monetary relief

Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) vs. all companies by on-time response rate

Every company with 100+ CFPB complaints on file (1,335 total)

98.3% Higher than most higher than 51% of 1,335 companies

companies with 100+ CFPB complaints, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more companies. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Consumer Complaint Database · 2026-08-14

What changed

CFPB Consumer Complaint Database 2024 to 2025 complete years

  • Annual CFPB complaint volume moved from 48 in 2024 to 93 in 2025 (2024 → 2025).

See the full year-over-year release diff

Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) timely response rate 98.3%
Industry benchmark

Percent of CFPB complaints answered within the regulator's expected window. Industry benchmark sits at 95%.

Reading this profile

Complaints by Product

Debt collection - Payday loan debt 484
Debt collection - Payday loan 357
Payday loan 326
Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan - Payday loan 280
Debt collection - I do not know 111
Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan - Installment loan 70
Consumer Loan - Installment loan 69
Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan - Payday loan 60
Debt collection - Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) 45
Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service - Check cashing service 44

Top Issues

1.Took or threatened to take negative or legal action 295
2.Communication tactics 222
3.False statements or representation 141
4.Struggling to pay your loan 132
5.Taking/threatening an illegal action 131
6.Charged fees or interest I didn't expect 113
7.Can't contact lender 95
8.Charged fees or interest you didn't expect 82
9.Attempts to collect debt not owed 76
10.Cont'd attempts collect debt not owed 65

Complaints by Year

Year Complaints
2013 53
2014 207
2015 227
2016 294
2017 189
2018 171
2019 221
2020 243
2021 202
2022 76
2023 40
2024 48
2025 93
2026year in progress 22

Complaints by State (Top 15)

Texas 660
California 315
Ohio 124
Florida 114
Colorado 71
Missouri 60
Tennessee 55
Louisiana 52
Virginia 43
Oregon 42
Arizona 37
Washington 35
Minnesota 34
North Carolina 29
Pennsylvania 29

Company Responses

Closed with explanation 2,012
Closed 65
Closed with monetary relief 4
In progress 3
Closed with non-monetary relief 2

What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)

2,086 complaints against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) appear in the CFPB record, including 101 from the trailing year. The 51 states and territories represented put this footprint in nationwide territory. "Debt collection" tops the product-level breakdown by a clear margin, marking it as the area of greatest consumer friction. Inside that category, "Took or threatened to take negative or legal action" comes up most often - worth a look for anyone trying to spot the company's recurring pain point.

CFPB-forwarded complaints against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) draw a 98.3% reply rate inside the Bureau's 15-day window. That clears the industry benchmark, pointing to intake and escalation processes that are working as intended. Consumers formally disputed the company's response at a 10.2% rate among resolved cases, a signal of how often the initial resolution failed to satisfy the complainant. Resolved complaints closed with monetary or non-monetary relief for the consumer at a 0.3% rate.

How to read complaint counts

Complaint counts alone do not tell the full story: larger institutions with more customers will naturally generate more complaints in absolute terms. The more informative signals are the direction of the yearly trend shown above, the state-level concentration, and the ratio of monetary-relief closures to closed-without-relief outcomes. Together, these fields provide context for reading the published CFPB record; they do not establish wrongdoing or resolve an individual dispute.

Educational data summary, not financial or legal advice. Individual complaint outcomes vary. Consumers should consult a qualified attorney or financial advisor for guidance on a specific dispute.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many CFPB complaints does Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) have?

2,086 complaints have been filed against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) with the CFPB overall - 101 of them in the past year.

Does Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) respond to complaints on time?

CFPB complaints against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) draw a 98.3% timely-response rate inside the expected window. That puts it among the more responsive companies in the CFPB dataset.

What product generates the most complaints for Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)?

The most complained-about product for Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) is "Debt collection." You can view the full product breakdown on this page.

What is the most common complaint issue with Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)?

"Took or threatened to take negative or legal action" is the single most frequently cited issue in complaints against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) - see all issues and counts above.

How do I file a complaint against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)?

You can file a complaint against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) directly with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. The CFPB will forward your complaint to the company and work to get you a response, typically within 15 days.

In how many states have consumers complained about Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)?

The CFPB has recorded complaints against Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) from 51 separate states and territories, including jurisdictions beyond the 52 with a dedicated state page here - Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and APO/FPO military postal codes among them.

Nationwide companies with similar complaint volume or dispute rates

Two CFPB peer sets for Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express): nearest financial companies by total complaint volume and by the share of complaints consumers mark as disputed. These are cross-firm neighborhoods, not the product-category list below.

Similar dispute rates

Nearest companies by share of complaints marked disputed (10.2% here).

Also handles Debt collection

Other companies with the same primary CFPB product category on file.

Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database Data through March 2026