The Federal Trade Commission is accusing Los Angeles-based cash app Dave Inc. of misleading its financially vulnerable customers about fees it charges and the amount of money it gives out.
In a complaint filed Tuesday, the agency alleges that while Dave advertises it offers $500 advances “instantly,” only a “miniscule” number of customers receive close to that amount. It also says customers are unaware they must pay a fee to get immediate cash, or else wait several days, and that the app charges a default “tip” of 15% that many customers don’t know they are paying.
The federal lawsuit filed in Los Angeles, which includes additional allegations of wrongdoing, seeks a permanent injunction to prevent future violations of FTC regulations and a 2010 law that regulates online commerce.
“Dave lured in consumers living paycheck-to-paycheck with false claims of big dollar advances, then reached into their pockets to give itself a so-called ‘tip,’” said Samuel Levine, director of the agency’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement.
Dave founder and Chief Executive Jason Wilk declined to comment, but the company issued a statement disputing the allegations. It said it intended to “vigorously defend” itself and claimed none of the allegations in the lawsuit, if proven, would prevent the app from charging the fees or “optional tips,” but instead were about issues around “consumer disclosures and consent.”
Shares of Dave, which have risen more than 700% since last year, were up 13% to $42.56 in morning trading on the Nasdaq.
The lawsuit was approved by a bipartisan 4-to-1 vote of the FTC, with Republican Commissioner Andrew Ferguson joining Chair Lina Kahn and the two other Democrats on the board voting in its favor. Kahn’s term is expired and she is widely expected to be replaced under the new Trump administration.
The lawsuit was the first time the agency has targeted the practice of “tipping,” which other cash advance apps such as MoneyLion also employ.
However, it filed two similar lawsuits against the cash apps Brigit and FloatMe, accusing them of promising large advances for free and then charging fees for immediate access to the money. Both companies settled with the agency, agreeing to change their practices and refund customers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has targeted tips charged by companies such as DailyPay, which typically partner with employers to give workers access to money prior to payday. Earlier this year it proposed a regulation that would include certain tips and expedited delivery fees in the total disclosed finance charges on such advances.
The lawsuit against Dave accuses the company of charging “express fees” of $3 to $25 and misleading customers into giving the default tip of 15% through a deceptive interface on the app that links tips to “healthy meals” for children in need — when only a fraction of the tips go to charity.
It also accuses the company of charging a $1 monthly fee and making it extremely difficult for customers to stop the charge.
The Dave statement said the company was in the midst of “good-faith negotiations” over the allegations when the agency decided to instead file the lawsuit.