Cottonwood Financial Ltd., the privately held consumer finance company behind the Cash Store payday lending brand, filed for Chapter 11 protection on February 25, 2024 in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division (Case No. 24-80035). Founded in 1996, the company operated 181 retail storefront locations across Texas, Idaho, and Wisconsin with 537 employees, serving approximately 43,000 active customer accounts with $32.6 million in receivables. The filing followed COVID-era demand shifts away from in-store lending, elevated bad-debt rates, regulatory constraints in Texas, and fixed overhead that did not scale down with store closures. At filing, the debtors carried approximately $69 million in total debt, including a $26.74 million Main Street secured loan from Third Coast Bank and a $38.16 million subordinated loan. The debtors obtained DIP financing of up to $9 million and sold substantially all assets to Axcess Financial Holdings, Inc. (CNG Holdings, operator of Check 'n Go) under a 363 sale approved May 13, 2024. The liquidating plan was confirmed August 7, 2024 and became effective August 22, 2024. Prepetition secured creditors received $1.3 million at closing plus remaining estate cash and retained causes of action. General unsecured creditors (~$4 million) received no distribution. A motion for final decree was filed December 5, 2024.