Dave Cash Advance fees and interest rate lawsuit investigation

Shamis & Gentile P.A., one of the nation's premier class action law firms specializing in arbitration cases, is investigating potential claims against Dave.

If you have a dispute with the company, you may be eligible for compensation through arbitration.

What is a Dave?

Dave is a financial technology company that offers a personal finance mobile app and related banking services. The company promotes itself as an alternative to traditional banks, focusing on consumers who are “financially vulnerable” or “financially coping,” including people who overdraft frequently, have minimal savings, or live paycheck to paycheck.

Through its app, Dave markets short-term cash advances, branded as “ExtraCash,” which it has advertised as providing up to $500 with no interest, no credit check and “no hidden fees.” To use the app, consumers must link their existing bank accounts, allowing Dave to review their banking history and to debit their accounts directly for repayments, fees and other charges.

Dave has grown rapidly since launching, expanding from small-dollar advances (such as $75 or $100) to advertising advances “up to $500,” and adding features like a $1 monthly membership, goal-tracking tools and a linked spending account.

As of late 2024, federal regulators alleged that Dave’s core business model targets consumers in financial distress and relies heavily on recurring fees, “tips” and other charges taken directly from users’ bank accounts.

Why is Dave being investigated?

In November 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Dave In December 2024, the FTC referred the case to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which filed an amended complaint on Dec. 30, 2024, naming both Dave Inc. and its CEO as defendants. As of Dec. 11, 2025, the case remains pending, and the allegations have not yet been proven in court.

According to the DOJ’s amended complaint, Dave and its CEO allegedly:

• Misled consumers about “up to $500” cash advances and instant access
  
  • Dave’s ads and in-app messages emphasized that users could get “up to $500” “instantly,” “on the spot” or “in under 5 minutes,” often simply by downloading the app
  • Regulators allege that in practice, very few new users were ever offered $500, and many were not offered any advance at all
  • For a significant period after Dave began advertising “up to $500,” regulators say a $500 advance was offered to new users only about 0.002% of the time (less than 1 in 45,000), and the most common offer was $25
    
  • Many users allegedly had to wait two to three business days for funds unless they paid an additional “Express Fee” of about $3 to $25, a fee regulators say was not clearly disclosed up front

• Charged hidden or poorly disclosed fees
  
  • Despite marketing “no hidden fees,” Dave allegedly charged:
    
    • An “Express Fee” to receive funds quickly instead of waiting several days
    • A recurring $1 monthly membership fee
    • An additional percentage of the advance labeled as a “tip”
  • Regulators allege these charges were not clearly and conspicuously disclosed before Dave obtained access to consumers’ bank accounts

• Used “tips” in a deceptive way
  
  • After users accepted an advance, the app displayed a “Your advance is on its way!” screen with a large “Thank you!” button
  • Regulators allege that tapping “Thank you!” caused Dave to add a default “tip” (often around 15% of the advance) without making it clear that this was optional or how to avoid it
  • Many consumers reportedly believed they had no way to decline the tip or did not realize they had authorized it
  • Internal documents cited by regulators allegedly described this design as a “dark pattern” that made it hard for users to avoid tipping

• Misrepresented charitable donations tied to tips
  
  • Dave’s interface showed a cartoon child and “Healthy Meals” options (for example, 10, 15 or 20 meals) and suggested that a user’s tip would provide a certain number of meals to hungry children
  • According to the complaint, Dave actually donated only 10 cents for each percentage point of the tip and kept the rest, meaning the donations were far too small to pay for the number of meals implied
  • Internal communications cited by regulators allegedly acknowledged that this “hungry child” design was manipulative but effective at increasing tip revenue

• Enrolled users in recurring $1 monthly fees and made cancellation difficult
  
  • Dave allegedly enrolled users in an automatically renewing $1 monthly membership when they linked their bank accounts, even if they never received an advance
  • Many consumers reportedly did not realize they were being charged until they saw the $1 debits on their bank statements
  • Regulators allege Dave failed to provide a simple, clear way to cancel and in some cases would not stop the monthly fee unless the user met additional conditions or provided extensive personal information
  • Internal documents cited by regulators allegedly acknowledged that many users “don’t know they’re paying” the $1 fee and that cancellation was “hard to cancel” or confusing

The DOJ’s amended complaint alleges violations of:

• Section 5 of the FTC Act (unfair or deceptive acts or practices)
• The Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act (ROSCA), which governs online negative-option and recurring billing programs
  

What rights do I have?

If you used the Dave app, linked a bank account, requested or received an advance, paid a “tip,” paid an “Express Fee” or were charged a $1 monthly membership fee, you may have legal rights and potential claims.

If you used the Dave app at any time and experienced any of the following, you may wish to explore your legal options:

• You were promised “up to $500” or “instant” cash but received a much smaller offer or no advance at all
• You paid an Express Fee to get money quickly and did not understand the fee or feel it was clearly disclosed
• You were charged a “tip” you did not intend to pay or did not realize was optional
• You believed your tip would fund a specific number of meals for children, and you later learned that only a small portion was donated
• You saw $1 monthly charges from Dave on your bank account that you did not expect, did not understand or could not easily stop
• You tried to cancel or close your account and found the process confusing, time-consuming or unsuccessful

A team of lawyers is reviewing these issues and evaluating potential arbitration claims on behalf of affected consumers nationwide.

To find out if you may qualify and to have your situation reviewed, please complete the form below.