MoneyLion is being sued by a state attorney general, a major city, and — until recently — a federal regulator, all over the same product: the Instacash paycheck advance. None of it has produced a settlement fund you can file a claim against, and one of the three cases is already closed.
Status: No consumer settlement fund | New York case at the motion-to-dismiss stage | CFPB case resolved November 2025
What Instacash Is, and Why It Keeps Getting Sued
Instacash is MoneyLion’s paycheck advance: a small amount of money — usually under $100 — delivered before payday and repaid out of the next deposit. MoneyLion presents it as a zero-interest feature rather than a loan.
Every case against it turns on the same question. If a fee is charged to get money early, and that money is repaid in days, is the fee interest? Regulators say yes, and once you call it interest, the arithmetic collides with state usury caps that are written in the twenties and thirties, not the hundreds.
The same fight is being run against DailyPay, where consumer claims went to private arbitration instead of court — see our explainer on the DailyPay payout status and why claimants have no set date.
New York’s Case: What the Attorney General Alleges
On April 15, 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued MoneyLion and DailyPay in New York State Supreme Court, calling both of them payday lenders operating without the label.
The MoneyLion-specific allegations in the complaint:
- The headline transaction is a $100 advance with an $8.99 fee, repaid in two weeks — an annualized rate of roughly 234%. New York’s criminal usury cap is 25%.
- Fees were charged on nearly nine of every ten advances, which is what makes the “free” framing central to the state’s deception claim rather than a side issue.
- About $25 million in fees was collected from New York workers between October 2018 and the end of 2023.
- Users agreed to pay a “tip” on nearly 40% of advances, averaging $4.10 each — money the state characterizes as a cost of credit dressed up as a gratuity.
The Attorney General is seeking to stop the practice in New York, obtain restitution for affected workers, and impose civil penalties. Restitution ordered in a state enforcement action is distributed by the state or a court-appointed administrator — it is not something you file a claim form for today. Our glossary explains what an attorney general enforcement action is and how it differs from a class action.
Baltimore Filed Its Own Case
On October 1, 2025, the City of Baltimore sued MoneyLion in Maryland state court (case no. C24CV25008340) under the city’s consumer protection ordinance.
Baltimore alleges the fees and tips on Instacash Advances exceed Maryland’s 33% APR ceiling by more than tenfold, that MoneyLion markets the product as “zero interest” while the fees make the real cost enormous, and that optional-looking “tips” obscure what the advance actually costs. The city’s framing is the debt cycle: fees accumulate, and residents borrow again to cover food and bills.
The CFPB Case Is Over — and It Was Not About Instacash
People searching for a MoneyLion settlement often land on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau case and assume there is money to claim. There is not, and the case was about a different product.
The CFPB sued MoneyLion in September 2022, alleging violations of the Military Lending Act, which caps the all-in rate on loans to service members and their dependents at 36%. The bureau’s theory was that MoneyLion required customers to buy a membership costing roughly $19.99 to $29 a month in order to access its low-rate installment loans, then would not let them cancel the membership until the loan was repaid, and refused cancellation while membership fees were outstanding. Counting those fees, the bureau said, pushed the effective rate past the military cap.
In November 2025 MoneyLion agreed to pay $1.75 million to resolve the case, covering conduct from December 2017 through October 2024. The order also bars MoneyLion from charging military borrowers more than 36% all-in, from blocking membership cancellation, and from collecting or credit-reporting unpaid membership fees.
Important distinction: this was a regulator’s enforcement resolution, not a consumer claims process. There was no claim form, no settlement website, and no deadline for consumers to meet. Anyone telling you to “file for the MoneyLion CFPB settlement” is describing something that does not exist.
Where the New York Case Stands Now
MoneyLion moved to dismiss the Attorney General’s complaint in January 2026, filing alongside DailyPay in the parallel case. Both motions run the same argument: early access to wages you have already earned is not a loan, so it cannot be usurious. Both cite a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advisory opinion concluding that many earned wage access products are not credit.
As of September 2026, no public ruling on that motion has been reported. Until a court rules, there is no judgment, no restitution order, and nothing to distribute.
A Federal Judge Has Already Rejected the Core Defense
In April 2026, U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman denied a motion to dismiss in Freeman v. Bridge It — a consumer case against the cash advance app Brigit — holding that earned wage access advances are loans subject to federal lending law. The opinion framed it as the consumer agreeing to pay sums in the future “for the privilege of obtaining cash…today.”
That ruling does not bind the New York or Maryland courts. It does mean the “it isn’t a loan” defense has already lost once in front of a federal judge. We covered the underlying consumer case in our writeup of the Brigit cash advance settlement.
Is There a MoneyLion Settlement You Can Claim?
No — and it is worth being precise about why, because there are three separate cases and none of them produces a consumer claim form right now:
- New York Attorney General — pending at the motion-to-dismiss stage. Restitution is being sought, not awarded. Nothing to file.
- City of Baltimore — filed October 2025, early stage. Municipal consumer protection claims typically produce penalties and injunctive relief rather than a consumer fund.
- CFPB — resolved November 2025 for $1.75 million. Closed. No claims process.
There is also no mass arbitration campaign open against MoneyLion the way there was against DailyPay. If that changes, the signal will be law firms opening intake, not a settlement website appearing.
What Instacash Users Can Do Now
- Download your transaction history from the app while your account is active. Fee-by-fee records are what any future restitution or claims process would be calculated from, and they are much harder to reconstruct after an account closes.
- Total what you actually paid. Add the instant-transfer fees and every “tip” together. That number, not the advance amount, is what the legal claims are about.
- File a complaint with your state attorney general if you are in New York, or with the CFPB. Complaints are part of the evidentiary record regulators build and are free to submit.
- Ignore anyone charging a fee to “check your eligibility.” There is no MoneyLion claim to check eligibility for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a MoneyLion class action settlement?
No. There is no approved class action settlement fund for MoneyLion or Instacash users. The pending cases are government enforcement actions brought by the New York Attorney General and the City of Baltimore.
How do I claim money from the MoneyLion CFPB settlement?
You cannot. The CFPB case was resolved in November 2025 for $1.75 million as a regulator’s enforcement resolution. It involved Military Lending Act violations tied to MoneyLion’s membership product, not Instacash, and there is no consumer claim form or deadline.
What APR does the New York Attorney General say Instacash charges?
The complaint’s headline example is a $100 advance with an $8.99 fee repaid in two weeks, which annualizes to roughly 234%. New York’s criminal usury cap is 25%.
Does MoneyLion still own Instacash after the Gen Digital acquisition?
MoneyLion was acquired by Gen Digital in 2025 in a deal valued at about $1 billion. The pending lawsuits concern MoneyLion’s conduct and continue regardless of the change in ownership.
Can I still sue MoneyLion myself?
MoneyLion’s terms, like those of most fintech apps, direct disputes to individual arbitration. That is a question for a lawyer licensed in your state — this site cannot advise you on it.
Case Details
| Company | MoneyLion Inc. (acquired by Gen Digital, 2025) |
| Product | Instacash paycheck advance |
| New York AG case | Filed April 15, 2025, N.Y. Supreme Court — motion to dismiss filed January 2026, no ruling reported |
| Alleged APR (NY) | ~234% on a $100 advance with an $8.99 fee over two weeks |
| NY fees alleged | ~$25 million from New York workers, Oct 2018 – end of 2023 |
| Baltimore case | Filed October 1, 2025, Maryland state court, no. C24CV25008340 |
| CFPB case | Filed September 2022 — resolved November 2025 for $1.75 million |
| Consumer claim form | None — no settlement fund exists |
Sources
- New York Attorney General, “Attorney General James Sues Payday Lending Companies for Exploiting Workers with Illegal Loans” (April 15, 2025)
- Payments Dive, “NY AG alleges two wage access providers made illegal loans”
- Banking Dive, “Baltimore sues MoneyLion over alleged predatory lending tactics” (October 2025)
- Banking Dive, “MoneyLion to pay $1.75M to settle CFPB lawsuit” (November 25, 2025)
- Payments Dive, “DailyPay pushes back against NY AG” (April 14, 2026)
- New Economy Project, “Federal Judge Deals Major Blow to Predatory Fintech” (April 2026)
By Felix Levine | Published: September 8, 2026
Legal Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. OpenClassActions.org is a consumer news site, not a law firm, and is not affiliated with MoneyLion, Gen Digital, or any party to the cases described. Consult a licensed attorney about your own situation.