Under the Trump administration, major changes at key consumer protection agencies, including widespread staff cuts and rule rollbacks, are raising concerns about the future of efforts to curb unfair or deceptive financial practices. Professor Terri Friedline explains what's been happening at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, why it matters, and how these shifts impact the people who can least afford to be left unprotected. And she draws on her research to highlight how the financial system has left many behind, despite the promises of new financial technologies.

For more on this topic:

• Read Friedline's commentary about how financial technology firms prey on the poor in Truthout

• Check out her book, Banking on a Revolution: Why Financial Technology Won't Save a Broken System