The American Financial Services Association (AFSA) has submitted detailed comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), urging revisions to the complaint portal's onboarding form and calling for broader reforms to enhance complaint quality and reliability.
According to AFSA’s letter posted on its official website, on July 21, 2025, the association formally addressed concerns about the CFPB’s consumer complaint portal. They stressed that the onboarding form for companies requesting portal access was overly burdensome and collected information beyond what is necessary. This critique was coupled with broader concerns regarding the portal’s effectiveness.
JDSUPRA reports that AFSA argued several elements of the onboarding form seem unnecessary for granting creditor access. They called on the CFPB to review and streamline the form so only essential data is collected, asserting that unnecessary data requirements impose undue burden on firms.
AFSA described "the complaint portal is in dire need of attention," pointing to a lack of effective quality control that permits false or non-customer submissions. They also raised alarm over the portal’s growing use for credit reporting disputes—an activity already governed by existing regulatory frameworks—and criticized the harmful, non-statutory practice of publishing complaint narratives which may mislead stakeholders.
The American Financial Services Association, founded in 1916, is a leading trade group representing nearly 450 U.S. companies in the consumer credit industry—including vehicle finance, installment loans, mortgage lending, and credit card issuers—and advocates for regulatory policies that promote access to credit and consumer choice.
