Empower ✊ Reviews 

Stay away from this shady company. Only the desperate deal w/ them, it seems & they take advantage of that. They filed a credit report, bringing my 700 plus cred score down by 25 plus points. Every customer service email reply is a pat standard reply that ignores most of your questions. I'm so sorry I dealt w/ them, but I was in a tight squeeze. I hope I won't have to change my bank's routing and checking acct number should they deduct in the future which from their acts, seems possible. It's very difficult to cancel / close the acct after paying & they seem to confuse credit report agencies even AFTER paying off the loan 20 days ago! What a horrible company. As far as the The reviews that are favorable, this company seems to selectively scam.

I have been unable to access my account for over 3 months. During that time, I've sent multiple emails to support instructing them to stop deducting $ from each paycheck but noticed they continue to deduct funds while I remain locked out of my account. I have informed them numerous times that I am locked out of my account with a message to email support for help. Support has not responded to any of my prior 7 emails asking for help accessing my account.

I am now forced to file a complaint with every federal and state regulatory body that might be responsible for regulating institutions like theirs who engage in criminal activity and restrict withdrawals while overcharging for services never approved by customers.

I am also preparing a formal complaint for the California Attorney Generals office, asking them to open an investigation into the company's activities in California.

Avoid this company, they are not interested in ethical behavior.

I been with Empower since 2024. My first loan was $100 paid back $110. Now I can receive $400 loans per month. My membership is $8 per month. I recommend Empower for loans.

Advanced for $125, repaid, and now I'm only eligible for $25

That should be illegal

Never giving them my business again

I've been a customer of Empower.me for the cash advance for a little while now. I've never had any issues up until now. November 09, 2024 I got approved for a Thrive loan of $400. I went through the process and when it brought me to the page to sign my paperwork, it stated that Empower encountered an error and to try to sign the paperwork again at a later time or reach out to their email support. So, I signed out of my account and back in. On my home screen, it stated Congrats! And that I had been approved for $0. I tried to locate the paperwork, and couldn't find anything. So, I reached out to their email for support on November 09, 2024. I have been trying to contact Empower through their email support and the number listed for them, but keep getting short email replies stating that they're looking into this and they'll get back in touch with me. Well, fast forward to November 19, 2024 and they're still sending me the same generic reply. I can't even CANCEL my account because when I try, it tells me that I can't because I have an outstanding balance (which I'm assuming is the initial $400 I was approved for) and need to make a payment. So, when I click on the payment button (even though my balance is $0), it tells me I can't make a payment because there's no balance. WTF?! I can't cancel because I have a balance to pay, but I can't make a payment because I have no balance! And no one from Empower can give me ANY answers. They told me they see where I was approved, but they can't help me with closing the account or sending me the funds. So, they have my banking information and everything but I have NOTHING from them....except a huge headache. If I see any negative effects on my credit or ANYWHERE, I'll be filing a lawsuit! STAY AWAY FROM EMPOWER!!!!! I should never have signed up for them in the first place. The ONLY thing that will change my mind or make me change/delete my review (which I'll be posting in other places, as well as contacting my local authorities) is if magically, the money appears in my account or I'm able to cancel the Thrive account.

They charged me $60.00 cash advance loan that I never received, I try contacting customer service for months with no answer. They made a false report to my credit report, then send me a non legit document with sketchy screen shot. My bank confirm me it they never deposit $60.00 to my account. Business its a fraud that will take advantage of people who are in need of help.

I took a cash advance of 75.00 which I paid back in a couple days. Seemed great at the time but for the next several months they keept charging me for the advance. I talked to customer service, provided the with the info and all I got in return was a big FO. Do not trust this company.

I applied for $400 10/15/24 through the cash app. Even though it was accepted, I didn't receive the money. I called Customer Service 10/18/24 to explain the situation and was told I would receive the money by 5pm. Well it didn't happen! To keep from repaying the money I didn't receive (due 11/13/24) I called customer service again 10/21/24 to cancel, I was given the runaround about a "glinch" in the system! This morning, after a week, I finally was able to get it cancelled.

They held onto my money and my refund from Walmart my account stayed at $0 dollars until I got paid which they took $55 dollars out and made it seem they paid me on the first which they never did my first and last time using theses kind of apps, I had initially signed up on the 1st and was promised that I will my money on the 2nd and never received anything but they definitely took money out my account though

Company is a complete joke. I have been with them over a 1yr & 1/2, after a week I went to check & see if I could get an advance. I went to draw and it says my balance was to low, never been late on repaying always came right out, never no issues. Now when I really needed to get an advance they deny me saying my balance is to low. Correct me if iam wrong, but isn't that what getting advance is for, so wouldn't your balance be low? Why would I take an advance if there was enough in the bank without it? Therefore, I will be 1 less customer for this company. Poor customer service, all it did was give the run around that by now Iam more then sure , people are more then sick of. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!! they also charge you, even when they deny you a monthly fee....RIDICULOUS!!! VERY DISAPPOINTING!!

I closed my account April 30th, 2024. It had a zero balance. On May 1st 2024 a $4.47 charge was on my account. I asked about the charge and requested again that the account be closed. On May 2nd, 2024 I was told the account would be closed and the $4.47 was gone. I deleted the app and account. On June 26th, 2024 I see on my credit report that the account is still opened and now has a 70¢ delinquent charge. I’ve emailed Empower/Thrive for two days trying to get into the account and pay the 70¢ if necessary. They keep sending me robo messages. However I can’t get into the Thrive portion of the account which is where the fee is, without first taking a cash advance on the Empower portion. I don’t need the cash advance I need the account closed. The 70¢ has now left a negative mark on my credit. If you need money sell plasma, pawn jewelry but stay away from these people.

Customer service is poor. Local reps are fantastic, but corporate (online) support is bad.

1. Business hours listed for HST are wrong in the summer hours when Daylight Savings Time is in effect on the mainland. Wrong hours are listed throughout their website. Wrong hours are listed in their emails to me. I contacted Empower 3 times via email and phone about this issue. No response, other than an automated one. ("Thank you for your email. We appreciate your patience and will respond to your email in the order it was received." Yadda yadda yadda. No follow-up email ever received.)

2. I called Customer Service and asked for information on how to change my State and Federal tax withholding amounts from my monthly distribution. I was told to submit a Form W-4P (Federal tax withholding) and annotate it on the top with my request for State tax withholding. [Comment: Sounded stupid to me at the time. Why would I put a State tax withholding request on a Federal form?] Empower contacted me a few days later by email, asking me to call their Customer Service. When I called their customer service, they said that the W-4P form was rejected because of the annotation for State tax withholding. I told them I was just following their instruction! They told me that instruction was incorrect, they had no means of changing my state tax withholding amount. Okay, so I resubmitted a clean W-4P form to change my Federal tax withholding. A few days later, I noticed a few statements on my account. No email notification, no separate notices, just a few statements appeared on my account ... just like for any normal monthly transaction. I took a look at the statements AND WAS DUMBFOUNDED. They had not only changed my Federal tax withholding, they had completely eliminated any State tax withholding! I immediately called Customer Service and was told that my request for changing the Federal tax withholding amount triggered an automatic cancelation of my State tax withholding amount and that there was nothing that Empower could do about it because the State of Hawaii PROHIBITED BY LAW Empower from withholding such taxes. [Comment: Prudential had been withholding such taxes since 2017, when I started withdrawing funds. Empower had been withholding such taxes since January 2024, when they took over the Prudential accounts. I checked with the State of Hawaii and they told me that the State does not prohibit withholding taxes, it simply does not require companies to withhold such taxes and EMPOWER CHOOSES NOT TO withhold taxes.]

3. Over the course of the next 3 days, I repeatedly received emails stating that Empower needed more information about my request. Each time I was on the phone for 20 to 40 minutes, much of the time on hold. Each time, when I called Customer Service, they didn't have a clue as to what information they were requesting. They could only guess that the emails were worded incorrectly (they didn't need more information, they wanted to update me on the status of my request), but this was only their conjecture because their information system didn't record who sent the email nor why the emails were sent. All they could guess was that since there had been an update in my status, that must be the reason for the email. [Comment: How incompetent is that! Telling the customer they need more information and not knowing the reason why.]

4. Why would Empower ask me to call their Customer Service simply to give me an update? It would be so much more cost effective for both Empower and me if they simply stated in their email whatever was updated. My thoughts are that either their system is so antiquated that it can't deal with such things or Empower deliberately wants to avoid documenting their actions in writing. They are either incompetent or they are trying to protect their butts. Either thought is not very reassuring.

5. While I appreciate the low account maintenance/management fees of Empower (0.08%) and the superior services provided by local reps, I find Empower online Customer Service to be atrocious. They are either incompetent or handicapped by a system that doesn't work very well. I've subsequently switched to Schwab (24/7 customer service, short wait times, much more knowledgeable and responsive American-based customer service reps, and Schwab allows me to withhold both Fed and State taxes).

The absolute worst cash advance app ever!! They lure you in and make you think you can get a decent payday loan and then they INSULT you with a lousy $50 advance!! What a scam!!!!

I was using this app regularly, and then at random a message pops up that there had been fraudulent activity on my account. I sent customer service a message and they replied with the same message. I have no idea what fraudulent activity they’re referring to!
My account is locked, and I can’t ever use the app again. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Okay, listen up, folks! If you haven't tried Empower yet, you're missing out. This app has been a total lifesaver. Recently, I needed some quick cash. Enter Empower's Cash Advance feature. It's like magic. They gave me a $250 cash advance in my pocket, with no hassle and no stress. It was so easy and fast! Plus, their customer service is amazing. Long story short, if you want an app that's got your back when it comes to your finances, Empower is the one. Trust me, you won't regret it. It has made my life so much easier!

I joined and connected with empower. They connected with my bank just fine. They knew all my information from my account as well as taking $8 out of my account immediately. When I tried to get a cash advance which they said I qualified for they said they could not connect my card with my bank and it is the only card I have and it fully connects with my bank. Because I use it all the time. I tried several times to connect this card.I got the same message. When I tried to contact them I could not find a number anywhere for this company.And then I finally found an email and emailed them. Their solution was that they had no solution at this time that I could try depositing my full paycheck period I said no. When I ask for the eight dollars back they told me they couldn't possibly refunded it. They said I didn't ask for a refund before the problem. No kidding!

I have been a customer of empower with an excellent representative for over four decades. Now, when I have to transfer my funds I’m being charged $75 administrative fee? What exactly are they doing to charge me this amount? These fees should be told to the customers before investments are made!How can this even be legal..or ethical? It’s my money! It’s my savings! Stay away

No stars, they trick people into giving you money saying you only pay 5$ a week till you pay it off, which is false, they will collect money from your account until you pay the full amount off at 1 time, do not use empower

I called empower to get unlocked from trying to sign in, and I couldn't understand the guy on phone so he couldn't verify me. This is ridiculous. You can't sign in then you call for help and they can't help either. So not worth the effort.

As somebody on a limited income very fixed and once a month less than $1,000 they accepted it they take your bank that you direct deposit it to and the card and they take a minimum fee and help you build your credit and you pay $8 a month for the app which nobody likes which is fine I do find other apps more helpful four different situations and different types of income this one works well but I do use a few