Do you want to use a tool like Bright Money to help you manage your finances and pay off your debt but don’t know if it’s legitimate?
You’ve come to the right place for answers.
I wrote this Bright Money review to help you decide whether it’s right for you. I used the tool and closely studied its different elements and features.
I’ll cover Bright Money in-depth to give you a complete picture and help you make an informed decision.
Is Bright Money legit? Let’s find out.
| User Interface | Ease of Use | Money Science | Smart Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9/10 | 9/10 | 9.5/10 | 8.5/10 |
| ✅WHAT I LIKE + | ❌WHAT I DON’T LIKE – |
|---|---|
| Data-driven debt management and payment plan | You need to pay for a plan |
| Easy-to-use dashboard | Debt payment is limited to credit card debt only |
| Reliable customer service | Possible delays in debt payments |
| The system can help increase credit scores |
What Is Bright Money?
Bright Money is a financial management app that gives you a cutting-edge approach to paying off your credit card debt, raising your credit scores, and building wealth.
The app connects with your bank account and automates debt payments seamlessly, helping you easily pay off debt and build credit.
Entrepreneurs Avi Patchava and Petko Plachkov started Bright Money in 2019. In 2021, the company raised $31 million in series A funding from Sequoia, Falcon Edge, and Hummingbird Ventures.
Today, the app helps over 1 million Americans manage their debt and money.
How Does Bright Money Work?
Bright uses a data-driven system to help users manage money and debt and handle the following tasks:
- Make minimum credit card payments
- Calculate how much you should pay to reduce debt faster
- Save extra cash when you can to reduce balances or increase net worth
- Manage and monitor credit card balances
- Monitor and improve credit usage levels
Bright’s system collects money from your checking account every two to three days to pay your credit card dues.
You can also limit how much money Bright can move every month. The system also uses artificial intelligence to learn more about your spending habits and adjust how much it transfers weekly.
Note: Bright Money only helps you manage your debt. The company doesn’t offer loans or other ways to increase your funds.
Consider other income sources if you don’t earn enough to pay off your debt. You can try doing side hustles that pay weekly or looking at websites that can help you make money.
Bright Money Review: The Good, Bad, and the Ugly
Here are the features Bright Money offers.
User Interface
The Bright Money website (and Bright Money app) has a clean design and easy-to-use interface, making it a great tool for someone who might not be tech-savvy.
There’s a smooth flow when setting up your Bright Money account and checking your money’s movement.
| Verdict |
|---|
| Bright’s user interface is excellent. The team put a lot of thought into how the common user would use the Bright Money app. The website flows well, and the dashboard is easy to navigate. |
Ease of Use
There might be some challenges to linking your accounts to Bright, especially if you don’t have mobile banking set up yet.
You’ll also need to understand debt payment principles like Avalanche and Snowball to choose the right payment plan. However, the Bright Money resource page does a good job of providing educational content.
| Verdict |
|---|
| There’s a learning curve when using and setting up debt repayment and wealth-building plans in your Bright account. Still, the site provides learning materials to help you start. |
MoneyScience™
MoneyScience™ is Bright’s data-driven technology that helps you pay off debt faster, spend wisely, and grow your wealth through investments.
After connecting your credit cards and bank accounts, this system studies your finances, income, and spending habits to give you a debt repayment plan and saving plan to help you improve your financial life faster.
| Verdict |
|---|
| MoneyScience™ is revolutionary and surprisingly accurate as it bases decisions on data that reflects your money health best. It’s a powerful way to build a debt repayment plan and execute it automatically. |
Smart Pace
Bright’s Smart Pace is an AI-powered system that determines how much you can afford to send to your Bright Stash account and automatically transfers that amount to you.
You can add parameters to limit the amount Bright takes from your account. You can also set up a manual Bright balance transfer when ready.
| Verdict |
|---|
| The AI technology behind Smart Pace works wonderfully. Although some people might have apprehensions about automation set up for their money, it’s safe to use and easy to reverse. |
Bright Balance Transfer
Bright’s Balance Transfer is a low-interest line of credit you can use to help you save money on interest charges.
It works like a credit card consolidation loan in some ways, making saving money on balance payments to your credit card bills easier.
Through Bright debt consolidation, you can pay less towards your debt and keep more of your money.
| Verdict |
|---|
| This feature helps you keep more of your hard-earned money as you pay off your debt. Balance Transfer has significant security and protection, so you don’t have to worry about interest hikes. |
Bright Credit Builder
The Bright Builder can help create a payment history to improve your credit score. It automatically makes the minimum payments to your cards at the right times.
There’s no minimum credit score to apply for a Bright account.
As per Bright Credit reviews, it can help lower your credit utilization rate to ensure you carry optimal credit card debt on any given card compared to its credit limits.
| Verdict |
|---|
| This feature is ideal if you want to improve your credit score. However, results can vary from user to user, so your experience may differ from other users. |
Bright Savings Account
You get an FDIC-insured savings account when you set up a Bright account. The FDIC insurance covers up to $250,000. You can also set up security measures like PIN and faceID to increase your account security.
| Verdict |
|---|
| The Bright savings account is a good way to build savings for a debt repayment fund, but I don’t recommend it as a revolving or emergency account, as withdrawals can take a few days. |
Customer Service
Many Bright users report having a pleasant customer service experience with Bright. Their support channels include email and phone support.
You can also contact an agent via chat support in your account dashboard.
| Verdict |
|---|
| Bright has various support channels with customer service agents who are extremely helpful and responsive. |
Pricing
You must choose your Bright Plan carefully because using the tool isn’t free. Here are the Bright Money membership fee options:
- Annual Plan – $6.99 monthly ($83.88 for one year)
- Semi-annual Plan – $8.99 monthly ($53.94 for six months)
- Monthly Plan – $14.99 monthly
The Bright Money membership starts with a 10-day trial plan. If you’re unsatisfied, the site offers a money-back guarantee on your subscription costs.
Is Bright Money Worth It? Pros and Cons
| ✅Pros | ❌Cons |
|---|---|
| Helps save on interest fees | Platform fees |
| Data personalization | Only for credit card debt |
| Easy to use | Limited banks and financial institutions |
| Customizable plans | Delayed payments |
| Automated transfers | Withdrawals take time |
Here are Bright Money’s pros and cons.
Pros
- Helps save on interest fees – When you use Bright, it will offer a credit line with interest rates lower than most credit cards.
- Data personalization – Bright’s data-driven approach makes your debt repayment plan more personalized to your financial context.
- Easy to use – Using the app is relatively easy and stress-free.
- Customizable plans – You can select the best payment plan for your budget.
- Automated transfers – Remembering your payment dates is unnecessary as payments are automated.
Cons
- Platform fees – You must pay fees, which could be an additional expense.
- Only to pay off credit card debt – Bright only works with credit card debt, not personal loans or other forms of debt.
- Limited banks and financial institutions – Bright doesn’t yet link up with all banks and financial institutions.
- Delayed payments – There are some reports of Bright hitting technical snags and missing payment schedules.
- Withdrawals take time – Bright isn’t the best savings account for moving funds, as withdrawals will take a few days to clear.
Bright Money Reviews: What Users Say About This App
These are some Bright Money reviews from users:
Bright has been great with helping me save money for bills and emergencies. The easy autosave features make it a breeze; I can just set it and forget it. I’m closer to paying off my debt now than I have been in the last five years, and it’s thanks to Bright! — Francis
Customer service was outstanding in helping me with an issue. Mia was very polite, helpful, and knowledgeable, and made the process easy. I will be using this service more in the future based on my customer service experience. Thank you, Mia! — Blk Luxe
Bright Money is a secure and effective way to reach financial goals such as paying off credit card debt, raising your credit score, and building savings. With more than 500 reviews of Bright on Trustpilot, and a 4.5-star average rating, the company is a great option if you’re looking for an automated way to start on your path to financial freedom. — Turbo Finance
This app has been amazing at helping me pay off my credit cards. I’m the type to see money in my account and find ways to spend it on things I can’t even remember I ordered until they arrive at the door. Bright started to take the money out of my account (you set the amount you want always to be left in your account, so no worries about non sufficient funds when other items come out) and I didn’t even realize it was gone. — Spoilmealwayz
Is Bright Money Right for You?
Is Bright Money the right app for you? It is if you belong to any of these groups:
You are comfortable with technology.
While Bright Money is intuitive even for non-techy people, it’s preferable if you’re more tech-savvy and can easily set up all the features to maximize your account.
You have a low credit score.
You’ll struggle with loans, mortgages, and even job applications if you don’t have a good credit score. As a Bright Money customer, you can improve your credit score and get better loan rates.
You struggle to pay off credit card debt.
If you’re struggling to pay off your credit card debt, this system should help you significantly. You’ll have more success automating things like credit card payments and savings.
Bright Money Alternatives
If you’re looking for other alternatives to Bright Money, these other services might be reliable alternatives:
Bright Money vs. Tally
Tally is another app that helps you get out of credit card debt. However, it takes a much more aggressive approach than Bright Money.
Bright Money vs. Savology
Savology has some similarities with Bright, such as their personalized financial plans. However, Savology is better when providing comprehensive financial plans for complicated cases.
Bright Money vs. Oportun
If you want to save money, Oportun is a great app because it helps you avoid overdrafts. The app lets you passively set aside cash for short to long-term goals.
Bright Money vs. Tiller Money
Tiller is more like a personal finance management tool to help you manage your budget and debt. What’s great about the app is the way it displays your data. It can pull data from a Google Sheet and organize it to your preference.
Bright Money vs. Emma
Emma is another budgeting app that helps pay off debts and track spending. This app has a free plan that allows you to connect up to 2 bank accounts.
Bright Money vs. Albert
Albert lets you automate savings based on what you can afford and build a custom investment portfolio. Their Genius service will also let you access human advisors to give you more personalized plans.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How To Cancel Bright Money?
Here’s how to cancel your Bright Money account.
Contact the customer service team via chat inside your dashboard or email them at support@brightmoney.co.
You can also pause your account. Bright will not move money from your bank account to your account during that time.
Does Bright Money Give You Money?
Bright doesn’t offer personal loans in the form of money. Essentially, they have a line of credit at a lower interest rate, so you pay less for your credit card debt.
If you’re asking about earning opportunities through Bright, they have a referral program you can earn from.
As one of the Bright Money deals through this program, People who sign up through your referral link get $25 off their plan by signing up using your link.
Aside from the referral program, there aren’t many Bright Money promos or earning opportunities.
Is Bright Money a Credit Card?
You might have been looking for a Bright credit card review and wondering if there’s such a thing as a Bright credit card. No, there’s no Bright credit card.
Technically, Bright is only a line of credit you can use to pay off your credit cards. You cannot use Bright to purchase anything. In these cases, you’re subject to credit approvals.
Why Is Bright Money Taking Money Out of My Account?
Bright takes money out of your account because that’s how their system works. It will automatically take money out of your account and use it to pay off your credit card debt or build your wealth.
What Does Bright Money Do?
Bright Money can do three things:
- Help you pay off your credit card debt
- Improve your credit score
- Help you build your savings
It uses data systems and artificial intelligence to study your financial habits, income, and debt to develop a personalized debt payment plan.
You can also build a savings plan to help you reach your financial goals.
Is Bright Money Legit?
The Bright Money app is legitimate and can help you manage and optimize your debt payment plan. They’re a trustworthy business with FDIC insurance, so your money stays protected.
Is bright money safe? Yes, it is. It has great cybersecurity, protecting you from any hacks and online attacks.
The app is scam and hacker-free, but you must also protect your data, including emails, passwords, and PINs.
Bright Money will not deliberately take money from you without any reason.
The Bottom Line
I hope my Bright Money review makes it easier to determine if it’s the right tool for your needs.
You can benefit from Bright Money to remove debt and improve your financial standing.
Of course, it’s not for everyone, so use the insights I shared to make a well-informed decision.
