Dave App Review

Dave is a banking app that fronts you up to $500 through its ExtraCash advance without treating it like a high-interest payday loan. There’s no hard credit pull, no interest, and repayment is simply scheduled for the next paycheck (or another date you pick). The cost is straightforward: a $5 monthly membership keeps the door open to advances and money-management tools, and you can choose to tip. Need the cash right away? It lands in a Dave Checking account instantly for free, or you can push it to an external debit card in about an hour for a 1.5 % express fee (standard ACH takes 1–3 days at no charge).

Because advances show up as overdraft deposits to your Dave Checking account, the service sidesteps the steep fees that come with traditional short-term loans. Alongside the advance, the app packs built-in checking with 4.00 % APY, goal-based savings spaces, real-time budgeting alerts, and even a Side Hustle marketplace to help boost income.

Dave might work well for you if:

• Quick cash: You need up to $500 in about five minutes and don’t want to deal with interest or credit checks
• Dave Checking: You’re happy to open a Dave Checking account and like that an advance lands there instantly for free
• Early pay: Getting your paycheck up to two days early and earning 4 % APY on the balance sounds useful
• Side income: You’d try in-app gigs or surveys to bring in extra money and have earnings drop straight into your account
• Budget help: Real-time spend tracking, low-balance alerts and bill predictions could keep you from overdrafting

When Dave might not be a good fit:

• Monthly fee: The $5 membership is hard to justify if you rarely need an advance or the other tools
• Small limit: You regularly need more than $500 or longer than 60 days to repay
• Strict criteria: You don’t have three recurring deposits of at least $1,000 a month or your account is often negative
• No new account: Opening and maintaining another checking account feels like too much hassle
• Risk of fees: Leaving your ExtraCash balance negative could trigger a $5 or 5 % overdraft charge

1. Age & residency: Be a U.S. resident, at least 18 years old, and verify your identity with a Social Security or Tax ID number.
2. Bank history: Link a checking account that’s been open and active for 60+ days and normally stays in the black.
3. Regular income: Show at least three direct deposits each month that together total $1,000 or more.
4. Dave accounts: Keep a Dave Checking account and the linked ExtraCash deposit account open.
5. Good standing: Have no late or outstanding ExtraCash balances.
6. Healthy habits: Maintain consistent income and responsible spending; Dave reviews your transactions every day.

Dave updates your limit daily based on these factors, and you won’t face a credit check.

Approval only takes a few minutes. After that, you pick how fast the cash leaves Dave:

• Instant to a Dave Checking account: shows up almost right away and is free.
• Express push-to-debit to another bank card: lands in about 30 minutes (sometimes up to an hour) for a 1.5 % fee.
• Free standard ACH to your external bank: 1–3 business days.

1. Pick your date: When you take an ExtraCash advance you choose the settlement date; Dave usually sets it for your next direct-deposit payday, or the first Friday after your balance turns negative if no payday is detected.
2. Automatic pull: On that date Dave auto-withdraws the full advance, any express-transfer fee and optional tip—first from Dave Checking, then your linked debit card, then your external bank. If the full amount isn’t there, Dave keeps trying.
3. 60-day window: Repayment can be demanded any time within 60 days. A balance left unpaid for 60 days may trigger account closure and Dave can use set-off rights to collect what’s owed.

On top of the ExtraCash advances, Dave offers a handful of everyday banking and earning tools you can use year-round.

Dave Checking

This mobile, FDIC-insured account gets ExtraCash advances instantly and lets you spend them right away with the Dave debit Mastercard. Direct deposits can show up up to two days early, balances earn 4.00% APY, there are no minimum-balance fees, and cash is free at more than 40,000 MoneyPass ATMs. A built-in Round-Up feature also sweeps spare change from purchases into savings automatically.

Goals savings spaces

If you want to set money aside for specific targets, you can open separate “Goals” sub-accounts. Each one also earns 4.00% APY, supports automatic or one-off transfers, and shows real-time progress so you always know how close you are to hitting each goal.

Side Hustle & Surveys

Inside the app you’ll find a marketplace with 1,000+ local, remote, gig, and part-time jobs plus quick in-app surveys. Any earnings you pick up land straight into Dave Checking, so they’re ready to use or move to savings immediately.

24/7 money-management alerts

Dave tracks spending in real time, predicts upcoming bills, flags low balances, and watches for suspicious activity. Customizable budgets and settlement-threshold reminders help you keep tabs on cash flow and avoid overdrafts before they happen.