A new fintech app called Dave (portrayed as a cuddly, bespectacled bear) wants to help make those ridiculous overdraft penalties a thing of the past. Dave warns you when you’re going to blow your budget and will even lend you up to $250—with no interest—until your next payday.

Dave’s aim is to “outsmart overdrafts” so users don’t ever need the bear to spot them some. For $1 a month, the app syncs with customers’ checking accounts to monitor their spending habits and predict when they’re at risk of overdrawing their accounts.

Loans are by repaid automatically from the user’s bank account on payday, Wilk says, though the company says for an extra $10 fee customers can pay by check instead.

Dave does try to entice customers to tip by pledging to plant a tree in Sub-Saharan Africa, in conjunction with the nonprofit Trees for the Future. For example, a 6% tip on a $100 loan will generate $6 and the planting of six trees.

“Right now, every single person has paid us back in full,” he [Wilk] said before the launch.

Read the source article at fastcompany.com