Best Loan Apps and How They Work (2024 Guide) (2024)

EarnIn provides cash advances of up to $100 per day or $750 per pay period. It bases the amount you can borrow on your history using the app, as well as verified employer earnings information gathered through a time sheet, your work email or GPS monitoring at your work location. There’s no interest or mandatory fee, though you can opt to tip up to $13.

Standard transfers arrive in one to three business days. If you need the money sooner than that, you can pay up to $4.99 for a Lightning Speed deposit to your debit card. This type of transfer takes up to 30 minutes. There’s also an optional EarnIn Visa debit card that allows for up to $300 per day in fee-free cash advances. On your next payday, EarnIn will withdraw the advance amount and any tip or Lightning Speed fee from your linked checking account.

Comparable APR: If you take a one-week $100 cash advance and pay a $5 tip and $4.99 Lightning Speed fee, your APR would be around 520%. You could avoid these costs with EarnIn by getting a standard free transfer and not paying the optional tip.

EarnIn’s Balance Shield automatically advances $100 if your bank balance goes below a specified limit. You can also monitor your VantageScore for free with the included credit monitoring service.

Plus, you can have your employer directly deposit your pay in your EarnIn account to access the funds up to two days early. The optional Paycheck Router feature can then deposit a portion of the money in your linked checking account.

EarnIn has average ratings of 4.6 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store. Overall, customers like how the app provides funds with no credit check or required fee. Less positive reviews focus on increasing Lightning Speed fees, difficulties with the GPS tracker and the maximum cash advance amount changing based on a user’s earnings.

Our review team reached out to EarnIn for a comment on its negative reviews but did not receive a response.

The Dave app’s ExtraCash™ feature provides cash advances of up to $500 per pay period. With a qualifying checking account, you can get an advance as a regular employee or freelancer since Dave considers your typical bank deposits and spending rather than your work hours. You must pay a low $1 monthly fee to access advances, but tips are optional.

Once approved, you can get your advance in one of three ways:

• • Debit card: Takes an hour or less and costs $2.99 to 13.99

• • Dave Spending account: Takes seconds and costs $1.99 to $9.99

• • Automated clearing house (ACH) transfer to an external bank account: Can take a few days but has no fees

When you take out an advance, Dave gives you a due date of your next payday (for steady employment) or the next Friday (for less regular income). You can repay it early (as soon as four days after you take the advance), or Dave will automatically withdraw the funds.

Repayments can take up to 24 hours to process if you use your linked debit card and up to five business days if you use an ACH transfer from an external bank account.

Comparable APR: If you take a one-week $100 cash advance and pay for a $1 monthly fee, $2 tip and $4.99 transfer to a Dave Spending account, this compares to an APR of around 417%.

The app has other helpful personal finance features, including Dave Spending, which is a checking account that’s insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and lets you access your pay two days early. There’s also a high-yield savings account with goal tracking, and Dave’s Side Hustle board gives you access to surveys and side jobs to boost your income.

Dave has a 4.8 rating on the App Store and 4.3 rating on Google Play. Customers praise the app’s instant delivery option, helpful budgeting and saving tools and lack of hidden fees. However, some complain that standard transfers are slow. Some Android users also say the app’s interface has become less user-friendly and that they’re sometimes required to re-enter their account information.

Our review team reached out to Dave for a comment on its negative reviews and received the following response:

“For background information on our transfer options. Members can move their ExtraCash instantly to an external debit card within 30 minutes for a small fee. There’s also an option to transfer funds instantly within 30 minutes to their Dave Spending Account (checking account) for a small fee. Members can also transfer their cash advance to their external bank account via ACH for no fee, which takes 2-3 business days. Here’s more information on our ExtraCash terms. As for the complaint about reentering account information, nothing is causing it other than a bug likely. This is quite common with apps.”

The Brigit app offers cash advances of $50 to $250 with its Instant Cash feature. There’s no credit check, but you’ll need to have a bank account with a balance above $0, history of 60 days or more and at least three regularly occurring deposits from the same job or other qualifying source. The Brigit app has a $8.99 monthly fee for its Plus membership, which is required for access to Instant Cash.

Brigit gives you two options for receiving cash advances:

• • Standard transfer: Gets deposited in your bank account in two or three business days and is free.

• • Express transfer: Gets deposited on your linked debit debit card within 20 minutes and costs 99 cents to $3.99

Brigit’s cash advances come with the benefit of letting you pick the due date, which is usually set as your next payday. You may repay the advance early, let Brigit withdraw it automatically or request repayment extensions without late fees.

Comparable APR: If you get a one-week $100 cash advance from Brigit and pay the $8.99 monthly membership fee and $3.99 for an express transfer, your APR will be about 729%.

While Brigit has a pricier monthly fee than Dave, it offers tools for budgeting, saving and earning money. Finance Helper lets you track and analyze your spending, while Earn & Save lists jobs and other ways to earn cash. Both tools are available with the free version of Brigit membership.

Brigit scores 4.7 on Google Play and 4.8 on the App Store. Positive reviews highlight fast and easy cash advances and the simple sign-up process. However, some customers are dissatisfied with their advance amounts or mention issues getting help from customer service or canceling their subscriptions.

Our review team reached out to Brigit for a comment on its negative reviews but did not receive a response.

While the Chime app doesn’t offer traditional cash advances, it can give you $20 to $200 in overdraft coverage with the free, optional SpotMe® service. To be eligible, you’ll need to have a Chime debit card and checking account with at least $200 in monthly direct deposits from an employer or other payroll source.

The Chime app reviews your account and spending to decide your SpotMe limit. This means your limit could vary at any given time. When enabled, SpotMe coverage applies automatically and only to Chime debit card purchases and withdrawals at ATMs. Chime collects the money when your next deposit reaches your account. There’s no fee, but you can choose to tip.

Other Chime benefits include its large network of more than 60,000 free ATMs and a high-yield savings account with automated savings options. The app also advertises early access to paychecks with your Chime savings or checking account. Plus, you can use Chime to send money to people’s debit cards.

You can also use the Chime checking account to make purchases, deposit cash, and use ATMs

Chime has a 4.7 rating on Google Play and a 4.8 rating on the App Store. Several reviewers like using the SpotMe coverage to avoid overdraft fees, and some mention that the app is sleek and easy to use. Some low reviews cite poor customer service, occasional bugs and the lack of standard loans.

Our review team reached out to Chime for a comment on its negative reviews but did not receive a response.

Similar to Chime, Current offers fee-free overdraft protection if you sign up for direct deposit, where you can get between $25 and $200 in coverage. To qualify, you’ll need $500 or more in monthly paycheck or government direct deposits, which is higher than competitors’ minimums. Like Chime, Current sets your overdraft limit, and it can change depending on factors such as your account activity.

Overdraft protection only covers purchases with your Current debit card. The coverage will apply automatically once you opt in, and the app will tell you when it does. As with Chime, Current will take the money from your next deposit to repay the overdraft, and there’s no fee.

Current highlights getting access to direct deposits up to two days sooner. You can also get a high-yield savings account that lets you divide your money across up to three Savings Pods.⁵

This app’s ratings are 4.6 on Google Play and 4.7 on the App Store. Overall, several customers like how the overdraft protection helped them avoid fees, and others appreciate the early direct deposit access. Some Android and iOS users are dissatisfied with customer service’s responses to issues and slow transfers to their Current accounts.

Our review team reached out to Current for a comment on its negative reviews but did not receive a response.

Current just launched their newest feature Paycheck Advance, which allows eligible members to get up to $500 before payday.¹

To qualify you’ll need to set up an eligible direct deposit of at least $500 from your employer or another payroll provider. There are no credit checks to qualify and if you’d like instant access to your advance you can pay a fee, otherwise you can wait 3 business days to get it for free².

Current automatically takes the funds from your next paycheck to repay the advance so you don’t even have to do anything, but you can of course always choose to repay it early. It’s worth noting you may not qualify for the highest advance limit right away,
but over time as you repay your advance on time or increase your direct deposits, Current gets a better idea of your behaviors and can use that information to reevaluate your limit.

Current is a financial technology company, not an FDIC-insured bank. FDIC insurance up to $250,000 only covers the failure of an FDIC-insured bank. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply. Banking services provided by Choice Financial Group, Member FDIC, and Cross River Bank, Member FDIC. The Current Visa® Debit Card is issued by Choice Financial Group pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. The Current Visa® secured charge card is issued by Cross River Bank pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted. Please see the back of your Card for its issuing bank. Current Individual Account required to apply for the Current Visa® secured charge card. Independent approval required.

¹ Paycheck Advance is offered by Finco Advance LLC, a financial technology company, not a bank and is for eligible customers only. Your actual available Paycheck Advance amount will be displayed to you in the mobile app and may change from time to time. Conditions and eligibility may vary and are subject to change at any time, at the sole discretion of Finco Advance LLC. For more information, please refer to Paycheck Advance Terms and
Conditions.https://cdn.current.com/agreements/paycheck_advance_terms_v2.pdf
² Expedited disbursem*nt of your Paycheck Advance is an optional feature that is subject to an Instant Access Fee and may not be available to all users. Expedited disbursem*nts may take up to an hour. For more information, please refer to Paycheck Advance Terms and Conditions.
³Actual overdraft amount may vary and is subject to change at any time, at Current’s sole discretion. In order to qualify and enroll in the Fee-Free Overdraft feature, you must receive $500 or more in Qualifying Deposits into your Current Account over the preceding 30-day period. For more information, please refer to Fee-free Overdraft Terms and Conditions.
⁴ Faster access to funds is based on comparison of traditional banking policies and deposit of paper checks from employers and government agencies versus deposits made electronically. Direct deposit and earlier availability of funds is subject to timing of payer’s submission of deposits.
⁵ Boost Bonuses are credited to your Savings Pods within 48 hours of enabling the Boost feature and on a daily basis thereafter, provided that the Savings Pod has accrued a Boost Bonus of at least $0.01. The Boost rate on Savings Pods is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed rate is effective as of August 1, 2023. Must have $0.01 in Savings Pods to earn a Boost rate of either 0.25% or 4.00% annually on the portion of balances up to $2000 per Savings Pod, up to $6000 total. The remaining balance earns 0.00%. A qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more is required for 4.00%. No minimum balance required. For more information, please refer to Current Boost Terms and Conditions.