Personal Finance News
Self Financial Introduces Self Cash Advance Feature
Self Financial (formerly Self Lender) is debuting a new feature for customers.
About Self Cash:
This week, Self announced the launch of a new option called Self Cash. With this feature, customers can access cash advances with no interest or late fees. Additionally, there’s no credit check required.
According to Self, Self Cash advances start at $25, but customers may qualify for up to $100. Over time, they can also increase their limit to as much as $300. Once approved, users can select a “standard distribution” for free (which will take one to three business days) or can select instant access for a fee. These fees will vary by the size of the advance but range from $3 to $15.
To get started, users can apply for Self Cash advances in the Self App. Then, within five minutes of applying, they’ll receive an offer that includes their eligible amount and repayment due date, which is based on the applicant’s estimated payday. If accepted, their advance (plus the instant access fee if applicable) will be automatically withdrawn from a linked debit card on the assigned due date. Note that there’s no need to have an existing Self product in order to use Self Cash.
Currently, Self Cash is available in 26 states:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont,
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
What They’re Saying:
Commenting on the addition of Self Cash, Self Financial CEO Julie Szudarek stated, “In a perfect world, no one would need a cash advance. But that’s not the world many people live in. In fact, more than 95,000 Self customers joined a waitlist for Self Cash. Our goal isn’t just to offer cash advances, it’s to introduce an option that helps people get through today while building toward tomorrow.”
Szudarek added, “Once on the Self platform, customers can access tools — including free ones — that support credit building and financial resilience.”
My Thoughts:
As Szudarek points out, this is the type of product you kind of wish didn’t need to exist. However, at least judging it on how it’s presented, it does seem like a decent alternative to some other cash advance and short-term loan products. That’s especially true if you’re able to use the standard transfer for free rather than paying a fee for instant access.
Of course, having not tried the product for myself, I can’t completely endorse it. But I am curious to see if this feature can be beneficial to those in need of a quick loan.