Dave Cash Advance App Review 2024: Up to $500 Cash Advances With No Interest or Late Fees

Dave is a banking app that offers a spending account with a debit card, a savings account, help with finding a side gig, and cash advances. The cash advance feature, ExtraCash, lets users borrow up to $500 if they need quick cash before their next paycheck hits with no interest or late fees.

TIME’s Take

Dave’s high cash advance of up to $500—combined with its other banking features—make it competitive in the cash advance app space. With no interest or late fees, it could be a good way to get some quick cash on hand to cover expenses if you’re in a pinch. However, the repayment time is short, and you’ll have to pay high fees to get the cash instantly.

Keep in mind that cash advances can start a cycle that is difficult to get out of. Financial advisors tend to recommend building an emergency fund of three to six months’ worth of expenses to help you cover urgent financial needs.

Who is the Dave app best for?

Dave is best for people who need a cash advance of up to $500 or less and can quickly pay the money back, since the settlement is generally your next payday. If you’re looking for some quick cash to cover a repair, utilities bill, or groceries before your paycheck hits, Dave may make sense for you.

How the Dave app works

With Dave, you need to have your bank account connected, and there’s a $1 per month membership fee for doing so. Users can request a cash advance via the ExtraCash tab in the app with no interest or credit check. The app uses your linked bank account details to determine how much you’re eligible to borrow at any given time. Note that the amount of cash you’re able to get in advance can change day to day.

Users can request an advance of up to $500 depending on their eligibility, and choose how and when to receive the money. You can get the money instantly transferred to a Dave Spending Account or another debit card for a fee, or wait one to three business days for no fee.

When the money is added to your account, your balance becomes negative until your settlement date, which is when you pay the money back. The money will automatically be pulled from your account on the settlement date—either the day your next paycheck hits or the nearest Friday to when you took the advance.

Once you’ve returned the money and your balance is $0, which can take one to three business days from the settlement date, you can request another cash advance. You can deposit spare money to your ExtraCash account at any time, which will be used the next time you have to settle up.

Requirements to get a cash advance with Dave

The ExtraCash account is available to people in the U.S. who are at least 18 years old. Businesses can’t use the ExtraCash feature. It's only for personal, family or household purposes.

You’re also required to go paperless, meaning that you must have an email address. To get a cash advance—and to determine how much that advance can be—Dave requires:

• An external bank account with a minimum 60-day history and a positive balance.
• At least three recurring direct deposits.
• Income history and spending patterns.
• A total monthly deposit amount of $1,000 or more, to get a higher advance amount.

If you have any outstanding balances, you won’t be able to get cash advances.

How to get a cash advance with Dave

1. Sign up with the app

To get started, download the Dave app and hit “ExtraCash.” Dave will ask you some personal details—including your address, date of birth and Social Security number—to get your account set up. You can get approved in five minutes or less once you connect your bank account, according to the company.

2. Link your bank account

Dave needs to know where to send the money and be able to get back the money you borrowed. The app also uses your bank-account details to determine your eligibility for an advance (and a spending account, if you choose to open one of those, too).

3. See what you’re eligible for and request an advance

The platform doesn’t check your credit, but it does review your bank details to determine whether you’re eligible for a cash advance and how much you’re eligible for. You should be able to see that information in the ExtraCash tab of the app. Based on what you’re able to borrow, you can request a cash advance up to $500 in the app.

4. Get your cash instantly or wait

When you request a cash advance, you’ll have to determine if you want to pay the express fee to get the advance instantly transferred to a Dave spending account or get it sent to a different debit card within an hour, or wait the standard one to three business days for no fee.

Dave App details

Eligibility

Your eligibility for a cash advance and the amount is determined by factors such as your spending and income history. The amount you are eligible for refreshes daily at midnight.

Deposits and withdrawals

The money will hit the account you choose within an hour, or within three business days, depending on the funding time you choose. You can spend the money as soon as it hits your account. Then, Dave will automatically take back the money—plus express fees and an optional tip—on your settlement date.

Interest and fees

Dave doesn’t charge any interest on the cash advances. There are also no fees, unless you want to express the funds (more on that below). When you take an advance, you will be asked if you want to tip on the cash advance. A portion goes to running ExtraCash and the rest goes to Feeding America, a non-profit food bank network.

Funding time

If you have a Dave Spending Account, you can get the money transferred there instantly for an express fee of between $3 and $15 depending on the amount of the advance (3% of the advance amount with a $3 minimum). You can also opt to have it sent to a different debit card within an hour for between $5 and $25 (5% of the cash amount with a $5 minimum). If you don’t want to pay any express fees, the standard funding time is one to three business days.

Customer reviews

Dave’s customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website are not favorable. The app has a 1.14-star rating out of five, which is the average of 419 customer reviews. There have been 1,320 complaints closed in the last three years.

The app has 4.4 stars out of five on Google Play based on 525,000 reviews, and 4.8 stars on the Apple Store based on around 689,000 reviews.

Pros and cons

Benefits of Dave

No interest or late fees

Unlike if you took out a personal loan, you won’t owe any interest on Dave cash advances. You also won’t owe any late fees if you can’t pay back the cash on time (though you won’t be able to take out another advance, either). Dave also doesn’t use your credit to determine your eligibility.

Up to$500 cash advances

up to $500 cash advances are higher than you’ll see at some competitors. Klover, for example, only allows for advances of up to $200, while Albert offers $250 and Empower, $300.

Offers additional personal finance tools

The ExtraCash feature may be what Dave is best known for, but its other tools may be appealing to customers, too. The Spending Account has no overdraft or minimum deposit fees and comes with a debit card. It also has a 4% APY—in line with many of the best high-yield savings account rates. The Goals Account allows you to stash money for certain savings milestones, such as a down payment or wedding, and also pays a 4% APY. The Dave app also has a side gig finder that helps you search for side hustles like filling out surveys.

How Dave can be improved

$1 monthly membership fee

Despite Dave saying that there are no hidden costs, it’s hard to find any information about the membership fee online. Once you download the app and link your bank account—which is required in order to use the ExtraCash feature—you’ll see that there is a $1 monthly membership fee. While that may seem small, $12 per year is higher than you’ll see at some competitors.

High express fees

While you can wait one to three business days to get the cash advance for free, you’ll have to pay a pretty high fee if you need the cash quickly (and if you’re in a pinch, you probably do). The express fee can be as high as $25, depending on how you want the money sent to you—a steep fee for relatively small cash advances.

Need to pay the cash back quickly

Cash advances are meant to help with bridging the gap between one paycheck and another, but that means that the repayment times are short. Dave will automatically pull the money out of your account on your next payday or the nearest Friday to when you took the advance.

How the Dave app stacks up

Dave vs. Klover

Klover is another popular cash advance app, but it has a much lower advance limit than Dave (just $200 compared to Dave’s $500). As with Dave, there are no credit checks, interest, or late fees, but it also doesn’t have the $1 per month fee that Dave charges. Klover has some budgeting tools for a small subscription fee, but it doesn’t have the Spending Account and Goals Account with 4% APY that Dave does. Both charge express fees or pay you within three business days for free.

Dave vs. EarnIn

EarnIn has a cash advance limit of up to $750, which is much higher than you’ll see with Dave or other competitors. You’ll also likely face lower express fees on EarnIn. It charges flat fees of either $3.99 or $2.99 depending on how you get the money, compared to the fees Dave charges for speedy funds. The standard transfers that don’t come with a fee typically hit your account in one to two business days, slightly shorter than Dave’s estimate of up to three business days.

Whom Dave isn’t right for

If you need a cash advance of more than $1 per month—or you will have trouble paying the money back quickly—Dave likely isn’t the right choice for you. The platform generally pulls the money from your account on your next payday, which is a fast repayment period.

TIME Stamp: High cash advance limits, but also high express fees

Dave offers higher cash advances than many of its competitors, but it also charges more to get the money instantly or within an hour. If you can wait the one-to-three-business-days time period to get the cash, Dave is worth considering. But you’ll also have to pay the money back fairly quickly, since the settlement date is on your next payday or the Friday after you take the advance.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is the Dave app trustworthy?

Dave has an A- minus rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Its ample customer complaints may mean to proceed with caution, but Dave is a legitimate cash advance platform.

Can you really get money from the Dave app?

Yes. Dave pays cash advances of up to $500.

How do you get $500 from Dave?

To get $500 from Dave, you need to download the Dave app, sign up for an account, link your bank and share banking details that will let the platform determine your eligibility. You may not be eligible for the full $500. The average approved advance is $160, according to Dave.

How long do you have to pay Dave back?

You have until your next payday or—if Dave can’t determine your next payday—the nearest Friday to when you look the advance.