Borrowers Can Now Access $200, $250, $400 Credit Line With Empower

Borrowers Can Now Access $200, $250, Or $400 Credit Line With Empower

Kennedy Edgerton is an Updates Editor on the Mortgages and Loans team, leveraging his passion for writing and personal finance to produce stimulating content that empowers readers to enhance their lives through advised decision-making. He has written for several publications, including college newspapers, websites, and blogs on topics relating to politics, music, sports and film. Kennedy is a graduate of Morehouse College with a degree in Cinema, Television and Emerging Media Studies.

Kennedy Edgerton

Kennedy EdgertonUpdates Editor

Updates Editor

Dawn NiciDeputy Editor, Consumer Finance

Dawn Nici is the deputy editor for consumer finance at Forbes Advisor. Her more than 20 years of experience in financial and business reporting includes coverage of the New York Stock Exchange and other major economic stories in New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. She spent six years as a financial news radio anchor and host.

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Dawn Nici

Dawn NiciDeputy Editor, Consumer Finance

Deputy Editor, Consumer Finance

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Updated: Mar 28, 2024, 6:11pm

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Borrowers Can Now Access $200, $250, Or $400 Credit Line With Empower

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Empower, a fintech company offering cash advance and other banking products, is adding a new $200, $250 and $400 line of credit to its product lineup.

Thrive is the first credit product offered on the Empower app, and users can qualify for credit regardless of their credit score. If you’re looking to borrow funds and improve your credit, Empower says it can offer a fair and secure option for users in 32 states.

Empower App Overview

Alongside the Empower Thrive line of credit, Empower also offers:

Empower Cash Advance: This offers $10 to $250 with no interest charges, late fees or credit checks. You can deposit those funds into your bank account or onto the Empower Debit Card, and repayment isn’t due until your next payday.
Empower Card: This allows you to deposit funds from your paycheck and receive them up to two days early. You can also earn 0.01% annual percentage yield (APY) and up to 10% cash back when you use the card.

Empower offers a 14-day trial before users commit to an $8 monthly subscription. Empower charges no additional interest or late fees for its Cash Advance. However, Cash Advance users can opt to pay a fee to receive their funds instantly rather than the typical two- to three-business-day-disbursement window.

To be eligible for these products, the app requires bank account information, such as your paycheck amount and transaction history, to determine how much you’re eligible for.

Empower Thrive Line of Credit Details

Your Empower Thrive line of credit starts at $200, $250, or $400 and can reach $1,000 if you make payments on time. If you manually select your repayment date or choose the split payment option, your annual percentage rate (APR) will be 35.99% or as otherwise required by state law. However, your APR will be 0% if you automatically schedule to repay your full balance with your next paycheck.

Payments are reported to three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—regularly, which lets members build credit.

Only one application is required, regardless of how many times you use your line of credit. By comparison, the cash advance requires you to complete the underwriting process each time you take out a new cash advance.

How To Apply

Once you sign up on the Empower app, you can link your bank account and answer a series of questions along with other basic information. The approval process can take less than three minutes and all credit scores are eligible, according to Empower.

However, current Empower users can’t take out a line of credit if they have an active cash advance, so you’ll need to repay your advance before taking out a line of credit.

How Does Empower Measure Up?

Empower is one of a few cash advance apps that offer credit products to users. However, the Thrive product has a few key differences when compared to similar apps.

For example, Empower requires users to pay a monthly subscription fee while other loan apps are typically free. So, you’ll want to factor that into your monthly payments when using the app. Additionally, other apps may offer higher minimum lending amounts than Empower.

Other Credit-Building Options

If you’re looking for an opportunity to utilize credit and improve your profile, consider these two alternative options:

Kikoff. This service provides several options for users looking to establish or improve credit, including a $750 line of credit for purchasing items in the Kikoff online store. Monthly payments are $5, and Kikoff reports every payment to Equifax and Experian. Like Empower, the interest rate is 0% and you can make payments via mobile app.
SeedFi. This lender offers a personal loan product and a line of credit designed to help borrowers build credit. The Credit Prime Builder line of credit has a 0% interest rate with a line of credit that starts at $500. However, your limit can reach $1,000 with every payment you make

Before you apply for the Empower Thrive line of credit, review other similar products and select the best option for you.