Cleo cash advance app review

Our take on Cleo

Cleo is best for people who want a budgeting app that offers a range of tools to help you break habits and “spend smarter.” It offers monthly financial targets based on your spending and shows where you’re spending your cash. It also offers an “AI assistant” to help you stay on track.
However, its cash advance feature is limited. You can only borrow a maximum of $100 at a time, which is low compared to apps like Dave or Earnin, which let you borrow up to $250 or $500 per pay period, respectively. And if you’re new to Cleo, you can only borrow between $20 and $70 until you establish a payment history.
Then there’s fees to consider: Cleo charges $5.99 a month which gives you access to cash advances that take up to four business days to hit your bank account. If you need same-day cash, Cleo charges a $4 express fee. Brigit, for example, also charges a high monthly fee, but you can borrow up to $250 and get instant transfers for free — making it more economical if you do a lot of instant transfers.
What this means is, you may end up paying more to use Cleo than other apps. If you’re after higher cash advance amounts or want more value for your money, you may want to compare other cash advance options.

Cleo overview

Cleo is an app that allows you to access up to $100 at a time between repayments. It offers two service levels:

• A free plan that gives you access to Cleo’s Personal Financial Management Services.
• The Cleo Plus $5.99 monthly plan that provides transfers up to $100 after you establish a payment history.

With Cleo, you pick a repayment date which can be between three and 14 days after you borrow money and pay Cleo back on your chosen repayment date through the app.

Features

Requirements

To use the app, you must link a bank account or debit card so Cleo can deduct your monthly membership fee. Cleo connects to your bank account using Plaid, where you’ll find lists all the banks it supports.

Other services

Cleo offers a range of budgeting and credit-building tools, including:

• Cleo Personal Financial Management Services. Gives you insights into your spending habits to help you budget and save money.
• Cleo Wallet Services. Provides a place to put money aside, either manually or automatically. It’s not a savings account and doesn’t pay interest.
• Budget Management. Links to your bank account to alert you about upcoming bills and other expenses. The notifications can help you avoid overdraft fees.
• Cleo Builder. This $14.99 a month service gives you a secured Credit Builder card. Spend on the card and Cleo reports your activity to Experian, Equifax and Transunion to help build your credit score. You can also get a small amount of cash back on your purchases.

Cleo reviews and complaints

Cleo gets mostly positive reviews on Trustpilot from over three thousand reviewers, with over 80% of them giving Cleo 5 stars. But recent reviews are mixed. Satisfied customers report liking the app, but don’t provide much detail on what they like about the service. A few customers report enjoying receiving humorous comments from the app.
Less pleased customers complain about the $5.99 subscription fee, claiming that it’s too high for what they get in return. Another customer mentions they were bumped up to the credit builder service and charged two different subscription fees.
Cleo isn’t registered with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), has a D rating and 1 stars out of 5. It’s closed 27 complaints over the complaints over the past 12 months. A couple of BBB customers report being unable to access funds from their Cleo Wallet or errors with debit card balances. But keep in mind that only two reviews isn’t really enough base fair judgment, as few people leave reviews for positive experiences.

Is Cleo legit?

Yes — though no app can guarantee your information stays 100% safe. Cleo uses Plaid to connect to your bank account, and states that SaltEdge handles its customers’ banking details. SaltEdge is compliant with PCI DSS requirements — the credit card security standard used by all major banks — and protects customer data through credential tokenization and encryption.
Its privacy policy outlines what kinds of information it collects, how it’s used and whether it’s shared. See Cleo’s privacy policy for more information.

Cleo app vs. payday loans

Cleo provides cash, but that’s where its similarities to a payday loan ends. Here’s how the two stack up:

	Cleo cash advance	Payday loans
Borrowing amount	$100	Typically up to $1,000, and most states allow only one at a time
Turnaround time	3 to 4 business days	Usually next business day
Application process	Mobile app signup that requires connection to bank account	Online application, typically requires Social Security number and bank account numbers
Costs	$5.99 monthly membership fee $3.99 for express transfers	Fee of $15 to $25 per $100 borrowed
State availability	Anywhere in the US	Prohibited in some states

Is Cleo worth it?

If you only need cash advances for small amounts and like using Cleo’s different budgeting tools, it may be worth paying the $5.99 monthly membership fee. But other apps may offer higher cash advances and lower fees than Cleo.
But compared to predatory payday loans — which charge extremely high interest rates and fees — Cleo is likely a cheaper option since it doesn’t charge any interest on balances owed.

Compare Cleo to other cash advance apps

Compare even more cash advance apps to find the right one for your lifestyle and budgeting needs. View maximum loan amounts, turnaround times and applicable costs and fees.

Cleo is not currently available on Finder

Have you considered Smart Advances?

Smart Advances was designed to help you request the loan you need, for any reason.

• Borrow $100 to $20,000
• All credit types
• Fast funding

Learn more

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