In short, Albert is a personal finance app backed by Sutton Bank that promises to help you save money, invest, budget, and bank. It is both FDIC-insured and SIPC-protected and serves as a supplement to your existing bank and investment accounts.
What Is Albert?
The Albert app is free to use, or you can pay for the ‘Geniuses,’ which offers professional financial advice on any personal finance topic. As a few examples, you can ask questions about how to budget better, what to invest in, or how to find the best insurance.
If you use the Albert app to invest, you won’t pay any trading fees or commissions, and you can trade stocks and ETFs. Any money in Albert savings is kept in an FDIC-insured savings account.
How Does Albert Work?
The Albert app is a personal finance app that helps you reach your financial goals. Rather than managing multiple apps for things like cash advances and investing, you can do it all in the Albert app.
For example, you can earn cash back, get an Albert app cash advance, automatically save, and get investment advice.
To use the Albert app, you must link all your financial accounts. They use bank-level security, and they don’t sell your private information. With your financial accounts linked, Albert assesses your financial situation and helps you keep it organized while helping you increase your net worth.
Albert App Features
- Savings
- Cash Advance
- Early Paycheck Access
- Genius
- Insurance Finder
- Tools and Insights
- Investments Guide
1. Albert Savings
Saving money can be challenging, especially if you pay yourself after you pay your bills and spend money each month.
Albert Savings is a set-it-and-forget-it program. You can create your own schedule to save money or let the Albert app figure out where and when you can save. It analyzes your income, spending habits, and regular bills to determine when you can save.
The app sets aside small amounts of money periodically, sometimes several times a week, that you don’t even miss, but that adds up quickly in your savings account.
2. Albert Instant
The founders of the Albert app don’t like overdraft fees, which is a part of the reason they started the app. They understand life happens when you least expect it.
That’s why they offer an Albert app cash advance of up to $250. You don’t have to apply for it, go through a credit check, or pay any fees. It’s a cash advance on your upcoming paycheck. When you get paid, you pay the money back.
The Albert app cash advance is free unless you want the money instantly. A typical transfer takes two to three days, but you can pay a small fee to get the money immediately.
3. Early Paycheck Access
If you set up direct deposit with the Albert app, you get early access to your paycheck up to two days early. You can use the money as you would in any other account, whether you transfer it to your savings account and investment portfolio or spend it using your Albert cash card, which is like a debit card.
In addition, you earn cash bonuses when you buy necessities with your Albert cash card, such as gas and groceries. According to Albert, members earn $2 per gas tank and $1.50 per fast food order. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but if you think about how often you buy gas and fast food, it adds up faster than you think.
4. Genius
Many of the Albert app features fall under the Genius subscription, including automated savings, early paycheck access, investing, and Albert Instant. With Genius, Albert can help you budget, automatically save money, and invest to reach your goals. The services offered for free are ‘basic,’ in other words, they aren’t personalized.
The Genius subscription is a personalized approach to your financial life. It’s like having your own team of personal finance experts, real human financial advisors, at your fingertips. You can ask a ‘Genius’ anything about your financial life and get personalized advice.
Geniuses are available seven days a week, offering advice on any financial topic you need. Examples include personalized money advice, budgeting, bill reduction, smart savings, and insurance savings.
You can pay monthly or annually if you buy a Genius subscription. You’ll receive a one-time cash bonus in your cash account if you pay annually. You’ll receive the bonus as soon as your payment for the Genius subscription clears.
5. Insurance Finder
As part of your Genius subscription, you can text your Genius team, ask questions about insurance, and get quotes for car, life, renters, and home insurance. The insurance professionals will help you understand your options and guide you through the process of shopping around to find the coverage that best suits your needs.
6. Tools and Insights
The Albert App Overview gives insight into your personal financial situation. It’s like having financial reports completed for you.
See how much you’ve spent recently, what bills you’ve paid, and how much money went to your savings account. It tracks your spending, sending you alerts so you make better financial decisions.
The Overview section details your savings habits, breaking them down by month or week. It then allows you to compare how you’re doing side-by-side. If you’re not reaching your goals, this data can help you understand why.
The best feature is the alerts the Albert app sends immediately if there are overdraft fees, unusual activity, or your bills suddenly increase. This is an excellent feature for those bills you pay automatically, like insurance and utility bills. Also, if your bills suddenly increase, having that little nudge to tell you to look into it and possibly shop around is nice.
You’ll even get alerts when it notices subscriptions you don’t use or unnecessary fees you’re paying, like bank fees. So, it helps you save every penny possible to reach your financial goals.
7. Albert Investments Guide
The Albert Investments Guide offers two options – the Albert app can choose your investments after you answer some quick questions, or you can select your own investments and manage your investment portfolio.
The self-managed option guides you by allowing you to choose from different themes. For example, you can search for women-owned companies or U.S.-based companies.
If you want a more hands-off way to invest, you’ll need a Genius subscription. The app then creates your investment portfolio for you. Just answer questions about your risk tolerance, timeline, and goal, and it will handle the rest. Choose from individual stocks or name your theme, such as sustainable companies and Genius takes over.
To make investing even easier, you can turn on auto-invest, and the specified funds will automatically be invested in the frequency you choose. You can select this option for either the self-managed or guided investing option.
The nice thing about guided investing is you don’t need any experience. You only must know your goals and timeframe, and Albert does the rest. It also offers options for all investors, whether you want a conservative or aggressive portfolio or prefer to be somewhere in between.
Pricing & Fees
Most Albert banking services are free, but when you buy a Genius subscription, you pay $14.99 a month with both monthly and annual subscription options.
Customer Service
The only Albert app customer service options are online via text or by searching the help page. You must have a Genius subscription to access the texting option, though.
The Albert app doesn’t offer phone customer service, so there is no Albert app customer service phone number to call.
How to Sign Up for Albert
Unlike other personal finance apps, the Albert app is available in Android and Apple stores. It’s compatible with Android devices 5.1 and higher and Apple devices with iOS 14.0 or later.
Signing up for the Albert app is a quick process.
- Download the App: First, you must download the app. You can visit your Android or iOS store or enter your phone number on the Albert website to download the app. They’ll text you a link to download the app if you go through the website.
- Register Your Account: Next, you must register your account. It starts with your email address and your created password. Then, as an extra measure of caution, you must create a four-digit PIN for two-factor authentication.
- Answer Financial Questions: The Albert app then asks about your current finances, financial goals, and risk tolerance. This helps them understand what you want to accomplish with your investments. Given your goals, it ensures they don’t invest your money too aggressively or conservatively.
- Link Your Bank Accounts: After you answer the necessary questions, you’ll link your bank accounts. Make sure to include all accounts, including your primary checking account, savings accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, and loans.
- Additional Information: Depending on the information you want to share, you can include physical assets you own, such as your car or home. The more details the Albert app has, the more options it can provide you to save money and improve your financial situation.
Pros and Cons
Every personal finance app has its pros and cons. Understanding the good and bad about the Albert app can help you decide if it’s right for you.
Pros
- Auto investing makes it easy to ensure you constantly invest. You don’t have to do anything except tell the app how much you want to invest and when; it handles the rest for you. This makes it easier to take advantage of dollar cost averaging rather than waiting for the ‘perfect time’ to invest.
- It helps identify areas of potential savings. The Albert app has your back if you’re not saving enough money but have room for more or overspending on unnecessary fees. With a few alerts and reminders, you’ll be on your way to saving more money.
- You can invest with as little as $1. Many investment apps require you to have hundreds or thousands of dollars to invest. This makes it nearly impossible for many people to have investment accounts, but the Albert app makes it possible for anyone to invest.
Cons
- Customer service is only via email or text. The Albert app doesn’t have the option to talk to a customer service representative on the phone.
- You cannot set up a tax-advantaged retirement account. The only investment account options are individual taxable accounts.
Albert App Reviews: Real User’s Thoughts
Users all over the internet share their opinions on the Albert app, and reviews are mixed. Here’s what they think.
5 Stars
I love this app! One thing I love of course is the advances when you're in a tight, but another reason I use this app is that I am bad at saving money and this app really helps me with that. I have it set to auto-save and it takes money (only when it sees u have a little extra) and puts it in Albert savings for u. U can access it at any time and it's free!Kerrie Faulkner
4 Stars
I like the instant cash option and of course, I use the option. But the only reason why I didn't give them 5 stars is that if you have to dispute an unauthorized transaction you better get ready to do dispute yourself. Like you calling or emailing the company who did the unauthorized transaction. And so on. But a savoy woman so I figured it out and got my money refunded. Actually, I'd give Albert Mastercard 4 1/2 stars if the review would allow it. I also like the freeze your card option.Melody Miller
1 Star
They seem to make new rules as you go. I was able to get one cash advanced payment and now it says I have new requirements to meet in order to be eligible again. The one I don't meet is an income of $1000 or more a month. I am medically disabled to work and only get a monthly check of less than that. It's impossible to hit and usually, I need the advances to help.Alyse Bostwick
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Albert app legit?
The Albert app is legitimate. It has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau and a 4.6 out of 5 in the Apple store. Albert also uses bank-level security and is FDIC-insured, so you don’t have to worry about the safety or legitimacy of the app.
Does the Albert app give you money?
Albert can give you a paycheck advance you pay back once you get paid.
Can I use Albert without a bank account?
To use Albert, users must have bank accounts at U.S. financial institutions. They also require their users to be U.S. residents or citizens 18 years or older.
Does Albert charge a fee?
Albert charges a fee of $14.99 per month for the Genius subscription, or you can get a slightly discounted rate if you pay annually. Most of its features require the Genius monthly subscription, and only the basic features like basic budgeting are free.
How do I get an Albert Genius refund?
If you buy the Albert Genius subscription but decide it’s not a good fit, you can get a refund. You must cancel your subscription before your billing date if you pay monthly. If you cancel after the billing date, your subscription will be canceled by the next billing date.
You’ll receive a full refund if you pay for an annual subscription and cancel within the first month. However, if you cancel after the first month, you’ll get a prorated refund based on the number of months used.
Does Albert work with Cash App?
Yes, Albert works with the Cash app. You can request a transfer from your Albert app to the Cash app. However, it can take a few days for the funds to transfer.
How does Albert compare to other all-in-one banking apps?
Albert charges a monthly fee for its services, but if you use the saving, investing, and cash advance service, it pays for itself.
Some banking apps, like Wealthfront, have a much higher minimum investment requirement, such as $500, and charge a percentage of your assets under management as the fee.
How do you get $250 from Albert?
If you are coming up short before payday, you can request an Albert Instant cash advance from Albert. Initially, most people get much less than $250. However, after you use the service a few times and prove you pay it back on time, you may be able to request as much as $250.
It’s not a gift, though. It’s a pay advance that you must repay by your next pay period to be able to do it again should you come up short.
How long does it take for Albert to transfer money?
Most Albert transfers take two to three business days. However, if you need the funds immediately, you can request an Albert instant transfer for a small fee.
Does Albert require an SSN?
Yes, like any investment app, Albert requires a social security number. This protects your identity and ensures your earnings are adequately reported to the IRS.
What bank does Albert use?
Albert uses Sutton Bank, an FDIC-insured bank.
What Are Some Albert Alternatives?
Depending on what features you’re looking for, there are a few alternatives to Albert. These include:
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