MoneyLion
Funds may be available as soon as the next business day
Updated October 5, 2026 · By the MoneyAtlas Editorial Team
on MoneyLion's site
Category Ratings
Pros
All-in-One Platform: Combines personal loans, cash advances, credit building, banking, and investing in a single app — eliminating the need to manage multiple financial services separately.
Soft Credit Pull to Compare: Check rates from multiple partner lenders with a single soft inquiry that won't affect your credit score — only a hard pull happens if you accept an offer and proceed.
Credit Builder With Savings: Credit Builder Plus reports payments to all three bureaus while building a savings cushion from partial loan funds, helping users establish credit history and save simultaneously.
Cons
Not a Direct Lender: MoneyLion doesn't originate the loans itself — it connects you with third-party lenders, so your actual rates, terms, and experience depend on whichever partner you're matched with.
Premium Membership Required: The most valuable features (Credit Builder Plus, higher advance limits) sit behind the $19.99/month paywall, adding $240/year in costs that offset some of the platform's benefits.
Rates Vary Widely: APRs range from 5.99% to 35.99% depending on the partner lender and your credit profile — borrowers with thin or poor credit may see offers at the higher end of that range.
One app for cash advances, credit building, and banking, if you can stomach the upsells
MoneyLion is genuinely useful for people building credit who want Instacash advances and a checking account in one place, but the $19.99 monthly membership and constant tip prompts mean the value depends entirely on which features you actually use.
Marketplace loans carry a 5.99–35.99% APR range with no origination fees from MoneyLion itself; actual lender fees vary.
Marketplace loans from $1K to $100K across multiple partner lenders, plus integrated credit-building tools and banking — unusually broad for one platform.
Accepts all credit tiers including poor credit through its partner lender network; Credit Builder Plus also serves those rebuilding credit history.
Marketplace prequalification is quick, but navigating the super-app’s multiple products adds complexity for first-time users.
Approved marketplace loans can fund as soon as the next business day, though exact timing depends on the partner lender.
MoneyLion Review: Quick Verdict
MoneyLion is a legitimate fintech super-app that bundles personal loans (via its partner marketplace), Credit Builder Plus loans, Instacash cash advances up to $500 at 0% APR, a checking account, and automated investing into a single platform. It is best suited for borrowers who want multiple financial tools in one app and are building or rebuilding credit, though users should weigh the optional premium membership fee against the features they actually need.
Is MoneyLion Legit?
Yes. MoneyLion is a publicly traded financial technology company (NYSE: ML) that has served over 16 million customers since its founding in 2013. The company is not a bank itself, but its banking products are offered through Pathward, N.A., an FDIC-insured institution. This means deposits held in MoneyLion's RoarMoney checking account are federally insured up to $250,000 per depositor.
MoneyLion holds a B+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and maintains a 4.0+ rating on the Apple App Store. On Trustpilot, reviews are mixed — some users praise the Instacash feature and credit-building tools, while others cite customer service frustrations. As with any fintech platform, reading the terms for each individual product before signing up is important since different features carry different fee structures.
The CFPB Case: What the Military Lending Act Action Was About
The one thing a legitimacy check should surface, and most reviews do not, is the federal enforcement record. In September 2022 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued MoneyLion Technologies Inc., ML Plus LLC and dozens of its lending subsidiaries in the Southern District of New York. The CFPB's Military Lending Act enforcement action alleged three things: that MoneyLion charged servicemembers and their dependents annual percentage rates above the 36% cap the Military Lending Act sets for covered borrowers, that it failed to make the disclosures the statute requires, and that it made membership cancellation difficult enough that consumers kept getting billed after they asked to leave. The case was resolved on November 24, 2025 by a stipulated final judgment that included $1.75 million in consumer redress.
A stipulated judgment is a settlement, not a court finding of guilt, and MoneyLion continued operating throughout. But the shape of the allegations is the useful part for anyone deciding whether to sign up. The problem was never that the products did not work. It was the membership layer wrapped around them: a recurring fee that pushed the all-in cost of borrowing higher than the headline rate suggested, and a cancellation path that did not reliably stop the billing. If you use MoneyLion, treat the membership as the thing to watch. Cancel in writing, keep the confirmation, and check the next two statements.
What MoneyLion Users Actually Report
The praise and the complaints are consistent across the App Store, Trustpilot, WalletHub and the Better Business Bureau, and they split cleanly by product. Instacash draws the positive reviews: people who needed a few hundred dollars before payday got it, quickly, without a credit check. Credit Builder Plus draws the second tier of praise from users who watched a score move. The complaints cluster somewhere else entirely, on customer service response times, on membership charges appearing after a cancellation request, and on advance limits changing without explanation. That is the same fault line the federal case ran along, which is why it is worth reading the complaint record rather than the star average. You can search federal consumer complaint records for MoneyLion by product and see what people filed and how the company responded. Star ratings compress all of this into one number; the underlying narratives tell you which product the problem was with.
What Is MoneyLion?
MoneyLion positions itself as a financial super-app, combining several products that would normally require separate providers. The platform includes a personal loan marketplace that connects borrowers to partner lenders, a Credit Builder Plus program, Instacash cash advances, the RoarMoney checking account, and an automated investing feature. Users who want a more traditional lending experience can compare options on our best personal loans page.
MoneyLion Key Details
MoneyLion Products Breakdown
Personal Loan Marketplace
MoneyLion's loan marketplace is not a direct lender. Instead, it connects you with a network of partner lenders who compete for your business. Loan amounts range from $1,000 to $100,000, with APRs between 5.99% and 35.99% depending on your credit profile and the specific lender. You can check rates with a soft credit pull, and approved loans may be funded as early as the next business day.
Credit Builder Plus
Credit Builder Plus is MoneyLion's own lending product designed to help users build credit history. It provides a loan of up to $1,000 that is partially held in a secured account while you make payments. Those payments are reported to all three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion), which can help establish or improve your credit score over time. This product requires the premium membership ($19.99/month).
Instacash
Instacash is MoneyLion's cash advance feature, offering up to $500 at 0% APR with no mandatory fees. The advance is repaid automatically from your next paycheck deposit. Free members start with lower limits that increase based on account activity and direct deposit history. Express delivery (same-day funding) costs an additional fee, and MoneyLion prompts users for optional "tips" — though tipping is not required.
RoarMoney and Investing
RoarMoney is MoneyLion's checking account, offered through Pathward, N.A. It includes features like early direct deposit (up to two days early), cashback rewards at select merchants, and no minimum balance requirements. The investing feature lets users start with as little as $1 through managed portfolios, though it is a basic robo-advisor without advanced customization.
MoneyLion Fees and Membership Tiers
MoneyLion operates on a freemium model. The free tier gives access to the loan marketplace, basic Instacash advances, RoarMoney banking, and financial tracking. The premium tier unlocks higher advance limits, Credit Builder Plus, and exclusive cashback rewards.
It is worth noting that express delivery fees for Instacash advances apply regardless of membership tier. Standard delivery (3-5 business days) is free. MoneyLion also prompts users for optional tips on cash advances, but these are entirely voluntary.
What Instacash Actually Costs
Instacash is advertised at 0% APR with no mandatory fees, and that is technically true. It is also not the price most people pay. Instacash is an earned wage access product rather than a loan, and two optional charges sit on top of it: the express delivery charge for same-day funding, which MoneyLion calls the turbo fee and which is listed above at $0.99 to $8.99 depending on the advance size, and the tip the app prompts for at the end of the flow. Neither is required. Both are the default path.
Run the arithmetic on a small advance and the framing changes. A $4.99 express fee on a $100 advance is roughly 5% of the amount borrowed, paid for a few days of early access, before any tip. Add a $2 tip and it is closer to 7%. That is not an APR and MoneyLion does not quote it as one, because an advance is not a loan, but it is the number that matters if you take advances regularly. Two or three a month turns a free product into a recurring cost.
The way to use it cheaply is the boring way: take standard delivery, which is free and lands in three to five business days, and skip the tip. If you need the money same-day often enough that the express fee is unavoidable, the underlying problem is a cash-flow gap, and a personal loan at a fixed rate is usually cheaper than repeated advances. Compare SoFi personal loans and Best Egg if your credit supports it, or loans for bad credit if it does not.
Who Should Use MoneyLion?
MoneyLion is a strong fit for borrowers who are actively building or rebuilding credit and want an all-in-one app rather than juggling multiple services. If you need occasional small cash advances between paychecks and want to build credit simultaneously, the combination of Instacash and Credit Builder Plus is hard to match elsewhere.
MoneyLion is less ideal for borrowers who need large loan amounts with competitive rates. The personal loan marketplace offers up to $100,000, but borrowers with strong credit may find better APRs through dedicated lenders. Similarly, the investing feature is basic — serious investors will outgrow it quickly. If your primary goal is a straightforward personal loan without the extra app ecosystem, a focused platform may serve you better.
Compare MoneyLion Alternatives
MoneyLion's all-in-one approach differs from traditional personal loan platforms. Upstart uses AI-based underwriting and may approve borrowers with limited credit history, while Happen Bank is a digital bank focused on personal loans and debt consolidation. Here is how the three compare:
How to Apply and Get Started
- Download the MoneyLion app from the App Store or Google Play and create your account
- Link your primary bank account to verify income and enable direct deposit
- Check your personal loan offers through the marketplace with a soft pull (no credit impact)
- Optionally enroll in Credit Builder Plus or activate Instacash for cash advance access
- Set up RoarMoney direct deposit to unlock higher advance limits and early paycheck access
Does MoneyLion Hurt Your Credit?
The credit impact depends on which MoneyLion product you use. Checking your personal loan rates through the marketplace uses a soft inquiry, which does not affect your credit score. However, if you accept a loan offer and proceed with a partner lender, a hard inquiry will appear on your credit report.
Instacash advances do not involve a credit check at all — eligibility is based on your bank account activity and direct deposit history. Credit Builder Plus is designed to help your score: payments are reported to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. Making on-time payments should have a positive effect, while missed payments could hurt your score.