Empower App Overview 2024

The Empower app stands out within the fintech scene as a sensible resolution for gig staff and others who want a versatile strategy to handle private funds and typically inconsistent earnings.

It’s recognized for providing money advances with extra lenient necessities than conventional banks and different comparable money advance apps. Empower supplies fast entry to money with out the effort of a credit score test or paying predatory payday lender charges.

This Empower overview will cowl how money advances and different Empower app options work. We’ll let you know what you have to learn about this product and customary reader questions — together with different comparable mortgage merchandise.

What’s the Empower App?

Empower is a cellular cash administration app that gives money advances to staff who want a small advance earlier than payday.

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

Past small money loans, Empower is a flexible fintech cellular app. Empower options finances and spend trackers, credit score monitoring, and different instruments to assist customers get monetary savings and handle their funds extra successfully.

Empower is just not a financial institution itself. It does provide some cellular banking providers by means of NBKC Financial institution, Member FDIC, and Empower Thrive is supplied by FinWise Financial institution, Member FDIC.

How the Empower App Works

The Empower app gives three (3) main providers:

• Money advances: Get an advance of as much as $250 with no curiosity, no charges, and no credit score test. 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 rapid entry to money advance funds and receives a commission up two (2) days sooner if in case you have direct deposit arrange. There are additionally cash-back rewards of as much as 10% for purchases made with the cardboard.

Charges, Withdrawals, Compensation

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

Curiosity

For the Empower Thrive line of credit score, the APR is 0% should 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 special charge). Missed funds might incur late charges and different expenses.

Entry to Funds

If authorised for a money advance, the cash is transferred to your checking account or your Empower debit card. There’s no payment for a daily 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’s additionally an instantaneous supply possibility for funds to be expedited to your common checking account.

Instantaneous Supply Quantity | Payment

• $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 payment is 3% or $20 — whichever is much less.

Compensation

Compensation for an Empower Money Advance is robotically 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 test for money advances, the Empower app does think about different data to find out your capacity to repay a mortgage. It’ll overview data from an externally linked checking account resembling paycheck quantities and spending habits, and resolve what quantity you possibly can borrow. If authorised, you possibly can obtain an advance of $10 to $250.

Moreover, debtors should be 18 years or older, have a Social Safety quantity, and have a checking account that’s not less than 30 days outdated.

Further Empower App Options

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

Credit score Rating Monitoring

Empower app customers can view their credit score scores throughout the app. Empowers reveals an in depth breakdown every month of various elements, resembling 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 be among the finest budgeting apps you’ll discover. It displays 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 totally different spending classes, and supply alerts or reminders for paycheck deposits, payments, and purchases in sure classes.

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

Automated Financial savings

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

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

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

Getting Began

If you’d like a money advance from Empower, right here’s learn how to get began.

1. Obtain the free app on Google Play or Apple. Many different apps have comparable names. Make sure that the app developer listed is Empower Finance. Or obtain it from the Empower.me web site.
2. Arrange your account. Present your telephone quantity and look ahead 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 employ to obtain paycheck deposits.
4. Request a money advance and see what advance quantity, if any, you might be authorised for.
5. Select a supply technique to get your funds. You may choose the moment supply possibility, for a small payment, to get your funds inside an hour.

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

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

Alternate options to the Empower App

There are numerous apps much like Empower that may additionally provide a money advance to customers who want a money injection earlier than payday. Three (3) different different apps to think about 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 to your subsequent paycheck.

There’s a $1 month-to-month membership payment and extra charges (of $3 to $25) to get your funds superior on the identical day as an alternative of ready for the traditional 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 widespread money advance app, Earnin, will advance you as much as $750 per pay interval (or $100 per day) for hours that you’ve already labored. Earnin has no credit score test necessities and gives a fee-free, interest-free advance. The advance is robotically repaid with a debit in your subsequent scheduled payday.

Earnin has no month-to-month subscription payment, however as an alternative, customers tip the corporate no matter they consider is honest 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 supplies 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 fundamental eligibility necessities.

MoneyLion additionally gives Credit score Builder Plus, a product much like Empower Thrive. This can be a mortgage product that doesn’t require a tough credit score pull. It’s meant as a device for shoppers to ascertain and construct a constructive credit score historical past. To make use of Credit score Builder Plus, there’s a $19.99 monthly payment.

Up to now, Empower has not provided conventional promotions (i.e. coupon code to save lots of 15%) the way in which you may 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 payment of $8 monthly. You can’t cancel our membership after which join a brand new free trial after you may have already had 14 days free.

Referral Rewards

Refer associates to the Empower app and also you and your buddy will every get a $5 reward. To qualify, the buddy 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 buddy accepts their first money advance.

Safety

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

Buyer Assist

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

• Electronic mail: Ship messages to [email protected]
• Cellphone: Name 1 (888) 843-8967. Cellphone strains are open 6 a.m. to three p.m. PST Monday to Friday, besides on holidays.
• Useful resource library: Empower has a sturdy assist heart crammed with articles and FAQs to troubleshoot points and reply the commonest person questions.

Buyer Opinions

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

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

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

This app is unbelievable, to say the least. $200 immediately despatched to you, a $7 instantaneous switch payment, pay the $207 again in your subsequent paycheck. After efficiently paying again an advance, you possibly can unlock the flexibility to get Thrive which studies 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 might make Empower higher is should 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 evaluations and selected Empower, they’re precisely as marketed… No surprises OR hidden charges. I took a leap of religion. Empower most positively got here by means of for me. Completely, & with out reservation, I’d select them. They seem to be 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 thus far so good, I principally have zero complaints apart from one. Once I first bought provided a money advance it was $10 which is comprehensible since I used to be a first-time buyer. I repaid on time and bought provided 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 provided me greater than $25 although my account is in good standing…

Execs 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.

Execs

• Flexibility eligible standards with no credit score test: There’s no credit score pull, exhausting or mushy, to get an advance. The platform is extra involved with incoming earnings and a confirmed capacity to repay the quantity.
• Advances are funded inside at some point: Empower debit card holders can get the funds inside an hour. Different clients pays an extra payment to get the funds immediately.
• Gig staff and freelancers might also qualify. These less-traditional staff are normally not in a position to entry loans and comparable monetary merchandise with favorable shopper phrases.
• Budgeting and credit-building options. Many instruments throughout the app promote monetary wellness and higher cash administration.
• A lot better different 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 payment.

Cons

• Loans are smaller than different money advance apps. Different comparable 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 totally free, rapid money advances. In any other case, you’ll need to pay a payment to get the advance funds on the identical day requested.
• No person 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 should set your personal calendar alert.
• Can take some time for Empower to extend your authorised money advance quantities. Within the app evaluations, some customers state they can’t get authorised for greater than $25 after repaying 4 (4) or additional cash advances in a well timed method.

Often Requested Questions

Listed here 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 reliable and secure app that has wonderful rankings within the Google Play and Apple app shops. You may learn evaluations from hundreds of subscribers who’re pleased with the service that Empower supplies.

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

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

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

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

For the standard money advance, it will probably 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’ll look over your checking account transaction historical past, reimbursement exercise, drops in earnings, or will increase in spending.

How Do I Use Empower With Money App?

You need to use Empower with Money App and different digital wallets and cellular cost platforms like Venmo.

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