Best Cash Advance Apps: Payday Lender Alternatives

If you need money to cover an emergency expense, these cash advance apps provide a cheap (and sometimes free) alternative to payday lenders.

Cash increase apps are an an increasing number of famous manner to get cash into your financial institution account fast and easily. Each coins increase app works differently, however all of them basically will let you borrow cash towards your destiny earnings.

We reviewed extra than a dozen options, thinking of elements like fees, mortgage quantities and reimbursement phrases to locate the first-class choice for a lot of situations.

Here are our top picks for the best cash advance apps:

• Best overall cash advance app: Earnin
• Runner up: Brigit
• Fastest cash advance app: Cleo
• Best for gig economy workers: Albert
• Best for bad credit: Empower
• Best for overdraft protection: Dave
• Best for students: Kora
• Best for the self-employed: Gerald

What Is A Cash Advance App?

Cash strengthen apps permit human beings to borrow a component in their upcoming paycheck. These loans usually have low hobby charges and minimum costs while in comparison to payday loans.

Often, coins advances are repaid earlier than or at the following paycheck, and a few apps have ready intervals earlier than customers can borrow again.

When customers set up bills with the apps, theres a technique to confirm solid reassets of earnings and credit score records. Some apps favor to examine customers credit score scores, at the same time as others require direct deposit records for unique timeframes. A handful have created synthetic intelligence generation that appears at customers` spending habits, earnings, demographics and different elements to decide their creditworthiness.

Cash strengthen apps do now no longer provide conventional loans. These are short-time period advances on price range you`ve already earned. As a result, the quantity you could borrow is restrained and usually levels from $100 to $500.

Counterintuitively, a few of the apps don’t have any costs or provide unfastened membership. The structures make maximum in their cash via costs to hurry up transactions, elective subscription costs that provide extra functions, or elective tips. This is a main benefit in comparison to payday loans` sky-excessive hobby charges.

Cash strengthen apps` more functions additionally range considerably, and the first-rate desire relies upon to your unique situation. For example, a few apps technique fund transfers quicker than others, others can strengthen greater cash, and a few have specific extra features including pupil mortgage specialization or credit score-constructing offerings.

Best Cash Advance Apps

There are some of coins strengthen apps at the market. All have their personal precise set of functions and benefits. Out of the numerous we reviewed, the 8 underneath are really well worth considering.

Best Overall Cash Advance App: Earnin

Why we picked it: Earnin offers the highest maximum loan amount of $500, has no subscription fees, and provides an option for instant cash transfers. 

Maximum loan amount:	Up to $500 per pay period, $100 at a time.
Turnaround time:	Up to three days, or instantly with “Lightning Speed” for a fee of up to $3.99.
Loan terms:	Your next paycheck is debited by the amount of the advance. There is no interest.
Minimum credit score:	No minimum credit score.
Direct deposit required:	Earnin requires a history of at least two direct deposits. Income history can also be manually verified with a paystub.
Fees:	Earnin does not charge fees. However, users do have the option to leave a tip for their services.
iOS rating:	4.7/5
Google Play rating:	4.4/5

Earnin pros:

• Earnin offers the highest loan amount of all the cash advance apps we researched. 
•  The platform does not charge subscription fees or interest.
•  There’s no credit check, and the required direct deposit history is less than other apps.

Earnin cons:

• Instant transfers have an additional fee.
• The $500 maximum loan amount is only available after you’ve used the app over time and built a positive repayment history.
• The initial $100 maximum is relatively low compared to other apps we researched.

Users installation their banking commands with Earnin whilst they devise their account. This will permit Earnin get entry to to debit payments or Lightning Speed costs from their account. After their earnings records is established, they`re eligible to borrow in increments up to $one hundred, and no greater than their non-public most in keeping with pay period.

The most is depending on every person persons records the use of the app and may growth through the years to up to $500 in keeping with pay period. Once the subsequent paycheck arrives, the whole quantity borrowed is debited from the persons checking account.

One specific function of Earnin is its “Boost” function. To growth borrowing capability above the initial $one hundred most in keeping with pay period, customers can propose every different by “boosting” one another`s profiles.

Boosts are to be had simplest if each customers have formerly obtained a coins advance, and if neither has neglected a repayment. Boosts deliver the receiving person a one-time $50 extra coins advance, to be had for the modern period (aleven though the most quantity that may be borrowed remains capped at $500).

Download Earnin.

Runner Up: Brigit 

Why we picked it: Brigit is another solid all-around cash advance app with low fees, relatively fast transfers, bonus features, and limited income or credit requirements.  

Maximum loan amount:	$250.
Turnaround time:	Same day if the request is made before 10 a.m. EST.
Loan terms:	Your next paycheck is reduced by the amount of the advance. There is no interest.
Minimum credit score:	No minimum credit score.
Direct deposit required:	Requires at least three deposits from one employer/income source, $1,500 or more in monthly income from the same company, and an average paycheck of more than $400.
Fees:	Free to use with an optional $9.99 monthly subscription that provides additional features.
iOS rating:	4.8/5
Google Play rating:	4.6/5

Brigit pros:

• Brigit’s free same-day transfer speed (or next-day, if requested after 10 a.m. EST) is one of the fastest transfers available.
• The app alerts Plus users when they’re about to overdraft their checking and can automatically advance cash to prevent that from happening. 
• Identity theft protection, credit building, and spending analytics are available with the optional subscription plan.

Brigit cons:

• Does not offer an instant cash transfer option, even for a fee. 
• Has strict income requirements despite not requiring a credit check.
• Customer support is only available through email. 

In addition to the cash advance feature, Brigit also has a checking account monitoring feature that can automatically advance cash to cover a potential overdraft.

While most cash advance apps are selective about who can borrow, Brigit is particularly restrictive. Applicants may be declined when any of the following is true:

• The bank account linked to Brigit is a joint account. 
• The checking balance is $0.
• The account has been open for fewer than 60 days. 
• There is insufficient account activity. 

Download Brigit.

Fastest Cash Advance App: Cleo

Why we picked it: Cleo offers instant cash advance transfers with limited barriers to entry for its users. While there is a subscription fee, it’s lower than other apps that charge additional fees for instant cash advances.

Maximum loan amount:	$100.
Turnaround time:	Instant.
Loan terms:	Your next paycheck is reduced by the amount of the advance. There is no interest.
Minimum credit score:	500.
Direct deposit required:	No.
Fees:	$5.99 monthly subscription fee.
iOS Rating:	4.6/5
Google Play rating:	4.2/5

Cleo pros: 

• You don’t have to be a W2 employee to use Cleo, making it one of the better options for freelancers and business owners.
• There are built-in budgeting tools that come with the $5.99 monthly subscription.

Cleo cons:

• At $100, the maximum cash advance amount is smaller than many competitors. 
• Not everyone is eligible for the maximum advance amount.
• While the minimum credit score is only 500, this may still exclude certain users.

In addition to Cleo’s instant transfers, it offers other features that can help you budget, save and build credit. The budget and saving features help users set targets for monthly expenses and savings goals and send notifications to ensure they’re on track.

The “Credit Builder” card helps users build credit by having them pre-load the card with funds, using it to spend up to the pre-loaded amount, and then paying off the spending to contribute to improved credit over time.  

The app’s branding is aimed at a young audience, and includes fun imagery, the occasional swear word, and spending tracking that “roasts” users for not sticking to their budgets (via not-so-nice notifications from the app).

One thing to note about Cleo is that while it offers quick cash advances, the company is relatively strict about who they’ll lend to. Users with higher credit scores are more likely to unlock the full $100 maximum advance, rather than those with credit scores closer to the 500 minimum. 

Best For Gig Economy Workers: Albert 

Why we picked it: Albert offers the most bang for a gig economy worker’s buck thanks to a solid cash advance maximum and no direct deposit requirements, which helps users with irregular income streams or many income sources. 

Maximum loan amount:	$250.
Turnaround time:	2-3 business days, or instantly with a $4.99 fee.
Loan terms:	Users have up to 15 days after the date of their next paycheck to repay the advance. If the advance still isn’t repaid by then, the app will suspend the user from Albert’s services for 30-90 days until repayment is collected.
Minimum credit score:	No minimum credit score.
Direct deposit required:	None.
Fees:	No interest or fees, but there is an optional paid subscription plan.
iOS rating:	4.7/5
Google Play rating:	3.9/5

Albert pros:

• Low eligibility requirements, which makes it more accessible to gig workers than other apps on this list (many of which require a formal direct deposit from an employer). 
• Offers financial advisory and planning services on a tip-based system.

Albert cons:

• Albert doesn’t offer overdraft protection. 
• There’s no customer service hotline to call if there are issues. 

Albert users can borrow money up to three times per pay period (up to a $250 maximum). The app monitors spending habits within users’ accounts and adjusts their personal maximum borrowing amounts accordingly, so you may not have access to that full $250.

Albert’s checking account, “Albert Cash,” (which is free) works in conjunction with their cash advance service, allowing you to get your entire paycheck up to two days early. Their financial planning options, called the “Genius” subscription, are robust, and you can access human financial advisors to work on planning and budgeting for $4 a month. The advisors are strictly brokers, and while they may provide advice for a fee, they do not operate under the fiduciary standard. 

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