The Empower app can help you with everything from saving to monitoring your credit to getting cash before payday.
Is it legit, though?
Or should you skip this cash advance app and opt for one of the many other apps like Empower?
We’ll answer those questions and tell you everything you need to know about the app in this Empower app review.
Table of Contents
What is Empower?
Empower is a financial services company headquartered in San Francisco.
It provides cash advances that can help you bridge the gap before payday, along with a range of other financial products and services, including lines of credit, automatic savings, and credit monitoring.
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Users can access financial products and services, like cash advances, from Empower through the company’s app, which is available for iOS and Android devices.
Who can use the Empower app?
To use Empower, you’ll need to:
- Be at least 18 years old.
- Have a Social Security Number.
- Have a mobile phone that can receive SMS.
- Have a valid bank account that is more than 30 days old.
How Does Empower Work?
Empower offers a few different financial products and services to consumers.
Cash Advances
Empower provides cash advances of up to $300. Simply download Empower, and you’ll receive a custom offer. You’ll need to connect your bank account.
If you like the offer, you can accept the advance and repay the money automatically with your next paycheck.
Empower Thrive (Lines of Credit)
Thrive is a line of credit provided by one of Empower’s bank partners, FinWise Bank (Member FDIC).
It offers a credit line of $200 to $400. You can use it to build a good credit history, and it may offer regular credit limit increases.
As a credit product, Thrive reports your payment history and account information to the credit bureaus each month, allowing you to see it as a tradeline on your credit report.
Simply download the Empower app, apply for Thrive (the company says the application process takes less than 3 minutes and welcomes all credit scores), and you’ll get instant access to a $200 to $400 credit line. This can grow to $1,000 over time.
You can repay the money in your own way and are rewarded for making on-time payments with credit limit increases. It’s a good way to build a positive credit history.
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AutoSave
Empower provides users with automatic savings through its AutoSave feature.
The app helps you figure out when and how much you can save.
You can set your weekly savings goal, and the app will assist you in reaching that goal.
Each day, it monitors your account balance, analyzing the type and speed of cash inflows and outflows to detect when you have excess cash and when you’re running low.
When the app determines that you can afford to save, it will set aside money in your AutoSave account.
Credit Monitoring
The Empower app allows you to track your credit score, helping you improve it. You can monitor your credit score directly in the app.
Spend Tracking
Empower can also help you manage your spending with its Spend Tracking feature. You can personalize your budgeting categories and set weekly or monthly limits.
Is the Empower App Legit?
Empower is a legit app offering cash advances and other financial services, like lines of credit and automatic savings. It has positive reviews on both the App Store and Google Play Store.
On the App Store, it has a rating of 4.8 stars.
On the Google Play Store, it has a rating of 4.7 stars.
So, it’s well-reviewed by users, meaning that many people have had a good experience using Empower.
Empower App Complaints
Despite being well-rated on both the Google Play Store and the App Store, some consumers do have complaints about Empower.
On the Better Business Bureau (BBB), some people complain about being charged a monthly subscription fee and that it’s difficult to cancel the subscription.
Empower has responded to and resolved many of these complaints.
Empower Pros and Cons
In this section, I’ll cover some pros and cons of Empower to help you decide whether the app is right for you.
Pros
Here are the pros of Empower:
- Cash advances of up to $300.
- Offers budgeting and credit-building features.
- No credit check required for cash advances.
- Well-rated on the App Store and Google Play Store.
- No direct deposit required for cash advances.
Cons
Here are the cons of Empower:
- Monthly fee required.
FAQs
In this section, I’ll answer some common questions that people have about the Empower app.
Does the Empower app give you money?
Yes, there are two ways to get money with the Empower app. First, the app offers cash advances of up to $300. Second, through Empower Thrive, the app provides a $200 to $400 line of credit.
Does Empower require a direct deposit for cash advances?
What’s interesting about Empower is that it doesn’t require direct deposit to get a cash advance.
You’ll just need to link your bank account in the app so that it can determine your eligibility. It will review your account history to check for things like the frequency of your paycheck and your spending habits.
Does Empower require a credit check?
Empower does not require a credit check for cash advances, and there’s no minimum credit score required to use Empower Thrive either.
Does Empower charge interest?
Empower does not charge interest on cash advances.
For Empower Thrive, you may be charged interest of up to 35.99% APR.
Does Empower charge a monthly subscription fee?
Yes, Empower charges a subscription fee of $8 per month. However, there’s a free 14-day trial available.
Is there a fee for Empower Cash Advance?
Empower doesn’t charge fees for cash advances. However, if you want the money instantly, rather than waiting the typical two to three business days to receive the funds, you can opt to pay a fee. This fee ranges from $3.99 to $8, depending on the size of the cash advance.
Empower App Review: Overall Verdict
Overall, Empower is a good choice for users looking to get a cash advance, open a line of credit, build their credit score, save money, or budget. It’s well-rated by users, doesn’t require a credit check, and doesn’t charge any interest on cash advances.
I’d always recommend that consumers be careful with cash advances. While they can avoid the high APR and late fees that often come with credit products and are better than payday loans, they can still lead to a cycle of debt.
A cycle of debt is when you continue to take on more debt than you can repay. This can result in needing to take out another loan to pay off existing debts, putting you further into debt and accruing more interest. This creates a larger expense, which becomes more difficult to manage over time.
With cash advances, you may struggle to find the money to repay what you owe, leading to borrowing more money. If possible, consider borrowing from friends or family or getting a side hustle as alternatives.
If you do decide to use a cash advance app, Empower is a good choice.
Hopefully, this Empower app review has helped you decide whether or not the app is right for you.
Aryan marab
From what I have read, the empower app is useful for the people who need urgent cash, they can provide up to 300$ , and if a person continues to use it they will increase the limit from 300$ to possibly a 1000$ , how ever, they should be more specific with there intrest charge and the deadline to pay back the money, it’s no where mentioned the deadline to pay back, so far that’s the only limitation I could point out, That’s gonna be my opinion on the empower app
Saeed
Thank you, Areyan. I agree about the lack of transparency. Unfortunately, financial institutions are known for not being transparent.