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Our verdict

Fast payments and up to 50% of earned wages before payday.

Branch is an employer-sponsored instant payment app that offers flexible payment options to workers and access of up to 50% of wages before payday. However, Branch has a history of negative reviews on Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot.

Best for: Employees who want free, instant access to a portion of wages before payday.

Pros

No fees
Access up to 50% of wages before payday
Multiple payout options

Cons

History of negative reviews from Better Business Bureau
Only accessible if your employer uses Branch
Customers report difficult experiences with customer service

What makes Branch shine?

One of the main appeals of Branch for employees is that they offer access up to 50% of your earned wages before payday. Plus you’ll have multiple ways to receive payments like digital debit cards, instant payments, contractor payments, and more. Branch is unique compared to cash advance services because it works directly with employers to provide flexible options for workers to access their earnings.

Where Branch falls short

The biggest drawback with Branch is its negative reputation on reputable sites like Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. Although it has positive reviews on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, its long history of negative reviews makes us hesitant to recommend them as a reliable option. Users report that despite having negative experiences with Branch, they were stuck using them because their employer uses their payment services.

Related: See apps similar to Branch

Branch details

Product name	Branch App
Min amount	Not stated
Max amount	Up to 50% of paycheck, up to $1,000
Loan term	Varies
Turnaround time	Within 3 business days, instant with delivery fee
Costs	Free
Requirements	Must be connected with employer

Other features

In addition to cash advances and no wait payment options, Branch also offers a digital banking account to employees, tipping options, cash back rewards, personalized spending insights, and more.

How to qualify for Branch

Here are some requirements to qualify for different benefits at Branch:

Your employer must use Branch to pay employees
Wage access and payment details depend on methods chosen by your employer

Branch reviews and complaints

BBB accredited	Yes
BBB rating	A
BBB customer reviews	1.1 out of 5 stars, based on 10 customer reviews
BBB customer complaints	51 customer complaints
Trustpilot Score	3.4 out of 5 stars, based on 295 customer reviews
App Store Score	4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 66,232 customer reviews
Google Play Score	4.6 out of 5 stars, based on 36,767 customer reviews
Customer reviews verified as of	01 June 2026

Negative reviews from BBB and Trustpilot report difficulty communicating with customer service, issues with money transfers, and a limited mobile app experience. On the other hand, positive experiences from the app stores for Branch no wait pay reports seamless early-payment features and an easy-to-use app.

Is Branch legit?

Despite mixed reviews Branch seems to be a fully functioning cash advance app that uses website encryption and data security to protect users information. It also claims it does not sell your data or credit profile to third parties, a huge perk in this industry.

Compare Branch to other 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.

6 of 6 results

Finder Score	Max. amount per pay period	Turnaround time	Costs
9.5 Excellent EarnIn	9.5 Excellent	Up to $150/day, with a max of $1000 between paydays	1–2 business days standard; minutes with Lightning Speed	Free to use or within minutes with a fee as low as $3.99 per transfer	Access up to $150 per day, with a max of $1000 between paydays. Not available to CT or Washington, D.C. residents. Subject to EarnIn terms & conditions.	Important information EarnIn is not a bank. Access limits are based on your earnings and risk factors. Available in select states. Terms and restrictions apply. Visit EarnIn.com for full details. Expedited transfers available for a fee. Visit Earnin.com for full details.	Go to site View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
8.2 Great Cleo	8.2 Great	$20 to $250	3 to 4 days or instant for a fee.	$5.99 monthly membership fee to access cash advances	Automatically monitor your spending plus access cash advances up to $100 at a time.	Go to site View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
9.4 Excellent Chime® MyPay®	9.4 Excellent	Up to $500	Instant transfers: 3% of the advance amount ($2 minimum, $5 maximum)	No subscription fees; Instant transfer fee: 3% of the advance amount ($2 minimum, $5 maximum)	Access up to $500 of your pay before payday fee-free within 24 hours. See Chime terms and conditions. MyPay is only offered in select states.	Important information MyPay® line of credit provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A. MyPay services provided by Chime Capital, LLC (NMLS 2316451). MyPay eligibility: You must receive qualifying direct deposits to your Chime Checking Account in the preceding 36 days as set forth in the MyPay Agreement. A qualifying direct deposit is a deposit from an employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer, government benefits payer, or other permitted source of income by Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) or Original Credit Transaction (“OCT”). MyPay is currently only available to eligible Chime members in certain states. Other restrictions apply. MyPay is a line of credit and available limits are based on estimated income and risk-based criteria. Eligible members may be offered a $20 - $1000 Credit Limit per pay period. Your Credit Limit and Maximum Available Advance will be displayed to you within the Chime app. Your MyPay Credit Limit and Maximum Available Advance may change at any time. See Bancorp MyPay Agreement or Stride MyPay Agreement for details. Instant funds: Option to get funds instantly for a fee of 3% of the advance amount ($2 minimum, $5 maximum) per advance, or get funds for free within 24 hours. See Bancorp MyPay Agreement or Stride MyPay Agreement for details. SpotMe: SpotMe® on Credit is an optional, no interest/no fee overdraft line of credit tied to the Secured Deposit Account. SpotMe on Debit is an optional, no fee service attached to your Chime Checking Account (individually or collectively, "SpotMe"). Eligibility for SpotMe requires $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to your Chime Checking Account each month. Qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their Chime Checking Account and/or their Secured Deposit Account up to $20 in total, but may be later eligible for a higher combined limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your SpotMe Limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your SpotMe Limit. SpotMe for Credit and SpotMe on Debit share a single SpotMe limit. Your SpotMe Limit may change at any time, at Chime or its banking partners’ discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third-party fees associated with ATM transactions or OTC cash withdrawal fees at retailers. SpotMe won’t cover non-card transactions, including ACH s, Pay Anyone s, or Chime Checkbook transactions. SpotMe terms and conditions. Early Pay: Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date. Savings: Chime® Checking Account is required to be eligible for a Savings Account. The 3.75% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) is only available to members with Chime Prime status, otherwise, either the 3.00% APY for members with Chime Plus status or the standard rate of 0.75% APY will apply. The APYs are effective as of 02/26/2026, are variable and may change at any time. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest. See Chime Membership Tiers Terms and Conditions for more details. Credit Builder: Based on a representative study conducted by Experian® in Sept 2025, the top 10% of members who made their first purchase with Credit Builder, an earlier version of Chime Card, between April and August 2024, observed a FICO® Score 8 increase of 71 points after approximately 8 months. Average increase of 28 points across all participants in the study. Credit score improvement not guaranteed. Paying on time may increase your score, while late payment may decrease your score. Other credit activity can impact your score. Credit score is one of many factors creditors may consider in evaluating credit applications.	Go to site View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
9.4 Excellent Varo Cash Advance	9.4 Excellent	Up to $250 today. Build up to $700 over time with direct deposit at Varo. Average loan: $195. Qualifications Apply.	Instant, once qualified	No membership fees, Flat Fees of $1.60 to $100	Important information Varo Advance qualification is subject to evaluation of consumer reports and Varo account activity. If approved, initial limits range from $20- $250. Unlock higher limits up to $700 over time when you bring your qualifying direct deposit to Varo and build a positive history with us. Negative repayment history may impact credit. Fees range from $1.60 - $100 based on loan amount, and deposits to your Varo Bank Account. Your current limit and applicable fees can be viewed in the Varo App. Qualifying direct deposits are electronic deposits of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security or unemployment) from your employer or government agency to the extent that can be identified. Tax refunds and government stimulus payments, Person-to-Person payments (such as Venmo or Varo to Anyone), and funds deposited using a Varo routing number are not considered a direct deposit.	Go to site View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
9.4 Excellent OppLoans Installment Loans	9.4 Excellent	$500 to $5,000	As soon as the same business day	129% - 195% APR	Not available in: CO, CT, GA, IA, MD, MA, NY, SD, VT, WV. Comes with the option to change your due date so you won’t fall behind on repayments.	Important information The advertised APR is an estimate based on currently available information, is not final, and is subject to change. If approved, your actual rate will be determined and assigned based on your creditworthiness, income, application information, and other relevant factors. Applications submitted on the OppLoans platform will be originated by one of our bank partners and serviced by OppLoans. Please see the Rates and Terms for details regarding the availability of products in your state of residence. Subject to credit approval and verification. Actual approved loan amount and terms are dependent on our bank partners’ standard underwriting guidelines and credit policies. Funds may be deposited for delivery to your bank via ACH as soon as the same business day if verification is completed and final approval occurs before 12:00 PM CT on a business day. If approval occurs after 12:00 PM CT on a business day or on a non-business day, funds may be delivered as soon as the next business day. Availability of the funds is dependent on how quickly your bank processes the transaction. Installment loan amounts typically range from $500 to $5,000. Annual percentage rate (APR) ranges from 129% to 195%. Installment loan lengths range from 9 to 18 months. Example: A $2,000 installment loan repayable in 9 monthly payments with an APR of 160% would have monthly payments of $394.58. Loan amount, APR, and repayment terms may vary by state, please see https://www.opploans.com/rates-and-terms for additional information. Approval is not guaranteed. If approved, your actual rate will fall within the marketed range of rates, and will be determined and assigned based on your creditworthiness, income, application information, and other relevant factors. Not all applicants will qualify for the lowest available rates. This is an expensive form of credit and you should determine whether the offered product(s) meets your financial needs. OppLoans’ Bank Partners may use credit report information provided by Clarity Services and Experian as part of the application process to determine your creditworthiness. The credit inquiry will appear as a soft credit inquiry on your Experian credit report and a hard credit inquiry on your Clarity report. Therefore it will not affect your FICO credit score. OppLoans and its Bank Partners report customer payment history to the three major credit bureaus. On-time payments may improve credit score.	Go to site View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading
8.8 Great Albert Instant	8.8 Great	$25 to $1,000	Within minutes	No subscription required	Advance up to $1,000 in minutes with Albert Instant.	Important information Albert is not a bank. Savings account provided by Wells Fargo, N.A., Member FDIC. Albert plans start at $19.99/mo. Try for 30 days before you're charged. Fees auto-renew until canceled. Cancel in the app. Terms apply. Albert Instant Line of Credit is an unsecured line of credit issued by FinWise Bank, a Utah chartered bank, Member FDIC. Limits range from $25-$1,000. Draw fees apply. Terms and eligibility criteria including geographic restrictions apply. In some states, Albert may offer you an Albert Instant Advance instead. Limits range from $25-$1,000, subject to terms and eligibility criteria. No Albert subscription is required for Albert Instant Line of Credit or Albert Instant Advance. See Albert Terms of Use for additional important terms.	Go to site View details Compare product selectionCompare	loading

Showing 6 of 6 results

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The Finder Score crunches 3+ types of short-term loans across 65+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10.

To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best short-term loans for all credit types, you can see how each short-term loan stacks up against other short-term loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type.

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Frequently asked questions

How do I contact Branch support?

For the quickest response, Branch advises to contact their live chat support. Users can also visit the Support section in the Branch app. Or you can call Branch Support at 866-547-2413

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Gabriel Finder

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Wanda

November 19, 2019

Do you offer payday loans for pensioners?

Joshua Finder

November 19, 2019

Hi Wanda,

Thanks for getting in touch with Finder. I hope all is well with you. 😃

If you’re referring to Branch Pay Advance, I’m afraid they don’t offer payday loans for pensioners. Instead, they offer an interest-free advance on wages already earned by the hourly workers.

You may check our pensioner loans guide. It provides information on the types of pensions considered by lenders and how to apply for a loan on a pension.

On the same page, you will also see a table that allows you to compare personal loans you may be able to apply for while on pension. Simply specify your state of residence and that table shows you your options. You can then compare based on APR, minimum credit score, and max loan amount. After you’re done comparing your options, you can then click on the “Go to site” green button to learn more.

Please make sure that you’ve read the relevant T&Cs or PDS of the loan products before making a decision. Moreover, check the eligibility requirements as well and consider whether the product is right for you.

I hope this helps. Should you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out again.

Have a wonderful day!

Cheers,

Joshua

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Branch cash advance app review