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Minnesota AG sues Brigit over alleged payday loans. Posted: July 3, 2026 Experts share their tips and advice on BadCredit.org, with the goal of helping subprime consumers. Its articles follow strict editorial guidelines. Key takeaways. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has filed a lawsuit alleging personal finance app Brigit violated the state's payday lending laws. Ellison alleges that Brigit is an unlicensed, unregistered small-loan and short-term lender making online variations of payday loans to Minnesota consumers. The state alleges that the annual percentage rates Minnesota consumers pay on Brigit advances regularly exceed 300%, with some exceeding 700%. Ellison also says that Brigit does not disclose these high borrowing rates to consumers. In Minnesota, state law caps the annual percentage rate that consumer short-term loan lenders may charge at 50%. Ellison's office alleges Brigit has issued tens of thousands of small, short-term advances to Minnesota consumers without complying with Minnesota lending laws. Brigit pushes back on claims. BadCredit reached out to Upbound Group, which completed its acquisition of Brigit in January 2025, and received the following comments from Farah Remtulla, Chief Operating Officer at Brigit. Brigit has more than 1 million active, paying subscribers and almost 1 million free subscribers, according to an Upbound Group press release. "The Attorney General's lawsuit mischaracterizes Brigit's earned wage access product as a payday loan, and if successful, would cut off tens of thousands of Minnesotans from a safe, affordable alternative to overdraft fees, payday lenders, and high-interest credit cards," Remtulla told Minafi. "Brigit has operated in Minnesota for years, serving thousands of customers, with only a handful of complaints - a track record that speaks for itself," she said. "Brigit will defend this product, and the working Minnesotans who rely on it, vigorously." - Farah Remtulla, Chief Operating Officer at Brigit Twelve states now have laws in place to regulate EWA with 19 other states with legislation pending. The Brigit team explained its product this way. "Brigit's product is free to use," Remtulla said. "Brigit charges no interest, no late fees, and no penalties if a customer cannot repay the earned wage access transaction." Remtulla's comment referred to the earned wage access transaction, while Brigit also operates paid and free subscription tiers. Remtulla said the company plans to fight the lawsuit. "Brigit will defend this product, and the working Minnesotans who rely on it, vigorously," Remtulla told Minafi. Minnesota says it's holding Brigit accountable. "As Attorney General, it's my job to protect consumers from businesses that try to evade the law and take advantage of people who take desperate measures to afford their lives," Ellison said. "Regardless of how Brigit markets itself, the advances it offers consumers in need of cash are clearly loans." He added that Minnesota lawmakers have already chosen to regulate lenders like Brigit. "The legislature has wisely chosen to regulate lenders like Brigit carefully to keep short-term borrowers from being exploited and falling even further into debt," Ellison said. "To operate in Minnesota, Brigit needs to comply with these laws when advancing funds for profit, as all payday lenders do. I'm bringing this lawsuit because it's my job to protect consumers and enforce the law to protect consumers." Brigit previously settled FTC claims over its app. The Federal Trade Commission sued Brigit in 2023, alleging the company deceptively promised "instant" cash advances of up to $250 to people living paycheck to paycheck. The FTC also alleged that Brigit locked consumers into a $9.99 monthly membership that they said was difficult to cancel. Brigit agreed to settle the charges and pay $18 million in consumer refunds, according to a proposed court order. In November 2024, the FTC sent more than $17 million in refunds to Brigit customers. Minnesota says advances should be treated like loans. Brigit offers an app where consumers can access earned wage advances. But Ellison contends that Brigit speaks about these advances and treats them as loans. Here are five examples he offered in a press release: * Ellison alleges Brigit requires consumers to preauthorize deductions from their accounts for the advance amount plus any fees at a future date. * Ellison contends Brigit does not disclose in its app that repayment of the advance is voluntary. * There is no cancel mechanism in the Brigit app or disclosure of how a consumer may cancel a payment. * Brigit offers consumers extension credits, and consumers may only use them a specified number of times. * When Brigit customers reach out to customer service, which is necessary for canceling, the company's responses reinforce the belief that the loan must be repaid. Because Ellison says these advances function as payday loans, his office argues Brigit must comply with Minnesota laws governing those products. For now, the lawsuit targets Brigit. But the outcome could matter for the broader EWA business Senior Credit Writer Lucy Lazarony is a veteran financial journalist with nearly 30 years of experience covering credit, credit cards, and consumer finance. Widely recognized for her ability to demystify complex financial topics, Lucy has established herself as a trusted authority in the credit space. She previously served for seven years as a staff writer at Bankrate.com, where she contributed in-depth reporting, trend analysis, and consumer-focused guidance on credit cards and lending products. Her work has since appeared in top-tier publications, including Investopedia, Next Avenue, the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), and Credit.com, reinforcing her reputation as a leading voice in personal finance journalism. Lucy holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Florida, where she developed the investigative and reporting skills that continue to shape her career. Her excellence in storytelling has been recognized by the Florida Press Club, earning awards for Education Reporting (2016) and Arts News Reporting (2015). Across her career, Lucy has helped millions of readers make informed financial decisions, offering clarity on credit scoring, responsible credit card use, debt management, and consumer rights. Her work remains a cornerstone resource for individuals seeking transparent, accurate, and actionable financial information.

Attorney General Ellison sues to stop unlawful app-based lending. Jun 11, 2026 June 2, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) - Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today filed a lawsuit against Bridge It, Inc., doing business as Brigit, for Brigit's violations of Minnesota's payday lending laws. AG Ellison alleges that Brigit is an unlicensed, unregistered, consumer small-loan and consumer short-term lender making a modern, online variation of payday loans. Brigit has issued tens of thousands of small and short-term loans to Minnesotans without complying with the requirements the Minnesota Legislature has created for those making certain types of loans. Annual percentage rates Minnesotans pay on Brigit loans regularly exceed 300%, with some exceeding 700%. Nowhere does Brigit disclose these extremely high rates of borrowing to the consumer. State law caps the annual percentage rate that consumer short-term loan lenders may charge at 50%. "As Attorney General, it's my job to protect consumers from businesses that try to evade the law and take advantage of people who take desperate measures to afford their lives," Attorney General Ellison said. "Regardless of how Brigit markets itself, the advances it offers consumers in need of cash are clearly loans. The legislature has wisely chosen to regulate lenders like Brigit carefully to keep short-term borrowers from being exploited and falling even further into debt. To operate in Minnesota, Brigit needs to comply with these laws when advancing funds for profit, as all payday lenders do. I'm bringing this lawsuit because it's my job to protect consumers and enforce the law to protect consumers." Brigit offers an app where consumers take out what it and others in the fintech industry call "earned wage advances." For such lending, companies advance money to consumers that meet specified criteria, including that consumers must be able to demonstrate recurring deposits to their bank accounts. Brigit calls its loans "Instant Cash" advances and claims that Minnesota's payday lending laws do not apply because its terms and conditions indicate that consumers may choose not to repay these advances. However, as Attorney General Ellison's lawsuit documents, Brigit's advances are loans by any common-sense understanding. Brigit speaks about them like loans and takes numerous steps to ensure that consumers repay them as loans. - First, in order to make the loan, Brigit requires a consumer to preauthorize Brigit to deduct the loaned amount - plus any incurred fees - from the consumer's account at a future repayment date. - Second, Brigit does not disclose anywhere in the normal flow of its app that repayment is "voluntary." - Third, Brigit does not offer an entirely in-app cancellation mechanism or even disclose within the app how a consumer may cancel or choose not to repay. - Fourth, Brigit offers consumers "extension credits," strongly suggesting that it costs the consumer something to extend the repayment date, and consumers may only do so a specified number of times. - Fifth, when consumers do reach out to customer service, as they must do to cancel, Brigit's responses often reinforce the belief that the loan must be repaid. Taken together, Brigit's actions confirm that these "earned wage advances" are nothing more than payday loans disguised to try to circumvent Minnesota's laws. Businesses like Brigit that operate in Minnesota and make loans to Minnesotans must comply with Minnesota law, including Minnesota's robust payday-lending laws that place caps on the interest and fees that can be charged and require important disclosures, among other requirements. These are important laws that protect borrowers facing financial difficulty from being exploited and sinking further into debt traps and poverty. Attorney General Ellison encourages Minnesotans to submit complaints about Brigit or other earned-wage advance lenders by filing a complaint with the Attorney General's Office via its online complaint form. The Office can also be reached by phone at (651) 296-3353 or (800) 657-3787.