Empower Money Advance App Assessment 2025

The Empower app stands out within the fintech scene as a sensible resolution for gig employees and others who want a versatile method to handle private funds and generally inconsistent revenue.

It’s identified for providing money advances with extra lenient necessities than conventional banks and different related money advance apps. Empower gives fast entry to money with out the trouble of a credit score verify or paying predatory payday lender charges.

This Empower evaluation will cowl how money advances and different Empower app options work. We’ll inform you what you’ll want to find out about this product and customary reader questions — together with different related mortgage merchandise.

What’s the Empower App?

Empower is a cell cash administration app that provides money advances to employees who want a small advance earlier than payday.

The quantities are smaller than what different apps might provide, however Empower is thought for its rapid-fire velocity in getting customers their cash straight away, in addition to its thinner credit score necessities.

Past small money loans, Empower is a flexible fintech cell app. Empower options finances and spend trackers, credit score monitoring, and different instruments to assist customers lower your expenses and handle their funds extra successfully.

Empower will not be a financial institution itself. It does provide some cell banking companies via NBKC Financial institution, Member FDIC, and Empower Thrive is offered by FinWise Financial institution, Member FDIC.

How the Empower App Works

The Empower app affords three (3) main companies:

• Money advances: Get an advance of as much as $250 with no curiosity, no charges, and no credit score verify. The money is deposited into the identical checking account the place your paycheck is deposited, or onto your Empower debit card.
• Thrive: A credit score line designed to (re)construct credit score, get a credit score line beginning at $250 that may be raised to $1,000. There’s no minimal credit score rating required for Thrive and on-time cost historical past is reported to Equifax and Experian. Month over month, accountable debtors can entry an more and more greater restrict.
• Debit card: Utilizing the Empower Card means you may get instant entry to money advance funds and receives a commission up two (2) days sooner when you’ve got direct deposit arrange. There are additionally cash-back rewards of as much as 10% for purchases made with the cardboard.

Charges, Withdrawals, Reimbursement

Empower affords customers a free 14-day trial, after which there’s an $8 month-to-month subscription price to make use of the app. For money advance customers, there aren’t any further curiosity or late charges.

Curiosity

For the Empower Thrive line of credit score, the APR is 0% in case you repay the road of credit score in full earlier than your subsequent paycheck. In any other case, the APR is 35.99% (besides the place native state legal guidelines require a distinct fee). Missed funds might incur late charges and different expenses.

Entry to Funds

If permitted for a money advance, the cash is transferred to your checking account or your Empower debit card. There’s no price for an everyday ACH switch to your checking account which can take as much as 5 (5) enterprise days to clear. (Some debtors will get the funds inside 1-2 days.)

There may be additionally an immediate supply possibility for funds to be expedited to your common checking account.

Prompt Supply Quantity | Charge

• $0-$10.00 | $1.00
• $10.01-$49.99 | $2.00
• $50.00 – $74.99 | $3.00
• $75.00 – $99.99 | $4.00
• $100.00 – $149.99 | $5.00
• $150.00 – $199.99 | $6.00
• $200.00 – $249.99 | $7.00
• $250.00 or extra $8.00

For Empower Thrive, charges are $1 to $8 for as much as $300. After $300, the price is 3% or $20 — whichever is much less.

Reimbursement

Reimbursement for an Empower Money Advance is mechanically debited out of your checking account on payday or different scheduled date.

For Empower Thrive, you possibly can arrange personalized cost choices.

Eligibility Necessities

Whereas there isn’t any credit score verify for money advances, the Empower app does take into account different data to find out your capacity to repay a mortgage. It should evaluation data from an externally linked checking account corresponding to paycheck quantities and spending habits, and resolve what quantity you possibly can borrow. If permitted, you possibly can obtain an advance of $10 to $250.

Moreover, debtors have to be 18 years or older, have a Social Safety quantity, and have a checking account that’s at the very least 30 days previous.

Extra Empower App Options

Past money advances, the Empower app has many different financial savings and budgeting options that can assist you monitor your spending habits and credit score rating, construct wealth, and enhance your total monetary wellness.

Credit score Rating Monitoring

Empower app customers can view their credit score scores inside the app. Empowers reveals an in depth breakdown every month of various features, corresponding to invoice cost historical past or credit score utilization, that may influence your rating. The app will provide personalised suggestions to extend your rating.

Budgeting Instruments

Empower can also be one of many finest budgeting apps you’ll discover. It screens your month-to-month bills and incoming deposits and provides you an in depth report of the place your cash goes. It might aid you set budgets throughout completely different spending classes, and supply alerts or reminders for paycheck deposits, payments, and purchases in sure classes.

This perk is obtainable for all Empower customers, even those that are connecting an exterior checking account to the Empower app.

Computerized Financial savings

The app’s autosave function makes it easy so that you can lower your expenses and steadily develop your financial savings account or wet day fund.

Savers can use a guide or AI possibility. With the guide possibility, you resolve what greenback quantity from every paycheck Empower ought to mechanically put aside in your financial savings.

With the AI mode, you set a weekly financial savings aim and the app will transfer cash out of your checking to financial savings within the most secure, most effective method potential. Its aim is to put aside as a lot as you possibly can afford to avoid wasting with out working out of cash for different common bills.

Getting Began

If you would like a money advance from Empower, right here’s the right way to get began.

1. Obtain the free app on Google Play or Apple. Many different apps have related names. Make certain the app developer listed is Empower Finance. Or obtain it from the Empower.me web site.
2. Arrange your account. Present your cellphone quantity and look forward to Empower to ship you a verification code. Then present the verification code, and enter your identify, e mail tackle, birthday, and set a password.
3. Join an exterior checking account — choose the one you utilize to obtain paycheck deposits.
4. Request a money advance and see what advance quantity, if any, you might be permitted for.
5. Select a supply methodology to get your funds. You’ll be able to choose the moment supply possibility, for a small price, to get your funds inside an hour.

Empower will withdraw the quantity they’ve superior you, plus any categorical supply charges, out of your checking account on the due date.

The account set-up course of typically goes fairly easily, nevertheless, in some cases, it’s possible you’ll be requested to offer further paperwork to confirm your identification corresponding to a driver’s license or navy identification card.

Options to the Empower App

There are lots of apps much like Empower that may additionally provide a money advance to customers who want a money injection earlier than payday. Three (3) different various apps to contemplate are Dave, Earnin, and MoneyLion. All if these apps work on iOS or Android units.

Dave

This money advance app will spot you as much as $500 to cowl bills when you wait in your subsequent paycheck.

There’s a $1 month-to-month membership price and extra charges (of $3 to $25) to get your funds superior on the identical day as an alternative of ready for the conventional processing time of as much as three (3) enterprise days.

Moreover, customers should open an ExtraCash account to be eligible for money advances.

Earnin

One other standard money advance app, Earnin, will advance you as much as $750 per pay interval (or $100 per day) for hours that you’ve got already labored. Earnin has no credit score verify necessities and affords a fee-free, interest-free advance. The advance is mechanically repaid with a debit in your subsequent scheduled payday.

Earnin has no month-to-month subscription price, however as an alternative, customers tip the corporate no matter they imagine is truthful for the service they supply. The app won’t report these funds to the credit score bureaus, so it won’t construct (or hurt) your credit score rating.

MoneyLion

Much like different money advance apps, MoneyLion gives interest-free money advances with no credit score checks. Preliminary money advances, nevertheless, begin out low. First-time debtors will qualify for simply $10. As you construct a historical past of repaying these advances, you possibly can unlock greater quantities — as much as $500.

Customers will need to have a linked, exterior checking account and meet different primary eligibility necessities.

MoneyLion additionally affords Credit score Builder Plus, a product much like Empower Thrive. It is a mortgage product that doesn’t require a tough credit score pull. It’s meant as a instrument for customers to determine and construct a constructive credit score historical past. To make use of Credit score Builder Plus, there’s a $19.99 per thirty days price.

So far, Empower has not supplied conventional promotions (i.e. coupon code to avoid wasting 15%) the way in which you would possibly count on with retail apps. Nevertheless, Empower does have its personal bonuses and incentives to encourage customers to attempt to advocate the app.

Free Trial

First-time clients can get a free 14-day trial. On the finish of the trial, Empower will cost an auto-recurring subscription price of $8 per thirty days. You can’t cancel our membership after which join a brand new free trial after you have got already had 14 days free.

Referral Rewards

Refer buddies to the Empower app and also you and your pal will every get a $5 reward. To qualify, the pal should settle for your invite, begin an Empower subscription, and settle for a money advance inside 30 days.

The bonuses are paid out inside two (2) enterprise days after the referred pal accepts their first money advance.

Safety

Empower makes use of trade finest practices to guard your private information from loss, misuse, or unsafe storage or entry. This contains the utilization of multifactor authentication (MFA) strategies and information encryption.

Buyer Help

There are a few methods you possibly can attain Empower customer support.

• E mail: Ship messages to [email protected]
• Cellphone: Name 1 (888) 843-8967. Cellphone traces are open 6 a.m. to three p.m. PST Monday to Friday, besides on holidays.
• Useful resource library: Empower has a strong help heart stuffed with articles and FAQs to troubleshoot points and reply the most typical consumer questions.

Buyer Evaluations

Client response to the Empower app has been overwhelmingly constructive. It has extraordinarily excessive scores on Google Play and the Apple App Retailer (4.7 stars and 4.8 stars, respectively, based mostly on over 300,000 complete opinions).

Evaluations on the Higher Enterprise Bureau (BBB) web page are extra essential. Complaints focus on clients sad with the $8 month-to-month subscription price (for not canceling their free trial in time). Additionally, many customers depart adverse opinions for Empower Retirement Planning, a totally completely different entity owned by the Empower Annuity Insurance coverage Firm of America, on the fallacious web page.

Listed below are some related opinions from actual customers of the Empower Finance (money advance) app:

This app is unimaginable, to say the least. $200 immediately despatched to you, a $7 immediate switch price, pay the $207 again in your subsequent paycheck. After efficiently paying again an advance, you possibly can unlock the power to get Thrive which reviews to the credit score bureaus, builds credit score historical past, helps your credit score rating climb, and permits for greater advances as much as $1,000. the ONLY factor that will make Empower higher is in case you may do cut up funds (ie: borrow $1000 and pay again over time.) In any other case it is excellent!

I am a journey journalist. I wanted cash as a result of financially the automotive repairs cleaned out my meager checking account. I learn the opinions and selected Empower, they’re precisely as marketed… No surprises OR hidden charges. I took a leap of religion. Empower most undoubtedly got here via for me. Completely, & with out reservation, I’d select them. They are a Firm…not simply an app!

One of many ONLY mortgage apps that’s HONEST! I’ve been utilizing the app “Empower” now for a couple of month and to date so good, I principally have zero complaints apart from one. Once I first bought supplied a money advance it was $10 which is comprehensible since I used to be a first-time buyer. I repaid on time and bought supplied one other money advance for $25 which actually helped me…however now I’m on my 4th advance with Empower they usually nonetheless haven’t supplied me greater than $25 although my account is in good standing…

Professionals and Cons

We rapidly addressed among the execs and cons of utilizing the Empower app in our intro, however right here’s a deeper look.

Professionals

• Flexibility eligible standards with no credit score verify: There’s no credit score pull, onerous or gentle, to get an advance. The platform is extra involved with incoming revenue and a confirmed capacity to repay the quantity.
• Advances are funded inside sooner or later: Empower debit card holders can get the funds inside an hour. Different clients pays an extra price to get the funds immediately.
• Gig employees and freelancers might also qualify. These less-traditional employees are often not in a position to entry loans and related monetary merchandise with favorable client phrases.
• Budgeting and credit-building options. Many instruments inside the app promote monetary wellness and higher cash administration.
• A lot better various to payday Payday mortgage merchandise are notoriously predatory, and cost rates of interest as excessive as 456% in some states.
• Refunds customers if the app causes an overdraft price.

Cons

• Loans are smaller than different money advance apps. Different related apps like Dave, MoneyLion, or Earnin, will advance as much as $500 to $750.
• Month-to-month subscription charges of $8. Nonetheless, that is less expensive than the curiosity you’ll be charged for a payday
• An empower card is required without cost, instant money advances. In any other case, you will want to pay a price to get the advance funds on the identical day requested.
• No consumer notifications earlier than reimbursement Funds are withdrawn on the pre-agreed-upon date (payday), however there isn’t any reminder or alert earlier than this occurs. You’ll must set your individual calendar alert.
• Can take some time for Empower to extend your permitted money advance quantities. Within the app opinions, some customers state they can not get permitted for greater than $25 after repaying 4 (4) or additional cash advances in a well timed method.

Regularly Requested Questions

Listed below are among the most typical FAQs that readers have about utilizing the Empower app for money advances.

Can You Belief the Empower App?

Sure, Empower is a professional and secure app that has wonderful scores within the Google Play and Apple app shops. You’ll be able to learn opinions from hundreds of subscribers who’re proud of the service that Empower gives.

Moreover, Empower is a US-based firm (headquarters in California) with US cellphone and e mail help.

How Lengthy Does It Take to Get an Advance from Empower?

Based on Empower’s web site, 98% of immediate money advances arrive inside quarter-hour, usually sooner.

They do warning that it may take as much as two (2) hours to obtain an immediate fund request.

For the standard money advance, it might take as much as 5 (5) enterprise days nevertheless most debtors will get their funds inside one (1) enterprise day.

How A lot Will I Qualify for with Empower?

At current, the common borrower qualifies for a money advance quantity of $140. Advance quantities vary from $10 to $250 based mostly on Empower’s eligibility standards.

Why Did Empower Decrease My Money Advance?

Empower can change or decrease your typical money advance quantities based mostly on any modifications (they predict) in your capacity to repay the advance. They are going to look over your checking account transaction historical past, reimbursement exercise, drops in revenue, or will increase in spending.

How Do I Use Empower With Money App?

You should utilize Empower with Money App and different digital wallets and cell cost platforms like Venmo.

• Log into your cell cost service account.
• Hyperlink your Empower account through the use of your cellphone quantity and passcode.