What Empower Finance Does
Empower Finance is a personal finance application that integrates various financial tools to help users gain control over their finances. It offers a unified platform for budgeting, spending analysis, financial account monitoring, automated savings, and investment management. The platform is tailored to support users at every life stage, from saving for immediate goals to planning for retirement.
Key Features and Functionality
Account Aggregation
Empower allows users to link multiple financial accounts, including checking, savings, credit cards, loans, and investments. This provides a 360-degree view of their financial status, making it easier to track and manage all accounts from a single dashboard.
Budgeting Tools
The app includes robust budgeting features that enable users to create budgets, track spending across different categories, and set financial goals. It also sends alerts when spending approaches set limits, helping users maintain disciplined financial management.
Automated Savings
Empower’s AutoSave feature analyzes users’ income and expenses to determine safe amounts to transfer into savings, promoting consistent saving habits. This automated savings tool helps users build their savings over time without manual intervention.
Spending Tracking
The app categorizes transactions, allowing users to monitor their spending patterns and identify areas for improvement. This feature helps in making informed financial decisions and optimizing spending habits.
Cash Advances
Eligible users can access cash advances of up to $250 with no interest or late fees, providing a financial safety net for unexpected expenses. This feature is particularly useful for managing short-term financial needs.
Empower Card
Empower offers a Visa debit card with several benefits, including up to 10% cash back on select purchases, early direct deposit access, and fee-free ATM withdrawals at over 37,000 locations.
Investment Management
The platform provides tools for tracking investment portfolios, analyzing asset allocation, and identifying excessive fees. Users can view their total balances in taxable and nontaxable accounts, holdings, and asset allocation. Empower also offers investment accounts with no setup fees and automatic investment options.
Retirement Planning
Empower helps users consolidate and manage their retirement savings by offering a wide range of investment options, no administrative fees, and guidance from professional advisors when rolling over old retirement accounts.
Financial Insights and Recommendations
The app provides personalized financial recommendations and insights to help users optimize their financial health. It includes features like tax loss harvesting and tax location, which can enhance after-tax returns.
Net Worth Tracking
Empower automatically tracks and updates users’ net worth by linking all their financial accounts. Users receive weekly email updates on their net worth, market performance, upcoming bills, and accounts that need attention.
Financial Security and Credit Solutions
Empower also offers credit monitoring and spend tracking to improve financial security and mobility. The platform uses non-traditional methods, such as machine learning to analyze real-time cash flow data, for credit risk assessment.
In summary, Empower Finance is a powerful tool that streamlines personal finance management by offering a wide range of features that help users save, invest, and plan for their financial future effectively.