American First Finance

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

Contacts, Payment & Login

• Official website (American First Finance): https://www.americanfirstfinance.com/
• AFF customer service, Mon-Fri 7am-8pm CT, Sat 8am-7pm CT: (855) 721-1188
• AFF problem/complaint email (published on AFF site): [email protected]
• Customer Login (My Account): https://cp.americanfirstfinance.com/
• Quick Pay (PayNearMe): https://www.paynearme.com/americanfirstfinance

Locations

American First Finance problems: where to go, what to ask for and how to escalate (checked October 7, 2026)

American First Finance, LLC (AFF) sells point-of-sale payment products through retailers. The first step is to find which contract you have, because the rules differ. AFF's own footer describes three: a bank loan ("originated by FinWise Bank, a Utah-chartered bank, Member FDIC and sub-serviced by AFF"), a retail installment sale agreement ("not a loan"; AFF "may purchase the Agreement from the Merchant") and a lease ("not a loan or credit transaction"; "AFF retains ownership until you pay for the item(s) plus rental fees").

Contact AFF. AFF's contact page gives (855) 721-1188 (Mon-Fri 7 am to 8 pm CT, Saturday 8 am to 7 pm CT, Sunday closed) and online chat during the same hours. It says mail "regarding payments, approvals, or credit disputes" goes to P.O. Box 565848, Dallas, TX 75356. The site footer says: "To report a problem or complaint with this lender, you may write [email protected] or call customer service." Keep the date, the name of the person you spoke with and a copy of anything you send.

Early buyout and early payoff. AFF's How It Works page lists an "Early Buyout/Payoff Discount" option ("typically 90 or 101 days early savings window"). Its footnote says you "must make payments larger than your regularly scheduled payments by the EPD/EBO expiration date" through the customer portal or by contacting customer service. Massachusetts alleged in 2026 that AFF created barriers to using this option (see the regulator section). If you want to use it, ask in writing for the payoff or buyout amount and its expiry date, and keep AFF's reply.

What the contracts cost, per AFF's own examples. For a lease, AFF says the total "may be more than double the retail cost" and gives an example of a $1,000 item over 12 months totalling $2,452.21. For a retail installment sale it gives an example of a $1,000 purchase with a $50 down payment at an APR of 169.53 percent, total repayable $1,944.81. Read your own agreement; these are examples, not your terms.

Cancelling a lease. AFF's footer says: "You can cancel your lease at any time without penalty by contacting AFF." FirstCash's annual report says lease customers "can cancel their agreements at any time, without penalty, by returning the merchandise." Ask AFF in writing how to cancel and how to return the item, and keep proof of the return.

Credit report problems. The CFPB says to start by disputing an error with the credit reporting company (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) in writing, with copies of supporting documents; the company must investigate and forward the dispute to the business that supplied the information. You can also complain to the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or (855) 411-2372. The CFPB database shows complaints about AFF concentrated on debt collection, credit reporting and personal-loan products (counts in the complaint section).

Lawsuits and arbitration. AFF's Lease-to-Own Arbitration Clause (as linked on AFF's Legal & Compliance page on October 7, 2026) says you can opt out "within 30 calendar days after the date you enter into a RTO Agreement" by a signed written notice to American First Finance, LLC, Attn.: Legal Department, P.O. Box 565848, Dallas, Texas 75356, and that a written Claim Notice must be sent and 30 days allowed before a lawsuit or arbitration starts. The clause says either party may demand arbitration, "Either Party may bring a lawsuit if the other Party does not demand arbitration," and either party may require that an individual claim within a small-claims court's jurisdiction be resolved there. Other AFF product agreements have their own clauses on AFF's Legal & Compliance page.

FinWise data-incident settlement. A $2.8 million class settlement over a May 2024 data incident at FinWise Bank is pending. The official FAQ says you are in the settlement class "if you are a living, natural person residing in the United States whose Private Information was affected by the Data Incident, including all individuals who were sent a notice of the Data Incident." The court notice says claims must be submitted online or postmarked by October 29, 2026; the opt-out and objection deadline (September 29, 2026) has passed; the final approval hearing is December 10, 2026. The FAQ says that unless you opted out, "you give up any right to sue any of the Released Parties for the legal claims this Settlement resolves and Releases," and that benefits are provided only after the court approves the settlement and it becomes final. Official site: www.FinWiseDataSettlement.com, phone 1-877-419-3877. Details are in the litigation section.

Regulator actions: Massachusetts Attorney General settlement (May 2026)

On May 13, 2026 the Massachusetts Attorney General announced a $7.8 million settlement with American First Finance LLC. According to the press release, AFF pays $2 million to the Commonwealth, to be returned to affected customers as restitution, and provides "nearly $5.8 million in credits to existing consumer accounts."

The Attorney General's allegations, as stated in the release: AFF "placed unreasonable and unfair barriers" to using the Early Buyout Option, which "allows consumer to obtain ownership of the merchandise after just 90 or 101 days, for a minimal fee above the cash price"; and its advertising "did not consistently make it clear to consumers that they were entering into a lease agreement." The release says the settlement requires AFF to correct its marketing, including making clear that it "only offers lease-to-own products in Massachusetts, and not loans," and says consumers receiving restitution "will be contacted in the coming months." The press release also says the agreement "ensures AFF's compliance with other Massachusetts consumer protection laws and AGO debt collection regulations." It does not say whether AFF admitted or denied the allegations. The settlement document itself (an Assurance of Discontinuance, a 19-page scanned PDF on mass.gov) was opened on 2026-10-07 but its text could not be read here, so allegations beyond those in the press release are not summarized on this page; the release concerns Massachusetts consumers.

Not found. A search of the CFPB's enforcement actions page for "american first" on 2026-10-06 returned no results. Searches of public sources on that date did not identify other state attorney general or regulator actions against AFF; this is not a search of every state registry. The CFPB's July 2025 settlement with FirstCash, Inc. and subsidiaries concerned Military Lending Act violations in pawn transactions according to FirstCash's annual report, not AFF's products; it was entered "without admitting or denying the allegations."

Who American First Finance is and who owns it

American First Finance, LLC says it "was born" in 2013 and that "over 5 million customers" have used its products (company statements); BBB's page data lists the business as incorporated on 2013-04-15. Its website says it is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and shows NMLS ID 1757007. The site says it is "backed by FirstCash Holdings, Inc."

FirstCash Holdings, Inc., a public company with its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, reports that its retail point-of-sale payment solutions business "consists solely of the operations of AFF, which it acquired in 2021," and that AFF produced 15 percent of FirstCash's consolidated net revenues in 2025. In its 10-K FirstCash describes three AFF products: lease-to-own (43 percent of AFF's 2025 gross transaction volumes), retail installment sale agreements (12 percent) and bank-originated installment loans (45 percent), made by a Utah state-chartered bank with AFF sub-servicing. The 10-K says AFF serves "credit-constrained" customers and, as of its filing, had approximately 16,400 active retail merchant partner locations and e-commerce platforms; the June 2026 10-Q says approximately 16,700. A direct-to-consumer unsecured installment loan, underwritten and retained by the bank, was added in the third quarter of 2025; AFF must reimburse the bank for those loans 90 days past due.

AFF is a payment provider for merchants, not the store that sold you the item. Complaints about the product itself, delivery or repair usually involve the merchant; complaints about payments, fees, buyout amounts and credit reporting involve AFF.

Complaint record as displayed on October 7, 2026

These counts come from separate sources and are not added together.

• BBB (profile for American First Finance, LLC, PO Box 565848, Dallas): not BBB Accredited, rating A+; 441 total complaints in the last 3 years and 90 closed in the last 12 months; 1.49 out of 5 from an average of 276 customer reviews. BBB's search also lists other American First Finance profiles under other addresses (Wichita KS, Bloomfield Hills MI, Fontana CA and Madison TN); they are not combined here.
• CFPB database (company "American First Finance, Inc."): 1,413 complaints, first received 2015-05-30 and most recent 2026-09-28; 204 were received since 2025-10-07. In those 204: product "Debt collection" 76, "Payday loan, title loan, personal loan, or advance loan" 64, "Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports" 51, "Credit card" 8; issues "Incorrect information on your report" 46, "Took or threatened to take negative or legal action" 37, "Charged fees or interest you didn't expect" 30, "Attempts to collect debt not owed" 27. Company responses to the 204: closed with explanation 141, closed with non-monetary relief 33, closed with monetary relief 30; all 204 listed as timely. Across all 1,413: closed with explanation 934, non-monetary relief 290, monetary relief 189. CFPB complaints are consumer statements and the CFPB does not verify them.
• Trustpilot (americanfirstfinance.com): 4.2 from 265 reviews, 255 of them in the last 12 months; 69 percent 5-star and 18 percent 1-star. The profile is shown as claimed (April 2025) with a paid Trustpilot subscription; Trustpilot notes the company invites customers to review, and the page data lists company replies to 45 of 46 negative reviews. Trustpilot states it does not fact-check reviews.

No complaint about this company has been published on usacomplaints.com: a search of the archive on 2026-10-06 found only posts about unrelated businesses with similar names (for example a 2003 post about "American First Financial" collection, a 2009 post about a contractor operating under a similar trade name, and Adult FriendFinder posts abbreviated "AFF"), which are not linked to this page.

Court cases involving AFF (statuses as of October 7, 2026)

Andrade v. American First Finance (N.D. Cal., No. 3:18-cv-06743-SK). Filed November 7, 2018 by Maria Andrade and Shaun Caulkins, who alleged that AFF partnered with California merchants and was an unlicensed lender making usurious loans (FirstCash Form 10-Q, 2022). Caulkins was dismissed October 14, 2020 and class certification was denied in September 2022 (same filing), so the trial in April 2023 was on Ms. Andrade's individual claims. On June 28, 2023 the court entered judgment on the jury verdict and its order on equitable relief. In that order the court adopted its earlier finding that the Security Agreement was "both procedurally and substantively unconscionable" (the agreement carried a 120 percent annual rate for a $1,201.62 furniture purchase made through a Fresno merchant), found that collecting on it was an unfair business practice under California's Unfair Competition Law, awarded restitution of $2,161.15 (the full amount AFF collected), enjoined further collection from her and ordered corrective notices to credit reporting agencies. The court's new-trial order records that the jury found the Security Agreement was not a "loan"; Ms. Andrade's motion for a new trial was denied on June 27, 2023. The court later found her the prevailing party for costs. Both sides noticed appeals to the Ninth Circuit (Nos. 23-16050 and 23-16087); a December 18, 2023 joint notice told the district court of a settlement, and an April 15, 2024 joint update said the parties had "reached an oral agreement on settlement terms" with conditions to be completed over 120 days and a stipulation of dismissal anticipated by August 13, 2024. The latest entry shown on the CourtListener docket on 2026-10-06 is that April 2024 filing; the final dismissal was not verified.

Facio v. American First Finance (N.D. Cal.). FirstCash's 10-Q filed October 31, 2022 described a similar putative class complaint filed October 20, 2021, stayed pending arbitration. No later status was verified.

Minter v. FinWise Bank et al. (D. Utah, No. 2:25-cv-00569-JNP-CMR). Class action over a data incident at FinWise Bank on or about May 31, 2024 that affected AFF customers' records (names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and account numbers). FinWise Bancorp's 10-Q says the lawsuits were consolidated on October 3, 2025 (the consolidation order appears on CourtListener with a filing date of October 6, 2025), a settlement was submitted for approval on May 8, 2026 and the court preliminarily approved the settlement fund on July 1, 2026. The settlement notice lists FinWise Bank, FinWise Bancorp and American First Finance as the defendants, says the settlement is $2,800,000, and states: "Defendants deny the legal claims and deny any wrongdoing or liability. The Court has not made any determination of any wrongdoing." Class definition per the official FAQ: living, natural persons residing in the United States whose private information was affected, including all individuals who were sent a notice; class members who do not opt out give up the right to sue over the released claims. Benefits: documented losses up to $5,000 per member, or a pro rata cash payment, plus optional two years of three-bureau credit monitoring. Claim deadline October 29, 2026; final approval hearing December 10, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. in Salt Lake City.

Is American First Finance Legitimate?

American First Finance, LLC publishes a Dallas, Texas headquarters city, a customer service number and a mailing address, and shows NMLS ID 1757007 on its website. It is a subsidiary of FirstCash Holdings, Inc., a company that files annual and quarterly reports with the SEC and reports AFF as one of its business lines. BBB lists the Dallas LLC profile as not accredited with an A+ rating and 441 complaints in the last 3 years as displayed on 2026-10-06.

The public record also includes a $7.8 million Massachusetts Attorney General settlement (May 2026) over alleged barriers to the early buyout option and unclear lease advertising, a 2023 judgment against AFF in an individual California case on a contract signed through a merchant, and a pending $2.8 million data-incident class settlement involving FinWise Bank. These are documents to weigh yourself; this page does not assign a score or a verdict.

Court & Public Records

Company Relationships

• Owned by: FirstCash Holdings, Inc.
• Affiliated with: FinWise Bank

Frequently Asked Questions