Empower Review: App For Free Cash Advances

Empower Logo

How often do you come across mobile apps offering free cash advances? If you answered rarely, then you want to jump on this Empower app! But Empower isn’t just an app for getting cash advances; it’s also an app to help you manage your finances effectively. In fact, the platform was built primarily to help with budgeting, saving, and keeping tabs on your credit utilization ratio, missed payments, and bill payment changes. So, if you want a mobile app that lets you stay on top of your finances while also getting cash advances, this app is for you!

The Empower app was developed in 2016 and has since funded individuals in cash advances worth over $500 million. The app has over a million downloads on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store, each boasting ratings of at least 4.7 out of 5. We give insights into Empower in this article. These include its key features, usability, security & privacy, and comparison to other financial management apps.

Key Empower App Features

Empower offers various features in money management, including an automatic savings account, an Empower card, budgeting tools, and expense tracking. Of course, the Empower cash advance lets you get quick cash to cover small expenses till the next day. We highlight and discuss these key features in the following headings.

Automatic Savings

If you want to curb your spending habits, you can use Empower to create a savings account, complete with a plan to save towards a goal. It has an AutoSave feature that automatically moves money from your checking account to your savings account. The autosave feature is programmed to calculate when you earn and when you spend your money to make savings as convenient as possible.

Budgeting

Empower is one of the budgeting apps that offer to help you stay on a budget you create. It does this by sending you notifications when you’re withdrawing money from set categories on the app.

Expense Tracking

Aside from budgeting and saving, the app also lets you track your expenses by keeping you up-to-date with bill payment changes, missed payments, and your credit utilization ratio. This app sends you notifications on scheduled payment dates, so you never have to fall for late payment fees or ruin your budget.

Empower Debit Card

On the app, you can get a debit card sent to you with no overdraft fees. This card lets you withdraw cash at in-network ATMs, and there are no fees for withdrawal. Also, there’s no minimum balance requirement for you to qualify for this card. With the card, paychecks deposited into your account arrive two days early, and you get cash back credit of up to 10%.

Empower Cash Advances

When it comes to cash advance apps, Empower is one of the highly-rated applications on the online market. Empower offers cash advances for up to $250 without a credit check. The eligibility requirements to qualify for a cash advance are minimal, needing your active external bank account, your social security number, and an ID confirming you’re at least 18.

When you link your bank account with Empower, it gets info on your paycheck amounts and how much you spend to determine the amount you can get in cash advances. However, to access these cash advances and other features, Empower charges a subscription fee of $8 per month.

User Interface and Navigation

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You can only use the Empower app on your Android and iOS mobile devices. On both iOS and Android apps, the platform is designed in a minimalist style, making the app’s features and menus easily accessible. All layouts are in portrait mode, with each important feature of the app section in pages.

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Colors used in the mobile app include teal green, pink, white, and black. The app’s user-friendly interface allows seamless switches between pages and menus. Each command responds easily to your touch, with no lags or delays as you make budgets, save, and request cash advances.

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The mobile application uses lots of infographics to present you with data on how you manage finances. For instance, in highlighting your credit utilization ratio, the application uses a line graph to showcase your monthly scores. It’ll also present you with an accumulated sum of points over a number of months.

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The ease of use becomes evident from the registration process, where the app walks you through connecting your checking account step by step. Also, you only need your mobile number to get registered, link your account, and start using the features of the mobile application.

Security and Privacy

When you sign up for the empower cash advances and financial management tools, you’re guaranteed 24/7 security on your personal data and services. Our Empower app review shows that the platform is encrypted using 256-bit SSL end-to-end encryption. This makes the personal finance app hack-proof, and they have strict privacy policies on how your data is shared or collected. These security protocols are put in place to ensure your finances are never threatened to any extent. They use the same security measures as banks, and Empower doesn’t share your details without explicit permission granted by you.

In addition to these security measures, Empower incorporates strict access controls, multifactor authentication, and Touch ID to keep your account secure. Third parties in charge of your phone will have to pass through these layers of security and confirmation before they can access your account.

Cost and Subscription Model To Use The Empower App

Unlike other popular cash advance apps, Empower offers a free trial for the first fourteen days, where all app features, including savings, budgeting, expense tracking, loan advances, card use, etc, are free. However, after fourteen days of creating an Empower account, you must subscribe to an $8 monthly fee to use the app so that you’re eligible for a cash advance and several other key features of the app. This $8 monthly subscription fee is the only thing you ever have to pay to use its other services without charge. For this charge, you get uninterrupted access to the above-listed features and upcoming updates by the developer.

As the app also provides a debit card, you can earn cash back with the applicable interest of 0.01% of the deposit cash in your account. Empower doesn’t charge you for late fees, and you incur no fees for not meeting your monthly or weekly savings goals. However, if you desire, Empower can help make your transfers instant with a fee ranging from $1 to $8.

Pros and Cons

Similar to several other financial management apps, Empower comes with its pros and cons. In the following headings, we highlight the app’s strengths and the areas for improvement on the app.

Pros

The standout strength of this app is that it charges zero interest and fees on cash advances
There's a 14-day trial period
You can get a cash advance amount of $20 minimum
Your banking services are uninterrupted when you link your account to the app
If you're unable to repay your debt, it does not affect your credit scores
Empower makes it easy to repay your loan with its automatic withdrawal from your paycheck
Minimal eligibility requirements apply
An Empower Thrive feature that gives you a line of credit up to $200
Empower's incorporated tools to monitor your cash flow, budget, save, and track expenses.

Cons

The cash advance limit is at $250 maximum
Empower cash advances work with other features only when you pay $8
Empower requires information using your bank account to work
Empower may not work with your bank
Empower advance limit can be lower based on how much you earn and spend
Instant transfers attract a fee
Empower is only available for iOS and Android devices.

User Reviews and Feedback

With over a million downloads each on the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store, this app has over 100k reviews on each. The mobile application is rated 4.7 stars out of five on the Android store, with 127,000 ratings. On the other hand, the iOS store has 4.8 stars out of five from 143,000 reviews. From the reviews left by customers, it’s evident that this app attends to the money needs of its customers.

The reviews praised them for fast approval and disbursement of funds when requested. The direct deposit hits their checking accounts within a day after they request a cash advance. Other reviews to note include their easy registration process and their transparency on charges & fees. However, there were a few complaints about the customer service being unavailable for a long time.

Comparison with Other Financial Apps

Whether you want a cash advance or you prefer to manage your money with an app in 2024, these are some platforms like Empower. We’ve run a comparison in the table below to see what edge it has over the others.

Apps	Features	Usability	Cost
Empower	Up to $250 in advances, budgeting tools, autosave tools, Empower Thrive, debit card, and banking features.	Available on iOS and Android devices. You must be at least 18 years old to use, have an active bank account, have a social security number, and a permanent US address.	$8 per month.
EarnIn	Up to $750 in advances, pay-as-you-work feature, no budgeting or saving tools.	Available on iOS and Android devices. You must have a checking account where 50% of your direct deposits go and must be employed with proof of working hours.	There are no fees, but there is an option to tip the company for its services.
MoneyLion	Up to $500 in advances, investment options, banking services, budgeting features, and credit-builder loans.	Usable on your Android and iOS devices. You must be at least 18 years old, have an active bank account with regular paycheck deposits, a social security number, and a permanent US address.	A dollar per month for basic features. $19.99 for services, including credit-builder loans.
Empower, known as Personal Capital.	Empower Personal cash management feature, investment options, tax-loss harvesting, and external account consolidation.	Downloadable on Android and iOS devices. Must be a citizen of the United States with an active checking account and should be employed or retired.	Percentage fees on money in your account.
Dave	Banking and budgeting features.	Downloadable on Android and iOS devices. You must be at least 18 years old, have an active account, and have a deposit of at least $1000 monthly.	A membership fee of $1.

Conclusion and Recommendations

If you ever need another cash advance quickly and without hassle, this app works amazingly for that and many more. You’ll find this platform most helpful if you’re a savings-oriented and budget-conscious person, too. Empower considers your bank account influx and how you spend to give you a befitting amount in advance. When signing up, Empower will ask for a few personal details and a link to your bank account to get you set up and ready to enjoy its services for free for 14 days.

With the subsequent $8 fee, you get a wealth of tools to manage your money effectively, from keeping tabs on expenses to saving. You even receive compensation in the form of interest when you use the platform’s card for withdrawals at in-network ATMs. As personal finance writers, we highly recommend this app to anyone seeking to reinforce their finance management skills for an affordable fee.

To ensure the highest level of transparency and to help you understand the basis of our evaluations, we invite you to explore our detailed review methodology