Branch Messenger
Reviews and Complaints

So the app still says I qualify for an advance, that I meet every requirement, but somehow I can’t have one. It makes no sense and after waiting a week to respond “Greg C” gives the same answer the he replied to here. He says they’ve changed qualifications and requirements but he can’t see if I meet them or not and why. I told them it says I meet them all, assuming there’s some sort of error. He again sends the exact same message. I told him again and still received the same answer. I feel like this started happening to a lot of people this past month and branch is doing some shady stuff...disconnect your banking info and let it go because I feel like they are up to no good.

This app was great for a year, no issues. I’ve had no changes to anything. Suddenly it said I met all the qualifications but yet I didn’t qualify. No change in pay, job, bank etc. Everything had been the same as the last 12 months. I contacted them on November 25 to find out why and haven’t heard back. They only have the messages for support but no one contacts or anything. It use to be my favorite app for that but now my mind has changed. Not because of the issue as much as it’s because their “support” obviously isn’t really there.

Not even worth a star! They are liars, and it’s a waist of time! The app can tell you your qualified in every area, and when you contact customer service they will say,

“Recently, there were several new factors taken into consideration when qualifying for earned wage access. Many of the factors were related to historical on-time repayments. However, visibility into the specific factors is not available. We understand that this is a difficult time for many people and that these changes can be challenging. Earned Wage Access requirements are continually evolving, and we do not guarantee qualification each pay period. With unprecedented times ahead, we are doing what we feel is necessary so that we can continue offering our service to as many people as possible, for as long as possible.”

So you understand it’s hard times yet you don’t give your customers real reasons why they don’t qualify! Concrete reasons they can fix or work on! Yet, according to their app says I meet all the criteria and the fact that 3 weeks prior I qualified just fine! The app tells you things yet customer service tells you something different! they are not worth it, if you have them leave them, all they do is lie! Save your self the headache!

Okay so here’s the thing...this app has had problems from jump. Pulling teeth out of a dog would be a lot easier then to deal with this app.

If you’re looking for an app to help you out for a payday advance this is not the app for it. They always “guess” your payday and it’s always two days after you take out the advance, which then leads you to reaching out to customer support.

Trying to get a hold of customer support is so bad you’d think that were communicating through carrier pigeon. And that’s even after you’ve had to resend your email with all the info of your problems twice! So how they can’t seem
to get back to is beyond me.

The connection to your bank is the part that scares me the most. When I went to go open the app yesterday it had said that I needed to connect my bank again, in which I did for a total of 4 times! Makes me nervous to think that people could be trying to obtain your information. And now it says that I don’t qualify for an advance after paying them back.

So there a go again writing my issues on a scroll and attaching it to a poor little pigeon that didn’t choose this life.

All I’m saying Branch app...is look at your life and look at your choices because maybe app development isn’t the right career choice.

I'm tired of going back and forth with my employer and you guys. I've been told all kinds of things and none of you knows how to fix this error that translate to "unacceptable 400" on iphone.
I made one last call to you and to my employer support department for your incompetence and terrible service. As a new customer you can know for sure that I will NEVER recommend this platform to anyone in the future. And I will make sure my feedback is heard about your failed and unhelpful service including to my employer and up to corporate and social media. You give poor training to your employees, they don't help us cause they're too lazy but your corporate is worse cause they don't care about unsuccessful customer interactions no one in this company cares about doing their job right. These are the reasons why companies like this one fail to meet every goal, get removed from the market, go out of business, shouldn't even exist in first place. I haven't been able to see my money for a month as a new customer the first time I use this platform cause UNFORTUNATELY my company does payroll with YOU. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me, it's a scam, waste of time, don't even bother trying. Never work for an employee thats with Branch unless you can setup direct deposit yourself.

I have several reasons why this Panera Branch App is awesome. For starters it's simple and easy to use. The settings button gives the user options of notifications such as new user sign ups, activity posts, comments and likes, new schedules, new shifts, shift reminders and a do not disturb button that can be to tailored to the users specific times frames such as (do not disturb me between 9pm-6am). How cool is that?!
For me, I like to stay organized and know my schedule in advance. Sometimes I forget to check the posted paper schedule at work however that's no longer a problem. This app has the capability of taking and uploading a photo of the full schedule so all app users can see the days they work. Even when I don't work a specific day, my co-workers can take the photo and vwala, I then can see it. The Branch app also allows me to post a shift that I need covered and it notifies my co-workers that I need some work help. It even allows me to pinpoint only MY weekly work schedule. This app allows my co-workers and I to stay connected and get to know one another by creating group chats and it even allows us to upload a photo of ourselves so we can see who's who and match a name to a face. Overall, the Panera Branch app is a must for anyone who wants to stay up to date and make it fun while doing so.

I have used this app for about 7 or 8 months now. I am a salaried employee that receives a bonus on a monthly basis, on the same day every month. Recently after paying back my advance, I was approved for 50 dollars and 17.97 on two separate occasions. Prior to this my advance limit was 375 that had obviously been paid consistently. I have contacted support a handful of times in my use of this app and it is always the same ridiculous automated response that they expect you to be satisfied with. Their faq is a joke, with their ratings on helpfulness completely laughable. When contacting support this time due to my advance limit decreasing over 300 dollars at one time, I received the same stupid response I always do. I corresponded with a couple of “customer service” representatives for their “team”, and their response is that my bonus threw off the system, assuming it was my direct deposit and they can’t correct it because they don’t have that option. How does the app assume a deposit is your payroll when they specifically TRACK your pay dates and hours worked? Shouldn’t the algorithm know the difference? So basically, just shrug it off and let’s try to do better next time, or some time in the future. Preposterous. Customer service lacking on an app that is obviously sub par. I appreciated the app for what it was in the beginning. Now I’m just kind of meh...

I used branch for a while to make ends meet and everything was good until it wasn’t. I contacted branch approximately one to two weeks before the cash advance payback was scheduled to be withdrawn from my account. I have documentation from a conversation with a branch employee named Bailey B confirming that the cash advance would be withdraw from the new account. I waited a few days after I got paid to make sure that the withdrawal for my cash advance was taken out of the correct account and unfortunately after checking my old account that’s where I found my account was in the negative due to the incorrect information provided by Bailey. I contacted branch to escalate this issue and I spoke with the Support manager, Carly who wasn’t able to assist me. She just gave me the runaround stating that once the system begins pulling the money out there’s no way to revert the transaction also she wasn’t willing to give me any sort of refund or assistance. I even offered to have the money withdrawn from the correct account but she claimed it was too late. Branch decided to send me a $29 adjustment which was nothing compared to the $150.00 that I was negative in the old account. I suggest that you coach employees to advise the correct information so that way people who are currently struggling won’t have to deal with issues like this. Also, why isn’t a payment able to be reversed to correct an issue?

I’ve been using the Branch app for a few months now and it’s been a lifesaver. Compared to other similar payday advance and overdraft-protection apps, Branch is by far the best. It’s not even really close.

But the best part is their customer service and support team. They go above and beyond to not only remedy any issue I’ve had, but they do it quickly and accurately the first time. I’ve dealt with so much back and forth with other apps where it’s clear they’re just regurgitating pre-written responses and the person isn’t even reading my email. Branch is light years ahead of the competition in this respect.

I made an error and chose the wrong payback date (because I get commission payments outside of my normal bi-weekly pay schedule) and Branch fixed it and went out of their way to explain how to expedite the fix if I ever run into the same issue again.

I’ve gotta say Carly especially has exceeded my expectations for any customer service professional I’ve ever dealt with. She not only fixed the issue and clearly explained everything, but she called my cell to make sure everything was fixed on my end. You’re lucky to even get a pre-written email reply from these other apps, let alone a phone call to make sure I was happy. I’ve been so impressed with their support team (and Carly especially) that I’d truly feel guilty if I didn’t write this review. If I could give 6 stars, I would. Keep up the great work, guys.

Thanks again for everything.

- Brett (an extremely satisfied customer)

tech people are adamant in getting their grubby little hands in every facet of our lives. what was so hard about a human being handing another human being their wages? why do i need a new card and a new app to get THIS money as opposed to the other checks i get every month? a check goes straight into your bank account. simple. you opened a bank account at a bank that you can walk into and there’s people inside who are there to help you. you get roped into this crap by your employer. say, they give you this card for your tip wages. you work in the service industry because you walk out with money every day. not anymore. now you can pay some bank you didn’t ask to be affiliated with a convenience fee to get it now, or you can wait 3-5 days when it used to take less than 30 seconds to see the money that other people just gave to you. now, one could say “blame the employer;” that’s easy enough for someone like me to do. however, i gotta set my sights on the tech companies, whose whole game is raising insurmountable funds in order to insert themselves between you and your life. for profit. this is to say—i think it’s more likely some jerk told your boss that this would be a good idea, than it is that your boss came up with the idea on his own. i’ve been around a long time: your boss isn’t imaginative enough to think about something like this. the “imaginative” ones among us—unfortunately—are hucksters in the tech industry, convincing your boss that opening new bank accounts in his employees’ names is a great idea.

I only have an account with Branch because I deliver for Walmart through Spark.

What has been unfortunate for me are a few things. Pay comes on a Tuesday but can come as late as 8pm or as early as 1pm. That is just really weird to me and the money should be available first thing in the morning since that is our payday.

Customer support is very poor. I have been attempting to dispute a transaction for two weeks now. I initially informed branch of the transaction while it was pending so the charge would be stopped. I was scammed for artwork through Instagram and never received the art, as that person was posing as someone else. Anywho I provided branch with screenshots, transaction amounts and ID, as well as a detailed description of the issue. I was emailed back explaining that, what I provided was not good enough, and what to provide. Only to have provided everything in the initial email. Once I sent everything over again, I was not met with another email for 4 days only then to be told to immediately reply or have my case closed. I replied, and have yet to hear back from them.

Hold on funds when purchasing gas. I’m okay with a holds that are usually a few minutes long, usually released after the purchase is complete. All my funds are frozen and tied up in a gas purchase I made at the pump, yesterday. A full 24hrs ago. I got gas after getting paid and have not had access to the rest of my money. This doesn’t even happen with cash app. Most is a 2-4hr hold and that’s rare when it happens. This is absurd.

Overall, trash banking service if I’m quite honest.

Branch advertises that employees can borrow a portion of their paycheck between pay periods, but what they don’t tell you is that you have to jump through hoops to do it. The set up is easy enough as you just log in to your bank and the app connects to it and supposedly analyzes your account. You also have to meet ten different qualifiers which your eligibility to can change at any given time. Needing a bit of cash before I got paid, I decided to try out the access feature only to be denied, because according to Branch, I don’t receive consecutive direct deposits and I was charged a NSF charge in the last ten days. I did not understand why they would say they could not verify my deposits as I am a teacher and I get paid monthly on the last working day of every month, although in some instances I am paid earlier in the month (end of school year and holidays). I’ve also been employed at the same place for over eight years. The NSF charge was charged due to fraud on my account and my bank immediately refunded it after I reported the fraudulent transactions (which they could clearly see since they have access to my account). I decided to reach out to customer support to see what the problem was with the deposits and ask about the NSF charge qualifier. The answer I received was basically that there was nothing they could do, even if the bank refunded the NSF charge, and I had proof of regular, consecutive paychecks. They stated they hoped to have better “mechanisms” in the future. In essence, whatever their computer algorithm tells them is gospel and they could care less about the reason(s).

My advice is use another more user-friendly app such as Earnin or Brigit.

As a district manager of 5 retail stores in the midwest, I've tried a handful of apps for scheduling and engaging our in-store employees. It's been about a year since we started using Branch at our stores and it's been REALLY helpful! There are some aspects that take getting used to, but our team has really gotten the handle on it now. I know for our manager, it's saved them a pretty significant amount of time when it comes to making their weekly schedules. It also seems like our employees are picking up more shifts since they don't have come in to see open shifts. We began using it only for scheduling but have since started using the chat as well. OMG! Team members are also really excited about Branch Pay! In the past, we would use GroupMe for communication and another app for scheduling, which was fine but it had its obvious constraints. Our employees do miss some of the features, but this is much more controlled.

One of the things worth noting is the hierarchy of user access. This is a new feature compared to the other apps we have used and for me overseeing 5 locations, it has been very handy. I can see which locations have the lowest rates of absenteeism and I even can somewhat get a radar on turnover. This is huge for us. The managers have full view of their locations and the attendance of their employees. They had some questions early on with uploading the picture of the schedule, but now they are also able to build the schedule with the desktop version. The communication piece has been useful for communicating with all our employees regarding announcements or updates. All in all, it has been so solid and we don't know where we would be this holiday season without it!

I have been using Branch for some time now, at least a year if not more. I have used many apps of this type, such as Brigit, Dave, and others. However, those apps always have a super low borrowing amount, from $20-$100 or so. Which is okay, considering it’s just an app you download and BOOM, money. But, I’d say by the time you’re so broke that you’re looking to mobile apps to borrow money from, you probably need more than $20. My advance maximum per paycheck with Branch is $500, which is enough to cover a my phone and internet bills when emergencies have taken my bill money, so this is the app I turn to when I get in a bind. That being said, there is a high price to pay. Technically, you can borrow money completely free. By ordering a Branch debit card, any money borrowed will be automatically added to the card and available to use immediately. However, for me, I need that money in my actual bank account where my bills will automatically draft. I’m order to get that money into my account, I can imitate a free ACH transfer and wait up to 5 days for it to hit, or pay $5 for every $150 borrowed to have it transferred instantly. I generally have $500 to transfer. If I’m not able to pay Branch back permanently for a while, and re-borrow the same $500 every 2 weeks for a year, that’s 26 transfers to my bank account at roughly $18 in transfer fees every time. That’s $468. If those fees were interest, that would be nearly a 100% APR! So, if you can avoid it, don’t pay for the transfers. Plan ahead as much as possible and take advantage of the free ACH transfers and debit card. All in all, Branch is a great option when you’re in a bind. But, in all honesty, a credit card is a cheaper and often more effective means of borrowing money!

I disconnected my account because their criteria for requirements changed arbitrarily. They said if I wanted to borrow more money to make more in my paycheck. When my paycheck was more they lowered the amount I could take. Then customer service just rehashes the same canned response which doesn’t say anything substantial but if they throw it at you enough they will wear you down. Instead of repaying the money through ach withdrawal they did it through my debit card, which I don’t remember even authorizing. I am definitely going to be more careful of this. I disconnected my account because I’m pretty sure they sell information to 3rd parties. No thanks on the constant location tracking and big brother surveillance, if I get pittance in return

This app is terrible. My funds go on my card cool. But my mobile card and my physical card are 2 different cards. I cannot use my physical card anywhere that requires a pin as it says wrong pin when I know it’s the right pin. Then when I try to reset my pin it says my card is not even activated… I’ve tried getting a new card same. I tried ordering the chip card won’t let me do it because my other card “isn’t activated” I’ve been reaching out to customer service for 3 weeks and have gotten 2 replies and they were the same unhelpful replies. I’ve set on the phone for hours trying to talk to them and never got through.

Now y’all done reached out to my email after the review but still trying to take me back to step one. Respond to the other 4 emails I sent

I was told I had a default advance all of a sudden back from March for $12.50 for when my account went on hold due to me going on maternity leave. I have spent over a week sending over a dozen emails and countless calls to just be told it will be taken out of my check and I can have access to my branch account again. Well they didn’t take it out of my paycheck so once again I don’t have access for advances because of $12.50 from March! Every day I am spending on calls trying to get this fixed and no one will correct my account, I’ve even asked so many times how I can just pay back this measly $12.50 and no responses. I’m told it’s escalated and what not but no one will answer me. This is awful customer service to say the least, probably the worst I’ve ever encountered

I used to love love love love love this app! It was actually my favorite! & I have used alllll the other apps including Brigit, Dave, MONEYLion, Grain, Cleo, Albert & about 3 others & by far Branch & MONEYlion was my allll time fave until they just now changed that they no longer will be having the Instant Pay feature. This was actually why I used the app & was so helpful to me. I always always paid back on time & was allowed $500 for my pay period which helped me so much but now there is absolutely no use for this app! I do not see why they got rid of it. There is already so many other banks out there for this just to be another banking app. So yes, sorry Branch but I gotta delete you now. Unless you go back to why I loved the app, I will be using MONEYlion for all my services now. Plz reconsider & go back.

Branch used to be very good and now it is not. That’s why their rating is high but please read the recent reviews. They don’t give you a consistent advance like the other apps. Then I have needed money badly on three different occasions in the past year and they couldn’t update my bank so no advance. Another time they couldn’t contact Plaid. They sure were able to collect my money so I must have gotten paid.

Their customer service is absolutely nonexistent. I have not received any response from the last three times and just decided to write a bad review this time because my bank account won’t update again. Thankfully Earnin helped me out because I was in need. The funny part is they keep promoting direct deposit and I absolutely would never rely on Branch for my source of income if they can’t even respond to messages.

So I would use this app from time to time whenever I would get in a bind and at first they were excellent! Never had any issues until recently; I paid back an advance and about two weeks I was needing a little extra cushion so I tried to get another advance. HUGE MISTAKE! It kept telling me that my bank wasn’t supported which I found pretty odd because I’ve been had the same bank since forever! Well anyway I have to do some digging and basically found out that if I wanted to get an advance I would basically be forced to switch my direct deposits over to their card! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I instantly tried to delete my account with this horrible app and basically you have to call in to cancel your account with your information and they will follow up with you in three business days! Yea I will NEVER use this app or its horrible services again

I have the the app but will be getting rid of it! I had it for over a year loved it but now all of a sudden I can’t get advance! Nothing on my end has changed! I verify my debit card and it says verified but then I try to take an advance and it say “oops external card can’t be used” how? When it says it verified! When i reach out to customer service they send generic messages back or say switch to direct deposit and you won’t have any issues? Great way to lose customers!
I advise people to use Earnin or MoneyLion! Plus money lion they have a credit account to help people build their credit! I wish they would fix this issue because I loved the app and now unfortunately it’s gone down the drain! Good luck to all the people who use it because after 6months you’ll be in the same spot as me! Having them shove direct deposit with them down your throat to get an advance!

I work in a salon and I use tippy app which I recently connected to branch. Worst decision I ever made they rip you off left and right at every opportunity they get. They constantly take money from my tips and deposit less than what I’ve received. I just received a $33 tip on the tippy app I use and only $25 showed up in my branch account that’s a whole eight dollars for someone who’s poor to be repeatedly ripped off is not cool. And apparently once I’ve connected it to my tippy account it can’t be disconnected you will be forced to be ripped off.Also there’s a $2.99 fee every time you transfer your money to your bank account. Adding branch to my tippy account is the WORST decision I ever made and I’m constantly getting ripped off of my hard earned tips on a daily basis! Stay away from branch that is my recommendation unless you don’t mind giving away money every day!

I’ll just leave this here, it sums everything up. I had been approved for advances for quite some time. Up until 2 days ago, in fact, all of a sudden, I’m not...and this is the response when I inquired about the sudden eligibility change.

“

Thank you for reaching out. Branch has made some changes to qualifications for our users. There are several new factors that are now taken into consideration when qualifying for Earned Wage Access. Unfortunately these factors are not available to our support team and will not be displayed in the application. We understand the frustration this change causes, and we know that this is a difficult time for many people. I sincerely apologize that this change was abrupt and unexpected. With unprecedented times ahead, we are doing what we feel is necessary so that we can continue to offer our service to as many people as possible, for as long as possible

Update: Thanks for the generic response. It has not changed my opinion. You don’t even have a support phone number. You are established enough as a working bank for me to trust all of my money with you. Will pay back the advance I was able to get before you gave my bank the boot and will be cancelling my account, as I see a lot of people are doing. I will also be telling people to steer clear of your app. Thank you for absolutely nothing.

I have been using this app for over a year with no issues. I even signed up for their card and dealt with having to pay an extra five dollars on top of a “tip” to get an advance. Took out an advance on Wednesday night. Thursday morning I get the notification that my bank is no longer supported and that I should move DD to them. Are you nuts? I am not moving my money to a just established online bank, especially with all the horror stories I have read. Thank you, no.

Gig drivers be ware always WITHDRAW ATM I transferred instant to my bank card like I always do Tuesday 1/24/23 I transferred $530 and today Thursday 1/26/23 my money is still not in my account I did a test of $6 and it went through instantly to my chase account. I called all Tuesday and Wednesday could not get a rep on the line stayed on hold then vm comes on nothing. I asked the rep is this company FDIC she refused to answer after the third time she said yes. I asked where on the site because I do not see this and she is not sure of her company credentials. She said she will escalate my transaction and someone will call me I asked when she said asap I said today she said she don’t know possibly not. HOW HOW you have no escalation process my money is gone it is not even pending in chase why do Walmart use a careless company or any company choose Them is beyond me. These ratings are lies has to be the company I will never transfer again.

I was out of work sick and on quarantine for 2 weeks so I did not get paid 1 week. After having about 5 perfect loans with Branch of only about $25 and paying back on time, I asked if they could give me one week extra to payback a $25 loan (about 3 days before the loan was due) since I had been sick. They said no. They hit my account for $25, which my bank paid, but also then charged me $35 (which was more than the loan itself) all because branch refused to give me one extra week. Then once Branch was paid they then refused to give me a loan when I needed it most. I guess it’s because my bank is in overdraft, but it’s because of them not being flexible or compassionate for a customer who has been exemplary with past loans. This is too much BS for $25. I work with Brigit and Earnin and they were very flexible on much higher loan amounts of about $100 each. I would use those apps again and again, but I have now deleted Branch. It’s a scam and your typical predatory lender. Don’t get this app.

I signed up monday via my job. WITH THE JOB CODE & EVERYTHING but somehow they cant verify me for my instant pay because they cant verify my job i called once & was on hold for an hour. I’ve emailed multiple times & gotten nothing but automated emails. If my job switches to DAILY PAY , i would be happy. But yet we are stuck with this trash. P.S. they are definitely leaving positive feedback for themselves cause ain no way

Update: Its been a whole week of trying to get help from them & i STILL haven’t gotten any. It’s actually gotten to a point now that when i log in, i notice thats its taking my job off my profile, & that started happening the past few days after i left the original review. What i find so interesting is, when we were first told about the app, i watched someone else sign up & they literally were verified instantly. I, on the other hand, am getting played with. Literally. Im speaking to my job about switching apps. Cause this is quite ridiculous. I keep emailing & still have yet to have my issue fixed. If i could leave NO STARS i would.

They have you sign into your ADP account and they will go in and put their account and routing number for you to get your direct deposit put into that account for Branch. You’re never aware my entire paycheck went into this account they checked marked do not verify to the ADP. I still have not received my paycheck. I have been trying with support they keep telling me to go to my employer my employer already released this check to the account that they put into my ADP. I received my Branch card. The account number on the branch card is different from the account number that they put into my ADP. Now I am out almost $1500 because they cannot put the correct account number and release my paycheck to me. I feel like this is a scam I feel like it’s fraud. I am in the process of figure it out who I need to talk to legal wise to get my money. They took my paycheck. This is coming a week before my sons wedding where I am struggling to pay my bills. I have screenshot my account off of the Branch card and I have screenshot from my direct deposit through ADP that they put in the information not me don’t do it.

I set up DD with them. My employer sent it in Sunday, yet it's still not in my account. They've stolen it. My account has said zero since Sunday. This is ridiculous. They advertised that you could access your account 2 days faster but I haven't seen it in days.

I have been a user in good standing of your service, but I just need to postpone my payment one month due to COVID issues and my partner missing a whole week of work due to transportation shutdown due to protests. You say you will only allow one payment extension ever, which is patently unfair in this environment.

I recently opened an account with this bank, when opening the account I withdrew funds from another account to fund this new account. The money was withdrawn from the account the very next day but after a week the money has not been deposited into the Branch account. I've reached out to their support numerous times with and haven't received any help.

I took an advance for 340.97 to come out of my paycheck. I was charged this on April 7 but I was also charged an additional 154.99 on April 3 for a to pay back an amount that I never borrowed. I sent several screen shots, emails, created a ticket for this company with no response. They have no call in hours or ways to speak to a human representative. I just want this resolved.

I downloaded the app interested to see if i would be able to get an advance, after downloading the app stated i wasn't illegible because my negative account balance was to high. Today i go to look at the app and it said i owed $56.00 how im not sure because i never received an advance. I tried contacting support and no answer i would like my refund in full and my account deleted.

I set up direct deposit with Branch. My check for $866.83 shows it was deposited into the right account, however my branch account isn't showing the direct deposit . You can't reach anyone on customer support & seeing some of the comments on their support page on their website makes me believe I'll never speak to a live person . I'm not the only person that is dealing with this direct deposit issue either.