Brigit Cash Advance App User Perception Study

Brigit Cash Advance App User Perception Study – Executive Synthesis

Objective and context. We set out to understand attitudes toward cash-advance apps, the trust signals users require, sensitivity to subscription pricing, and the features that would move the category from “last resort” to acceptable. Across interviews, participants equated most current offerings to payday loans with a “pretty UI,” citing opaque pricing, intrusive data practices, and harmful repayment mechanics as primary blockers.

What we heard across questions

• Category stigma is entrenched. Users described cash-advance apps as “payday loans with a pretty UI” and “data harvesting” (Edward Cameron). Advances are tolerated only as a one-off emergency solution; otherwise, respondents prefer savings, credit unions, credit cards, or borrowing from family.
• Pricing must be flat, posted, and capped. Participants rejected tips, hidden charges, and subscriptions. “No subscription, no tip jar. One flat, posted fee that is small and capped” (Princess Krebs).
• Standing subscriptions are a nonstarter. All respondents declined a $9–$15/month fee for a $250 line. If anything, they prefer pay-only-when-used or month-to-month toggles. “As a permanent line item? Hard pass” (Anthony Seiple).
• Instant transfer with no upsell is table stakes. “Truly instant transfers included every time-no ‘tip’ upsell, no extra rush fee” (Sholom Pierce).
• Repayment safety matters. Auto-debits that cause overdrafts are a top fear; users expect guardrails, low-balance checks, and NSF/overdraft protections or reimbursements.
• Trust is earned through OAuth and plain-English promises. Bank OAuth with read-only by default, granular controls, visible revoke, and a clear “no selling my data” pledge were repeatedly required. Human support with extended hours and accountability (a phone number, names) is a decisive trust lever.
• Operational accessibility is make-or-break. Credit-union/prepaid support, low-bandwidth reliability, a simple web portal, bilingual coverage, and off-hours support were repeatedly requested; some also want budget-app visibility and CSV export.
• Notable but niche asks. Formal security attestations (SOC 2, pen tests, bug bounty), family/household plans, and disaster fee waivers surfaced as secondary trust/value enhancers.

Persona correlations and nuances

• High-income tech/product-savvy: Trusts formal security evidence and interoperability (OAuth, SOC 2, passkeys, budget syncing). Rejects data monetization and habitual-use nudges (Edward Cameron).
• Rural, mid-career white-collar: Prioritizes credit-union compatibility, web portal, low-bandwidth reliability, and extended-hours human support; favors employer or bank distribution (Zachary Lowe, Princess Krebs).
• Frontline/blue-collar/field: Demands instant payouts, overdraft/NSF protection, no forced prepaid cards, and bilingual phone support; needs availability beyond 9–5 (Sholom Pierce, Anthony Seiple, Princess Krebs).
• Precarious/low-income/prepaid-first: Needs zero hard pulls, prepaid compatibility, short sign-up, and transparent one-time fees; may “use once, delete” unless real recurring costs are avoided (Matthew Madison).
• Households with buffers: Categorically reject subscriptions for small lines; would only consider if ongoing value offsets fees (e.g., overdraft prevention, APY, credit building).

Recommendations

• Adopt a flat, posted per-use fee with hard per-pay-period guardrails; remove tips and standing subscriptions.
• Ship instant transfers included by default-no expedite upsell.
• Build a Repayment Safety Engine: user-selected dates, low-balance checks, partial paybacks, throttling, and NSF reimbursement if the app misfires.
• Implement a Trust Stack: bank OAuth read-only by default, granular scopes, revoke/export/delete in-app, plain-English privacy (“no selling my data,” short retention), and publish security evidence (status page now; SOC 2/pen test roadmap).
• Distribute via employers and credit unions to leverage institutional trust; offer disaster fee waivers and optional household/shared controls.
• Optimize operational accessibility: low-data app + web portal, credit-union and prepaid support, bilingual support, budgeting visibility, and CSV export.

Risks and mitigations

• Regulatory drift: Structure as EWA with clear fees/guardrails; obtain legal opinions and monitor CFPB/state guidance.
• Instant payout economics: Mix rails and negotiate push-to-debit; cap limits/frequency; seek employer/CU subsidies.
• Connectivity gaps (CUs/prepaid): Choose aggregators with CU depth; add web fallback and multiple payout rails.
• Overdraft reimbursements: Launch conservative safeguards; simulate timing; iterate via post-mortems.

Next steps and measurement

1. 0–30 days: Replace subscriptions/tips with flat per-use fee; publish privacy pledge; add in-app revoke/export/delete; enforce OAuth read-only; stand up extended-hours bilingual support.
2. 30–90 days: Launch Emergency Advance MVP (instant included, guardrails, CU/prepaid support, web portal) and initial repayment safety controls; pilot with a small cohort.
3. 90–180 days: Expand safety engine (partial paybacks, NSF reimbursement); begin SOC 2 and independent pen test; pilot with 1–2 employers and 2–3 credit unions; optimize low-bandwidth performance/localization.

• KPIs: App-induced overdraft rate (< 1/1,000 advances), instant transfer success in < 5 min (≥ 98%), trust conversion (≥ 65% OAuth read-only; ≥ 35% first-advance), support SLA/CSAT (< 2 min phone; < 60 sec chat; ≥ 4.6/5), and repeat-reliance guardrail (≤ 5% more than one advance per pay period).