Empower is a banking app that can be downloaded to track spending, savings, find ways to lower expenses of services and open bank accounts with no monthly or overdraft fees. The app makes it easy to track personal finance items like expenses, budget, and saving goals, making it easy for you to save and reduce your spending.
The Empower app is designed for people who need help with budgeting, saving, and banking, all in one place, so you don’t need to use multiple apps with different features to manage your personal finances.
The Empower app allows you to link your checking accounts from other banks, but it also offers an interest checking with APY and cashback deals and an AutoSave account that you can set up to transfer money automatically from a checking account to meet your savings goals.
Since Empower is not a bank but a financial technology company, all banking services are provided by nbkc bank, Member FDIC.
The banking platform has other features, like alerts about your subscriptions, up to $250 cash advance for eligible members with no fees that you can pay on your next direct deposit, up to 2 days early payment when you set up a direct debit for your paycheck and smart recommendations on how to save more money.
Empower Banking App
The Empower banking app offers a checking Account and an AutoSave Account with a competitive annual percentage yield. It is with noting that you only earn interest in your AutoSave Account if you also have an Empower Interest Checking Account. The mobile app also allows you to link your checking accounts from other banks to monitor your spending and help you stay on budget and save money.
The Empower app is available for iOS and Android devices, and your app is the only way to access and manage your accounts. Although downloading the app is free, there is a 14-day free trial period. After this time, Empower charges $8 per month for access to the money management tools, like automatic savings, easy budgeting, and spend tracking. The monthly subscription fee will be automatically taken from the account you linked during the signup process on the same day every month.
Interest Checking Account
The personal finance app lets you open an Interest Checking account with no overdraft fees, which also allows you to access the up to $250 cash advance feature, early payday feature, and earn cashback on your everyday purchases.
The checking account comes with a competitive APY, no overdraft fees, small foreign transaction fees, no card replacement fees, and no minimum deposit.
You can order and activate the Empower Visa Debit Card from the Empower app. To start using it straight away, you can add it to Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. The physical debit card is sent by USPS and generally arrives in five to ten business days.
You can use the debit card to make purchases and access ATMs, and earn cashback rewards on your everyday purchases. You can use the app to find more than 37,000 no-fee ATMs in the U.S. to withdraw cash from your account.
Since Empower is not a bank, the banking services are provided by nbkc bank. The same bank issues the Empower Visa Debit Card. nbkc bank is a member of the FDIC, which means your deposits are FDIC insured up to the legal amounts.
AutoSave Account
Empower offers an AutoSave feature that automatically transfers a certain amount of money each month to your AutoSave account. You need to set up how much you want to save each week and which account you want to transfer money from. The Empower app will automatically set that money aside for you when it detects you’ve got excess cash on that account and transfer it to your AutoSave account to meet your weekly saving goal.
There are no transfer fees for moving money from your account into and from the AutoSave account, and you get unlimited transfers, so you can always access the money you have saved.
Aside from this, the app can give you personalized savings recommendations to help you earn more and find extra savings.
Empower App: Personal Finance Features
Aside from offering an Interest Checking Account and an AutoSave account, the Empower app comes with a set of personal finance tools to help you save money and spend wisely.
Cash Advance
The Cash Advance feature is available only for eligible Empower customers. This means you need to meet specific requirements to access this feature. You can easily check your eligibility within the app.
It allows you to get up to $250 cash advance directly into your bank account without paying any fees or interest, and you will pay back in your next direct deposit. It does not require a credit check, and this cash advance will not affect your credit score. The cash advance is sent to you instantly after approval with no fees if you hold a Checking Account with Empower or for a small fee to your external bank account.
This feature is a quick and easy way to get money quickly for an emergency or keep up with payments before your paycheck cashes in your bank account.
Get Paid Early
The Early Pay Day feature allows you to get paid up to 2 days early when you set up your paycheck deposit to your Empower Checking Account.
Track Your Spending
Set up your budget categories and track your spending through the Empower app to make it easier for you to stay on budget. It is easy to create or update the categories and to plan weekly or monthly spending amounts.
The Empower app will automatically track your spending and give you timely updates and alerts on how you’re doing with your spend limits to help you not overspend.
Since you can link other bank accounts you hold outside of the app, Empower can give you a picture in a single place on your spending habits, categories, and how to stay on budget. If you find it hard to control how much you are spending, the spending tracking feature can help you stay on top of it.
Smart Recommendations
Empower app comes equipped with other smart recommendations to help you spend your money wisely, save more money, and stay on track of your overall personal finances.
As an example, the app will notify you and send you alerts related to your subscriptions, like bill increases, missed bills to help you stay on top of the subscriptions you may want to cancel to save money.
The app cal also helps you with recommendations on how to improve your credit score on topics like payment history, credit utilization, credit history, and credit diversification. You will need to enter your credit score in the app to get these tips.
Empower app is always ready to find new ways to save money to help you get a good financial future.
How To Get Started
To get started with the Empower app, you can visit the Apple or Google Play store to download the iOS or Android app. The setup process until you open an account usually takes less than five minutes.
Through the signup process, you will need to verify your phone via a code sent by text to your phone and provide information like your name and date of birth, a valid U.S government ID, and a proof of address, like a utility bill dated in the past 60 days.
You can then start linking your accounts with several pre-loaded financial institutions for you to choose from. If you have more than one, you’ll need to select the primary account: your main checking account, where you deposit your paycheck, pay your bills and make your everyday purchases via credit or debit card. You can also open an Empower Checking Account and AutoSave account if you want to instead of linking accounts. However, the more accounts you can connect to the app, the more comprehensive your financial management will be.
Suppose you are only linking accounts and not opening an Empower Checking Account. In that case, you will only need to be at least 18 years old, hold a bank account at a U.S. financial institution, and a mobile phone number that can operate in the U.S. and can receive SMS messages. If you are opening a checking account through Empower, you will also need a valid social security number and a valid U.S. physical residential address.
