Financial Blind Spot: Nearly 70% of Americans Unaware of CFPB’s Role

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is fighting for its life as the Trump administration works to reduce and even eliminate the agency. 

The reality is that despite operating since 2011, the CFPB has remained under the radar for many Americans. 

The CFPB says its efforts have resulted in $21 billion in monetary compensation, principal reductions, canceled debts, and other consumer relief for Americans. 

“The CFPB can only be truly effective if they improve consumer awareness of the resources they offer so that Americans can know what their options are if they feel they have been treated unfairly,” says Bobbi Rebell, CFP® and personal finance expert at CardRates.com.

So why isn’t its possible demise getting more attention? And why don’t consumers know more about the agency after almost 15 years of existence?

To find out, CardRates.com commissioned a nationwide survey of 1,000 U.S. credit card holders aged 18 and older to assess public awareness, perceptions, and opinions regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). 

The CFPB’s supervisory efforts have been said to provide many financial protections for Americans, including the enforcement of laws to prevent deceptive practices. However, knowledge gaps have caused the agency’s impact to go unnoticed by many consumers. 

In fact, the study found that nearly 70% of those surveyed either lacked awareness or understanding of the CFPB’s role, underscoring a significant knowledge gap regarding the agency’s purpose and impact.

When asked about their awareness of the CFPB, only 32% of respondents said they knew what the CFPB was, 35% said they’d never heard of it, and another 33% said they had heard of it but didn’t understand its purpose. These figures depict a clear lack of awareness surrounding the CFPB.

A Stark Gender Divide

The knowledge gap deepens along gender lines. While 71% of men said they had heard of the CFPB, only 59% of women said the same. But recognition doesn’t necessarily equate to real understanding.

When asked about the agency’s role, 41% of men said they understood what the CFPB does, compared to just 24% of women. Meanwhile, 40% of women reported having no prior knowledge of the agency at all.

These figures tell a story that, though a large number of men and women recognize the CFPB by name, women are significantly less likely to know what the CFPB actually does.

Income’s Role in Awareness

Income demographics also played a significant role in awareness. Higher-income Americans ($100K+) are 65% more likely to know about the CFPB than those earning under $50,000. One in three households, across income levels, say they have never heard of the CFPB.

There is also a contrast in understanding between income lines. According to our study, respondents in lower-income groups had a more limited understanding of the CFPB’s role than those in higher-income groups.

About 38% of the respondents earning less than $50,000 said they recognized the CFPB’s name but weren’t familiar with its purpose, compared to 27% in the highest income bracket. This reveals that awareness is the lowest among income earners who may benefit the most from the CFPB’s oversight.

Widespread Uncertainty Toward CFPB

It’s clear that low awareness continues to overshadow public perception of the CFPB, suggesting that public discourse around the CFPB and its reforms may not be reaching or resonating with many consumers.   

Though the CFPB has done much to bolster protections for consumers in the financial sphere, questions swirl around whether its expansion and aggressive regulation tactics are still deemed necessary. 

Regardless of the potential changes, the CFPB remains an unknown entity to the very people it stands up for — the consumer — which is something it may seek to rectify in this battle of transparency and funding.

This survey was conducted among 1,000 U.S. credit card holders aged 18 and older to assess public awareness, perceptions, and opinions regarding the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The sample was designed to reflect a diverse cross-section of credit card users in the United States and was post-stratified to align with national demographic benchmarks.

The results presented here are weighted to ensure representativeness across key demographic groups. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

The margin of error for this survey is ±3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. This means that if the survey were repeated multiple times, the results would fall within three percentage points of the reported values 95% of the time.