8 Best Cash Advance Apps That Cover You Until Payday
Every once in a while, you may be stuck in a situation where you need money urgently. If you don’t have a friend around who could lend you some extra cash, you may turn to an institution for help. However, conventional lenders’ processing times can often be weeks long.
Payday loans have been around for a long time, but lenders can charge enormous fees. In fact, payday interest rates can be over 600%.
8 Best Cash Advance Apps
Fortunately, some apps let you borrow money, making it easier for you to get urgent cash in just a few minutes. Not only is the processing quick, but it also takes less than five minutes to start applying for a loan. In addition, the fees are a lot better than traditional payday loans.
Here are the top 8 apps for cash advances.
Dave — Best for Highest Cash Advance
Empower — Best for Quick Cash Advances
Earnin — Best for Earning-based Borrowing
PayActiv — Best for Short-term Loans
Brigit — Best for Same-day Loans
MoneyLion — Best for Multiple Options
Vola — Best for Same-day Cash Advances Up to $300
Albert — Best for No Late Fees
1. Dave: Best for Highest Cash Advance
Dave offers the largest cash advance in the industry — up to $500 through its new ExtraCash feature. All new members also receive a Dave Spending Account, which will allow them the option to receive the funds instantly for a small fee.
Amount: Up to $500
Processing Time: One to three days or instantly if you opt to pay an express fee.
Repayment: By default, it’s the day your next paycheck arrives, but you can change the date.
Fees: Dave charges a $1 subscription fee that is paid monthly. Users also can leave an optional tip. If you opt for instant cash, you’ll pay an express fee of 99 cents to $6.99 for Dave Spending Account and $2.99 to $11.99 for external transfers.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Dave offers the largest cash advance in the industry. | An express fee applies to receive cash instantly. |
2. Empower: Best for Quick Cash Advances
Empower gives you cash advances of up to $250. Moreover, you can use the Empower card to get up to 10% cash back on purchases at specific merchants. The card also offers free transactions at 37,000 ATMs across the country. Even better, Empower cardholders get their paychecks up to two days early.
Amount: Up to $250
Processing Time: Instant
Repayment: At your next paycheck
Fees: Empower charges an $8 subscription fee but no interest or late fees.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Interest-free borrowing of up to $250. | $8 subscription fee after 14-day free trial. |
3. Earnin: Best for Earning-based Borrowing
Earnin is a payday advance app that has a unique lending system. Its app tracks the number of hours you have worked and allows you to access your money according to your earnings. Plus, the app has a notification feature that alerts you in case your bank balance is low.
Amount: $100 to $500
Processing Time: Generally, the processing time is one to two business days, but you can get your money instantly if you opt for Earnin’s Lighting Speed.
Repayment: At your next payday
Fees: Earnin uses a voluntary tipping model up to $14. If you want to get the overdraft protection feature, you must set a recurring tip. However, if no overdraft protection is required, the tip can be set to $0.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
The more you use the app, the more Earnin will allow you to borrow. | Fees may apply to use Earnin’s Lightning Speed feature. |
4. PayActiv: Best for Short-term Loans
PayActiv is more than just an app that lets you borrow money. In fact, it also allows users to pay their bills and get discounts on certain department store purchases and prescription drugs. Check the stores associated with PayActiv and redeem your discounts directly in the app. For example, you can get 10 cents off per gallon with Murphy USA.
The app lets you see what you have earned and allows you to access it when you require it. Plus, you can pay your bills through the app directly.
Moreover, the app lets you book Uber rides through your earned wages.
Amount: A set percentage of what you earn
Processing Time: Transfers to the PayActiv card are instant and transfers to other debit cards take 48 hours. Card transfers can be made instant for a $1.99 fee.
Repayment: Not required since you’re getting paid for what you’ve already earned.
Fees: PayActiv is free if you direct deposit your paycheck into your PayActiv card. If you don’t, there’s a $1 per day fee for each day you use cash access, card load and bill pay. If you choose cash pick up at a Walmart store or if you’re using instant deposit to another card, you’ll pay a $1.99 processing fee.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
You can pay bills and get discounts on products like gas and prescription drugs with the PayActiv app. | Without a PayActiv card, fees apply. |
5. Brigit: Best for Same-day Loans
Brigit lets you borrow $250 the same day you apply for it — provided your application is submitted before 10 a.m. EST.
However, you need to use the company’s monthly paid plan to access this feature.
Amount: Up to $250
Processing Time: You get your loan the same day if you apply before 10 a.m. EST. Otherwise, the money is deposited into your account the next business day. Instant cash might be available if you have a connected debit card.
Repayment: The app sets the repayment date as per your income schedule. You can also reschedule this once if you have paid two advances back on time.
Fees: The Plus paid plan costs 9.99 per month.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
No late fees or penalties if you can’t pay on time. | $9.99 fee to access cash advances. |
App allows for rescheduling of payment. | Early cut-off time to request and receive money the same day unless you have a connected debit card. |
6. MoneyLion: Best for Multiple Options
Besides offering you a loan, MoneyLion has many other features, such as financial tracking and investment accounts.
Amount: $50 to $250. You can access larger loan amounts if you have a RoarMoney account or become a Credit Builder Plus member.
Processing Time: If you have a RoarMoney account, you’ll get your loan in 24 to 48 hours, and if you choose to have the money deposited to an external account, it will take 3 to 5 days. You can also opt to have your money in minutes to within a few hours by paying a Turbo Fee.
Repayment: On your next payday.
Fees: You can pay an optional tip. Plus, there’s a $3.99 fee for instant delivery if you’re an account holder and $4.99 if not.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Access to larger amounts than $250 is possible. | It can take three to eight weeks to become eligible for the maximum amount of Instacash. |
Varied account features. | A fee is required to get money on the same day. |
7. Vola: Best for Same-day Cash Advances Up to $300
When you’re looking to borrow money with a loan app, Vola stands out because it offers same-day cash advances of up to $300 with no credit check. It also supports over 6,000 credit unions and banks.
Amount: Up to $300
Processing Time: Within five hours
Repayment: Manually or automatically on the due date
Fees: Subscription fee of $2.99 to $28.99
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Up to $300 advanced within the same day. | Subscription fee applies. |
Five-day cool-off period between repayment and requesting another advance. |
8. Albert: Best for No Late Fees
Albert designed its products to take the complexity out of your financial life. It offers instant cash advances, auto repayment and there’s never a late fee.
Amount: Up to $250
Processing Time: Instantly, which may incur a fee or within two to three days for free
Repayment: Auto repayment on your next pay date
Fees: No fees to advance cash instantly if you advance it to Albert Cash; instant advances to an external account will pay a small fee.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Albert never charges a late fee, and there are no fees if you pay the cash back after the scheduled date. | A 30-day free trial of Albert Genius is required when you sign up for Albert Instant, which you can cancel. |
Takeaway
Every cash advance app has its pros and cons, so it’s important to do your research and pick the one that works best for you. Make sure you read the terms and conditions and don’t borrow more than you’ll be able to repay.
FAQ
Picking the right app for a cash advance is important. To help you decide, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions.
What's the easiest app to get a cash advance?
Vola allows you to borrow up to $300 with no credit check. However, every app has different qualifications for borrowing money, so it's important to do your research and pick the one that works best for your situation.
How can I borrow $200 on Cash App?
On Cash App, go to the "Banking" header and select "Borrow." Although Cash App Borrow isn't available to everyone yet, it does allow you to borrow up to $200 as long as you meet their requirements.
If the "Borrow" option doesn't appear, it isn't available for you yet.
What app gives you 100 dollars?
Most cash advance apps offer $100 loans if you qualify. Some may require you to start with lower amounts or have worse terms for higher amounts, so it's important to read the fine print.
What app gives the most cash advance?
Dave offers up to $500 with the ExtraCash feature.
Earnin also offers up to $500, but the amount is based on hours worked.
Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting for this article.
Rates and fees are accurate as of June 28, 2022, and subject to change.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 8 Best Cash Advance Apps That Cover You Until Payday
