MoneyLion review
Updated September 28, 2026 · SumCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
MoneyLion suits people in the United States who want a small cash advance fast and open a debit account with cashback.
Key facts
- Best for
- A small US cash advance or a cashback debit account in the same app.
- APR
- 0%↗
- Loan amount
- up to $500↗
- Arrangement fee
- $0 (no origination or monthly fee on Instacash; optional tip $0 and up and optional Turbo delivery fee $0.49-$8.99)↗
- Credit check
- None↗
- Funding time
- Within minutes with optional Turbo delivery fee, or 1-5 business days at no cost↗
- Rate type
- Variable↗
- Lender type
- Marketplace↗
- Eligibility
- Legal resident of the United States, at least 18 years old (age of majority in state of residence); service availability varies by state↗
- Origination fee (%)
- 0%↗
- Loan types
- Personal, Debt-consolidation, Cash-advance↗
- Credit needed
- Poor↗
- Use cases
- Home-improvement↗
- Legal entity
- MoneyLion Technologies Inc.↗
- Headquarters
- United States↗
- Founded
- 2013↗
- Support channels
- Phone, Email, Help-centre, Community↗
- Features
- Same-day funding
- Official website
- moneylion.com
Debit cards
Savings
Robo-advisors
Facts checked September 26, 2026, 10 sources
Pros and cons
Pros
- Money is available within minutes with the optional Turbo delivery fee, or in a business-day range at no cost.
- Instacash has no origination or monthly fee; the optional tip starts at nothing and the optional Turbo delivery fee is the only extra charge.
- The cashback on the checking account is 1%, and the account carries a monthly fee of $1.
- Borrowing runs on poor credit, so a thin credit file does not close the door on personal, debt consolidation and cash advance lending.
Cons
- Because the credit check is listed as none, the larger personal loan route rests on your credit file rather than on the instant cash advance.
- The cash advance is capped at up to $500, which is a small sum next to the €526.18 typical loan amount on our data.
- You pay a foreign exchange fee of 3% on the card if you spend outside the United States.
- The account kind is easy access, so the balance is there for spending rather than for a set notice period.
Who it suits
- People in the United States who need a small amount quickly and can clear it before the next payday.
- Households wanting a debit account with cashback and a small monthly fee in the same app as their cash advance.
- Borrowers with poor credit who want a cash advance plus access to personal and debt consolidation loans.
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone outside the United States, since which states are covered differs and the group serves a single market.
- People who want a large loan, since the instant cash advance stops at up to $500 and larger sums go through the marketplace with a credit check.
- Savers who need a notice period or a fixed account, as the balance account is easy access.
Application and funding speed
Speed is the part of MoneyLion that stands out against the loans next to it. The cash advance arrives within minutes, and you can pay an optional Turbo delivery fee to sit at the front of that. If you would rather not pay it, the wait is a range of business days at no cost. Same day funding is the standout feature, and only a minority of the lenders we track offer it, so the trade-off here is minutes against a small delivery charge rather than days against a queue. The amount is capped at up to $500, so this is money for a gap between paydays rather than a sum you plan around. The credit check is listed as none, which means the speed is not bought with a hard search on your file. If you need more than the cap allows, you move into the personal loan side of the app, where the route runs through a marketplace of lenders and the same day pace does not carry over.
Deposit protection
Any cash you hold in the app sits behind a deposit protection scheme, listed as FDIC up to USD 250,000, so balances are covered up to the stated limit. The limit is per depositor in the usual way, which matters if you keep other money with the same bank. The protection applies to the balance you hold, not to a loan. MoneyLion is a marketplace, so the lender on the other side of a loan is not the same legal entity as the one holding your deposit. The group is registered with the regulator as MoneyLion Technologies Inc., with a separate registration for ML Enterprise Inc. doing business as Engine by MoneyLion in its broker role, and one more for MoneyLion of California LLC. Checking the register entries matches the parts of the group you are actually dealing with.
How it compares on our data
On the numbers we hold, MoneyLion sits at one extreme on cost and mid-table on size. Its APR of 0% places it at position 1 out of 338 brands ranked on that measure, the strongest showing on that scale. That position comes from the cash advance, which carries no interest in the usual sense, so the ranking is a statement about the headline product rather than about the personal loan route. On size the picture reverses. Its loan amount sits at position 410 out of 665 brands ranked on amount, because the cash advance cap of up to $500 is well below the €526.18 median amount across our borrowing data. Read the two rankings together: cheap to borrow a small sum quickly, not the place to look for a large one.
Rates and costs
The cash advance is the part to price. Its cost is listed as 0%, and there is no origination or monthly fee on Instacash. The arrangement fee is set out as follows: there is no origination or monthly fee on Instacash, an optional tip starts at nothing, and the optional Turbo delivery fee runs from a small sum up to a larger one depending on speed. In practice you can take a small advance, pay nothing to set it up, and leave the tip unset if you prefer. The checking side of the account has its own charges. The monthly fee is $1, the card is a debit card on the mastercard network, and the cashback rate is 1%. Outside the United States, the foreign exchange fee of 3% applies to card spending, so the account earns its keep in dollars and costs more the moment you spend in another currency.
Who regulates it
MoneyLion is a marketplace, which shapes what the licences cover. The group appears on the NMLS Consumer Access register as MoneyLion Technologies Inc. under 1237506, and a second entry covers ML Enterprise Inc. doing business as Engine by MoneyLion in its loan broker role under 1475872. In California, MoneyLion of California LLC is registered with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under 603 L583. Because the lending side is a marketplace, the entity you apply through depends on which part of the group handles your request. Checking the register against the entity named in your application is the quickest way to see who is actually responsible for the money.
The company behind it
The company is MoneyLion Technologies Inc., headquartered in the US and founded in 2013. That age matters in this market, where a new lender can appear and disappear quickly, and it is the reason the register entries matter: the group holds the licences as MoneyLion Technologies Inc., as ML Enterprise Inc. doing business as Engine by MoneyLion in its broker role, and as MoneyLion of California LLC with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Support runs on phone, email and help centre, so help comes by phone, email, a help centre or the community. The legal entity, the register entries and the support route are all in the same group, which makes it straightforward to confirm who you are dealing with before you hand over bank details for the cash advance or open the debit account.
How MoneyLion compares
9.2 vs 9.0
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9.2 vs 8.7Its APR is 10.74% to 18.06%, a range that reads as a regular instalment loan, which fits readers who want a set cost and term rather than a flat fee cash advance.
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Where MoneyLion is available
- Available
- United States
- Licence in United States
- NMLS Consumer Access (MoneyLion Technologies Inc.) (1237506), checked September 26, 2026
- Licence in United States
- NMLS Consumer Access (ML Enterprise Inc. d/b/a Engine by MoneyLion, loan broker) (1475872), checked September 26, 2026
- Licence in United States
- California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (MoneyLion of California LLC) (603 L583), checked September 26, 2026
Countries from the brand (Source, checked September 26, 2026)
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost to take a cash advance from MoneyLion?+
The cash advance is listed at 0% and carries no origination or monthly fee. An optional tip starts at nothing, and the optional Turbo delivery fee is the only extra charge, running from a small sum to a larger one. Leave the tip unset and the cost stays at the headline figure.
How fast do I get the money?+
Within minutes if you pay the optional Turbo delivery fee. Without that fee the wait is a range of business days, at no cost. Same day funding is the standout feature here, so the choice is speed against a small delivery charge rather than a queue either way.
Is my money safe if I keep a balance in the app?+
Deposit protection is listed as FDIC up to USD 250,000, so cash you hold is covered up to that stated limit. The protection sits with the balance, not with a loan. Because MoneyLion is a marketplace, the lender on a loan is a different entity from the one holding your deposit.
Who regulates MoneyLion?+
The group appears on the NMLS Consumer Access register as MoneyLion Technologies Inc. under 1237506, with a separate entry for ML Enterprise Inc. doing business as Engine by MoneyLion in its broker role under 1475872. MoneyLion of California LLC is registered with the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under 603 L583.
Is the debit account worth keeping if I do not use the cash advance?+
On its own the account is simple: a monthly fee of $1, cashback of 1%, and a debit card on the mastercard network. The cashback offsets most of the monthly fee for anyone who spends on the card. The catch is the 3% foreign exchange fee if you spend outside the United States.
Who can open an account?+
Sign-up is open to residents of the United States who are old enough to be an adult where they live. Which states are covered differs, so this is a single market product rather than something open to a UK or European reader. The account kind is easy access, so the balance is meant for day to day spending.
What kinds of loan can I get through the app?+
The lending side covers personal, debt consolidation and cash advance, so personal loans, debt consolidation and cash advances sit in the same app. Use cases listed are home improvement. The credit profile needed is poor, which is one of the more approachable marks on our data, and larger loans are matched through a marketplace of lenders.
Who do I contact if something goes wrong?+
Support runs on phone, email and help centre, covering phone, email, a help centre and the community. The company behind the app is MoneyLion Technologies Inc., based in the US and founded in 2013, and the same group holds the register entries listed above, so a support conversation stays inside the same organisation.
Sources
- mldocs.moneylion.com/MoneyLion%20DDA%20Terms%20and%20Cond... checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Currency conversion fee
“Foreign Transaction Fee 3% Fee assessed on all purchase transactions - MoneyLion DDA Terms”
- businesswire.com/news/home/20180411006089/en/MoneyLion-Na... checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Founded
“MoneyLion was founded in 2013”
- moneylion.com checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Access terms, Account kind, Deposit protection, Minimum deposit, Rate type, Support channels
“Interest compounds daily and is credited monthly.”
- moneylion.com/cash-advance/instacash checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Loan amount, Credit check, Features, Funding time, Origination fee (%)
“get Instacash cash advances up to $500”
- moneylion.com/checking-accounts/roarmoney checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Cashback rate
“MoneyLion One members earn 1% cash back on all eligible MoneyLion debit purchases - MoneyLion Spend”
- moneylion.com/investing/managed-investing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Management fee, Minimum investment, Portfolio types
“the MoneyLion Investment Account has no ongoing management or trading fees”
- moneylion.com/licensing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Licences
- moneylion.com/personal-loans checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Credit needed, Lender type, Loan types, Use cases
“with options tailored to your financial situation, even if you have bad credit”
- moneylion.com/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: APR, Arrangement fee
“Instacash cash advances ... APR 0%”
- moneylion.com/terms-and-conditions checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Eligibility, Headquarters, Legal entity
“Reside in the United States ... Be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your state or jurisdiction of residence).”
- mybanktracker.com/checking/reviews/moneylion-checking-acc... checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Card type, Monthly fee, Card network
“You can use your MoneyLion Debit Mastercard anywhere Mastercard debit cards are accepted”
Compiled from 11 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Not confirmed yet: Term, Representative example.