CFPB Consumer Complaint Profile
Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)
What the 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
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. For answering complaints on time it stands at the 51st percentile in the 100+ complaint peer group.
- Debt collection
- most-complained product
- TX
- state with the most complaints
Raw complaint volume, not a rate: larger institutions naturally draw more CFPB complaints because they serve more customers, and a complaint is a consumer-filed record, not a proven finding of wrongdoing.
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.
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).
Reading this profile
Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database
Complaints by Product
Top Issues
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)
Company Responses
What the CFPB Complaint Record Shows for Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express)
In the CFPB record, Populus Financial Group, Inc. (F/K/A Ace Cash Express) has a nationwide complaint footprint. "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.
The timely-response measure counts forwarded complaints answered inside the Bureau's 15-day window. This company's rate clears the industry benchmark, pointing to intake and escalation processes that are working as intended. A formal dispute means the consumer contested the company's response after a case was resolved, a rough measure of how often the first resolution missed the mark. Relief means the case closed with monetary or non-monetary help for the consumer. Both rates sit in the score card above.
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.
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 complaint volume
Nearest companies by total CFPB complaint count.
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.
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.