Finance
Empower Finance Buys Petal. What’s That Mean for Petal Credit Card Users?
Key takeaways
- Empower Finance, best known as a cash-advance app, is buying credit card issuer Petal.
- Petal touted its credit cards as a solution for those with less-than-stellar credit but came under fire last year when it downgraded some customers to annual-fee cards.
- Cardholders can wait and see if an influx of money improves benefits or apply for a new card before changes come.
Empower Finance is buying Petal, the credit card issuer that originally made a splash with the promise of helping customers build their credit inexpensively but ended up downgrading some of those same customers to cards charging numerous fees.
When it launched in 2016, Petal credit card company touted itself as an affordable way to access credit for anyone with a less-than-stellar credit history. Its approval process used alternative data like banking information instead of just credit scores and credit history.
And unlike some credit-builder cards, Petal doesn’t charge a security deposit. Plus, you could earn 1% to 10% in cash back — depending on the card you were approved for — a rarity for a credit-builder card with no annual fee.
But the company stumbled amid financial woes with users reporting issues that included some customers being downgraded to a version of the card that charged an annual fee.
If you’re a current Petal cardholder or are interested in using one of this company’s cards to boost your credit, here’s what the acquisition could mean for you.
Who is Empower Finance?
Empower Finance is best known as a cash-advance app (it is not affiliated with Empower, which offers investment and retirement planning services). A cash advance is basically a short-term loan you can access without having to apply for a loan through a bank or online lender. Depending on where you borrow from — like a predatory lender — cash advances can charge sky-high interest rates.
Empower doesn’t charge interest or late fees on its cash advances, but you must subscribe to its app, which costs $8 per month. Instead of your credit history, Empower says it uses your income and spending habits to determine how much you can borrow, up to $250. The amount borrowed is deducted from your bank account on your scheduled repayment date.
Empower Finance also offers other financial products and money management tools on its app, including a credit product called Thrive, as well as credit monitoring and savings and budgeting tools.
Empower plans to complete its acquisition of Petal by the end of June and is expected to integrate both companies’ offerings into one product experience, although it’s unclear how that might play out.
What does this mean for Petal cardholders?
Petal customers could potentially benefit by getting access to all of the Empower Finance products and money management tools. But it could also mean they get charged Empower’s $8-per-month subscription fee.
And while Empower’s cash advances offer potential value, if borrowers need more time to repay, they might be tempted to use the Thrive credit service instead, said Jason Steele, credit card expert and CNET expert review board member.
“Empower advertises cash advances with no interest or fees, but if you choose your repayment date instead of the default or select a split payment option, then you’ll incur interest at an annual percentage rate of 35.99%,” he said. “This isn’t as predatory as some payday loans, but it’s higher than many credit cards.”
Despite users’ dissatisfaction with Petal’s downgrading practices, the credit card company is still well-known for its cash flow underwriting technology, offering an alternative for people who either have no credit or have poor credit reports and scores, according to credit expert John Ulzheimer, formerly of FICO and Equifax.
Petal’s technology appears to align with Empower’s underwriting business that assesses consumers using nontraditional data rather than credit histories.
“While it’s unknown what Empower will maintain from their Petal acquisition, it seems to make sense to fold in their cash flow tech to existing underwriting practices,” Ulzheimer said.
Credit cards typically charge an upfront fee for cash advances, and they come with a higher interest rate — typically 24.99% to 29.99% or higher — than a card’s standard APR.
What happened to Petal last year?
The acquisition was announced earlier this month, nearly a year after the Petal card brand came under fire for downgrading customers to an annual-fee card. Some customers who had either the Petal® 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa® Credit Card* or Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card, both of which have no annual fee, reported that the company had downgraded them to the new Petal 1 Rise* card, which charges a $59 annual fee and has a higher variable APR than the other two cards.
The Petal 1 Rise also included a 3% cash-like transaction fee with a $10 minimum (cash-like transactions include money orders, person-to-person cash transfers like Venmo or CashApp, lottery tickets and gift card purchases), a late fee of up to $40 and a returned payment fee of up to $29.
For a company that promoted itself as an inexpensive way to build credit, the new terms were much different than the previous Petal cards. Users who signed up for one card were ultimately forced into an ultimatum: They could either accept the new terms and pay the annual fee, which could be difficult on a limited budget, or cancel their card, which could damage their credit score.
What’s more confusing is that both the Petal 1 and Petal 2 cards are still available with no annual fee. And while both cards are still great credit building options for users, CNET no longer recommends them since there’s no guarantee you won’t be downgraded to the lower-tier Petal Rise.
What happens next?
For now, Petal cardholders will likely not see much change immediately, but the new influx of money from an acquisition could change users’ experience, according to Steele.
“Petal has been struggling as a company and its acquisition could offer it new resources, or it could result in a significant change to its business model,” Steele said.
In the meantime, current Petal cardholders can wait it out to see if there are positive improvements or find a new credit card altogether.
If you decide to close your Petal account and apply for a card from a different issuer, consider keeping your Petal account open during the application process so your current credit line can help demonstrate your creditworthiness.
Card alternatives for Petal users
If you’re looking to trade in your Petal card because of the downgrade or acquisition and your credit score is still low, you may want to consider applying for a secured credit card, which typically requires a security deposit.
“I strongly recommend those with fair or poor credit consider a secured card with no annual fee, rather than an unsecured card with numerous fees,” Steele said.
Specifically, Steele recommends cardholders with fair or poor credit get a secured credit card like the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card* or the Discover it® Secured Credit Card*. The Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card lets users begin building credit with a security deposit as low as $49 and no annual fee. The Discover it® Secured Credit Card has a credit limit range of $200 to $2,500 that is directly proportional to the deposit amount. It doesn’t charge an annual fee, and it lets users earn cash-back rewards.
If you’re a Petal cardholder who’s been using your card responsibly for at least a year, you may qualify for an unsecured credit card with no annual fee. If you’re going this route, Steele recommends applying for a simple card from your bank or credit union.
*All information about the Petal 1 “No Annual Fee” Visa Credit Card, the Petal 1 Rise, the Capital One Platinum Secured Credit Card and the Discover it Secured Credit Card has been collected independently by CNET and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
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Within the global manufacturing industry, maintaining a competitive edge requires a delicate balance between driving internal efficiency and fostering strong external relationships. For Applied Materials, a leader in materials engineering solutions for the semiconductor industry, this challenge became the foundation for a strategic finance transformation program, with an SAP Taulia solution emerging as a key enabler.
The journey began in early 2019 with the launch of Agile Finance, an end-to-end transformation initiative designed to support the company’s aggressive growth trajectory, which included a goal to double in size. The initiative was built around three strategic pillars: enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the finance organization, promoting career fulfillment, and establishing a robust digital operating model. The impact was significant, with the finance function achieving approximately 35% productivity gains in its labor force.
The third pillar—the move to a digital operating model—is where the partnership with SAP Taulia began.
“The SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution was introduced not merely as a cost-cutting measure, but as a strategic tool to transform and digitize the interaction with Applied’s extensive, global supplier base,” Junaid Ahmed, corporate VP, Finance at Applied Materials, says. “We understood that to reap the benefits of digitization, we had to ensure the suppliers were on board. It needed to be a win-win outcome.”
Unprecedented flexibility for suppliers
The program empowers suppliers—thousands of them worldwide—to self-select which approved invoices they wish to discount for early payment. This is not a continuous, all-or-nothing commitment but rather a decision made on an invoice-by-invoice basis. This flexibility allows suppliers to manage their working capital needs with greater precision, taking advantage of early payment during their own critical periods, such as quarter-end or year-end, to help meet their own financial targets.
The system also drastically improves transactional efficiency. Suppliers no longer have to call Applied to track invoice status, approval, or payment date. All this information is available 24/7 in the SAP Taulia solution, reducing resource allocation on both sides and ensuring both reap the benefits of moving to an integrated, digital system.
Strategic benefits for Applied Materials
For Applied, the program is a testament to its focus on balancing efficiency with strong supplier relationships. The philosophy is a “win-win” built on a crucial spread: Applied Materials, as a Fortune 500 company with strong cash flow, has a significantly lower cost of capital than many of its suppliers. By funding the discounts, Applied captures a return—the discount income—while offering its suppliers funding at a rate close to their cost of capital, but with greater convenience.
This relationship-focused approach is critical. Applied’s supplier account managers actively support the program because they recognize its mutual benefit, not viewing it as a finance mandate to push costs onto the supply base.
Furthermore, the “dynamic” nature of the discount rates is a powerful risk mitigation tool. Unlike fixed contractual discounts, the rates can be adjusted in response to global economic changes, such as shifts in interest rates. When interest rates rose after the pandemic, Applied was able to adjust the discount rates accordingly with minimal pushback, as the core proposition remains the valuable spread between the parties’ cost of capital.
The SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution has been rolled out globally, giving all suppliers the opportunity to use it. This has been critical over the last 12 months as many businesses around the globe have been subject to new and often unexpected tariff costs impacting their margin and their liquidity.
“The flexibility of the solution means suppliers can access funds when they need them, which helps them navigate some of the economic uncertainty that many businesses are facing,” Dirk Holoubek, managing director, Finance Shared Services, explains. “2025 saw a 23% increase in usage of the discounts, reflecting the pressures that suppliers are feeling right now on their cash flow.”
The solution’s capability to drive sophisticated analytics is also a major strategic asset. It helps provide insights into the different costs of capital between Applied and its supplier base. This data allows for targeted outreach and communication, ensuring that the offer of capital support is proactively extended to the suppliers that need it most.
The strategic value of the solution is further cemented by its ownership. The acquisition of Taulia by SAP brings several advantages.
“Trust is really important to both us and our suppliers,” Ahmed says. “For our suppliers to adopt a new solution, they need to know its technology they can rely on in the long term. Being part of SAP creates that assurance in the long-term future of the program.”
Looking forward, Applied Materials is already focused on the next stage of the transformation project: Agile Finance 3.0, which is focused on enabling the organization to become AI-first. The company is deploying a global, organization-wide AI assistant to drive personal productivity, but the strategic application of AI in the supplier management space is even more profound.
AI is expected to transform decision-making enablement by analyzing critical information and communicating effective options. In the future, AI will be able to proactively assess the specific needs and attributes of the supplier base, enabling Applied to address issues more quickly and resolve them earlier. The benefits are already tangible in e-invoicing: AI has made the solution more flexible and “human-like,” capable of reading minor changes in invoice format that would have previously caused electronic errors. This reduced rigidity and increased flexibility are directly contributing to the overall efficiency of the digital operating model.
By leveraging the SAP Taulia Dynamic Discounting solution, Applied Materials has not only digitized a process but also strategically transformed its financial operations, creating a system that is agile, resilient, and focused on maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with its global supplier ecosystem.
Cedric Bru is CEO of SAP Taulia.
Finance
Houston budget amendment would give financial assistance to help those impacted by a trash fee
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Houston City Council could soon consider whether to offer financial assistance to help those who may struggle to afford a proposed trash fee.
This month, council will approve a budget. In it, Mayor John Whitmire doesn’t increase taxes.
However, he does want to charge a $5 monthly fee to cover trash services. A plan to help close the city’s nearly $200 million deficit that doesn’t add up to some.
Speaking in front of council on Wednesday, Super Neighborhood 64 president Lindsay Williams brought more than concerns, she had numbers surrounding the mayor’s proposed $5 monthly trash fee.
A plan his team says could climb to $25 a month by 2032. If it does, Williams told council that $300 annual cost would be just .15% of a $200,000 income.
For someone making $15,000, it’s two percent. “More than 13 times the burden for the same trash, same truck and same fee, but not the same pay,” Williams explained.
However, Controller Chris Hollins said the mayor’s not being truthful about the real cost.
“Houstonians are not stupid,” Hollins said. “We should not treat Houstonians like they’re stupid.”
Hollins said the cost may need to be $40 a month. Whitmire didn’t respond to Hollins during the meeting when he asked if he plans to increase the fee.
No matter the cost, some council members want to offer financial relief. Right now, there are no exceptions.
However, an amendment council will consider from Council Member Alejandra Salinas next week would change that.
“If they for whatever reason met the threshold and need an additional need because of the administrative fee, our amendment would allow them to apply for funds through the water fund,” Salinas said.
The trash fee wasn’t the only item from the mayor’s seven and a half billion dollar budget proposal that sparked debate. Hollins said a plan to divert money away from water utilities could drain a billion over the next five years from infrastructure money.
Whitmire disagrees saying there’s more than enough funds to handle the change, and continue with projects.
“We’ve all admitted the budget’s not perfect, but certainly it’s a first start that Houstonians understand and it’s a shame it’s being so politicized because it’s literally people’s lives and death,” Whitmire said.
Council will vote on amendments next week. It has to have a new budget in place by the end of the month.
Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!
Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.
Online tools and mind maps
Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.
A mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various softwaretemplates for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.
Other ways to communicate about money
A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.
I like the idea of putting together a net worth statement that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.
Many couples also put together a binder (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.
A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap
Finally, you could consider working with a good financial adviser, who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.
_____
This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.
Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.
Related links:
What If This Turns Out to Be a Terrible Time to Retire?
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/what-if-this-turns-out-be-terrible-time-retire
Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’
https://www.morningstar.com/retirement/bill-bengen-inflation-is-greatest-enemy-retirees
3 Big Questions to Ask Your Aging Parents
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/3-big-questions-ask-your-aging-parents
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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