Thursday morning, the guy who fired your financial watchdog sat down in front of the Senate and defended the demolition. Russell Watt, acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, told lawmakers that the agency should not exist in its current form.
A few seats away, Senator Elizabeth Warren put a price tag on her work: $26.5 billion. He says the Trump administration’s overhaul of the CFPB has come at a cost to American consumers, CNBC reported. That’s a big jump from the $19 billion his office estimated in February.
Here’s what that means for you.
The referee who keeps an eye on your checking account, your credit report, and your credit cards is now very weak. And no one will knock on your door to warn you.
So let’s do it ourselves.
I’ve been a consumer advocate and reporter since 1991. Financial companies are not cartoon villains. But they are not your friends either. They react to rules – and when you weaken the rules, their behavior changes. Here are six security measures Washington just removed, and exactly how to cover yourself on each.
1. Your overdraft fees are back to $35 a pop
The CFPB finalized a rule limiting overdraft fees to a minimum of $5. Congress ended it in the spring of 2025, and President Donald Trump signed the repeal into law.
So the typical big-bank overdraft fee is back to around $35 – charged because you were short a few dollars on a cup of coffee.
What to do: Opt out of overdraft “protection” altogether. Then purchases you can’t cover are declined instead of being charged. Place a small pillow to test that you are pretending to void. Our list on the latest overdraft rules is based on your options.
2. The $8 credit card late-fee limit has been reached
Another CFPB rule would have limited most credit card late fees to $8. The Bureau moved away from this. So as soon as your payment is missed by a day, issuers can charge you $30 or more.
What to do: Keep your minimum payment on autopay – just the minimum, so you’re technically never late. Then pay the rest manually. Missing even one due date can leave you facing a penalty APR north of 29%. That’s a pretty brutal price for a slip.
3. Dozens of cases against companies were dropped
Under Vought, the CFPB has dismissed or withdrawn at least 22 enforcement actions covering more than $3.5 billion in alleged losses to consumers. According to the Warren Report.
Translation: Some companies that the government accused of defrauding you are gone.
What to do: Assume that you are now the enforcer. Document everything, dispute bad charges fast and use the tips in our guide to winning a consumer complaint. Don’t count on a regulator to catch this for you.
One thing before we go any further – the financial world has become noisier and duller than ever. Heat takes over everywhere. Almost none of these are worth your time. I’ve spent over 35 years avoiding noise so you don’t have to. Sign up for the FREE Money Talks newsletter – 10 seconds, no spam, just what matters.
4. Complaint portal made difficult to use – intentionally
The CFPB’s complaint system is a free tool that has helped companies fix millions of problems. It got a new design in June, and as The Hill reportedDue to changes it has become difficult to use.
Now you need two-factor login. You have been told to fight the credit agency directly first and wait. And your complaint may be closed with a form letter instead of a resolution.
What to do: File anyway consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Set up your login now so you don’t have to worry about taking extra steps later. Your state’s attorney general also takes these complaints.
5. Your credit report lost a layer of inspection
Credit reporting is the biggest thing people ask the CFPB for help with — and the agency is making it easier for the bureau to resolve complaints. Errors that hurt your score may stay there for a longer period of time.
What to do: Get all three reports for free annualcreditreport.com And dispute any wrong thing. Clearing a fake item is the fastest, cheapest way to increase your score.
6. A large part of the market remains undiscovered
Watt has proposed raising the asset limit for banks supervised by the CFPB from $10 billion to $21 billion, and he has halted oversight of several non-bank fintechs. The more companies handling your money, the less regular checks.
What to do: Be extra skeptical of buy now-pay later plans and payment apps. Read the terms before linking a bank account and keep your balances in those apps low. It is advisable to know the hidden risks of these plans before tapping on “Pay in Four”.
other side of the argument
As you might expect, the administration tells a different story. The White House Council of Economic Advisors argues that the CFPB itself has made credit more expensive – pegging. Costs have since risen from $237 billion to $369 billion 2011 – And say reining it in was overdue.
Another thing to consider is that Senator Warren played a key role in establishing the CFPB, so she is hardly objective.
But I can tell you one thing from decades of experience: fewer consumer protection measures will make consumers unhappy. I’m all for getting rid of redundant, costly regulations. But many people these days are forgetting that many of the rules now in place were originally designed to protect you.
Reasonable people can debate how big and how aggressive the CFPB should be. This is a real debate. But one thing is not a matter of debate. The side arguing against consumer protection are the companies that benefit when they go away.
Right now, the distance between you and a bank is short, so it is better to leave the niceties aside.