Chime® is a well-known banking service with a great mobile app and other useful features. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Do you have a checking or savings account at one of the large banks that doesn’t cost anything? The $35 per day overdraft fee shows how “free” your account actually is if you’ve ever gone over your limit.
Overdraft fees, account minimum fees and rejected cheque costs bring in a lot of money for big banks. These fees make it much harder for young people to get out of the cycle of living from pay check to pay check.
But not all banks follow this way of thinking. Chime® is not a real bank. It’s a fintech startup that helps people manage their money and save money. This is how they are doing it. Also, find out why we think Chime is one of the best free checking accounts. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
What Is Chime ®?
Chime is a financial technology company that was founded in 2013. While Chime itself isn’t a bank, it partners with The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank N.A to provide banking services to its customers. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Like many internet companies, Chime keeps their costs low by investing heavily in technology and eliminating brick and mortar outlets. As such, Chime has grown to be extremely popular today.
It was recently announced that Chime has over 12,000,000 users. In August 2021, the company announced that it had raised $750 million in a Series G round at an eye-popping valuation of $25 billion.
⚠︎ This Is A Banking Service Provider, Not A Bank.
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. While it uses partner banks to provide banking services, your FDIC-insurance protection may be limited. Read this article from the FDIC to understand the risks of using a non-bank company.
What Does It Offer?
So why are so many people who decide to go with online-only banking choosing Chime? Let’s take a look at a few of the features that help to set it apart from the crowd. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
New! Chime+ Premium Membership
Chime recently launched a new, premium membership, known as Chime+. It’s free for direct deposit users, and provides better savings features, faster access to your money, along with added perks. Here’s what you can expect with Chime+:
- Elevated 3.00% savings APY and the base rate is 0.75%
- Access to up to $500 between paydays with MyPay
- Fee-free overdraft protection (SpotMe)
- Exclusive cash back offers with brands such as Lyft and Quince
- Priority customer support Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Intuitive Mobile App
Early on, Chime had the foresight to focus on their mobile platform. Their app makes it incredibly easy to receive direct deposits (up to two days early), transfer money among your accounts, find an ATM, and review your recent transactions.
The Chime app is responsive, easy to navigate, and has all the information you need. You can see recent transactions, account balances, how to find an ATM, and your linked account balances. Plus, the app supports mobile cheque deposits. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
One of the newest features that Chime has added to the app is instant and fee-free peer-to-peer payments. You can transfer money instantly to anyone who has a debit card, even non-members.
The funds will arrive instantly for members or as soon as non-members claim a payment to their bank accounts. And unlike other payment apps, Chime never charges fees for instant cashouts.
SpotMe®
Chime also offers fee-free overdraft up to $200* with their SpotMe on Debit service. There is no fee to use the service, but once your negative balance is repaid, there is the option to leave Chime a tip.
Chime members who have received at least $200 in qualifying direct deposits in the past 34 days are eligible to enroll. Overdraft limits of $20 to $200 will apply based on factors such as account activity and history. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
SpotMe on Credit Builder is an optional line of overdraft line of credit that doesn’t charge interest or fees. You can qualify for this product if you have an active Chime Credit Builder Account. However, you must have activated your Chime Credit Builder Visa Credit or Debit card. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Sign Up For Chime Here.
Chime Deals
With Chime Deals™, you can earn cash back at more than 30,000 merchants. This includes purchases for gas, groceries, dining out, and more. To earn cashback, you must swipe a physical Chime card, but this can be either the Chime Debit or Credit card, both work. Virtual card purchases are not included in the cashback programme. Eligibility requirements and limits apply. See Chime Deals™ Terms and Conditions. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Make Saving Simple (And Rewarding)
In addition to keeping the fees out of the bank, Chime allows you to set up an automatic savings program. They launched a high-yield savings account that currently pays up to 3.00% annual percentage yield, or APY¹.
With Save When You Spend, Chime rounds up each transaction to the nearest dollar and puts the money into a savings account. In addition to the Round-Up program, Chime Members can also enrol in Save When I Get Paid, which automatically directs 10% of every pay cheque of $500 or more into their savings account. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
If you’re struggling to save for a rainy day, a behavioural tool like Automatic Savings can be a perfect solution. You can always access the money or transfer it back to your checking account, but mentally separating it is an effortless solution to a savings problem.
Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card
Chime recently launched their Chime Credit Builder Visa® Secured Credit Card. Just like it sounds, the goal of this card is to help you build credit. It’s a secured card, so always make sure you check to see how it compares to the best secured credit cards.
Money added to your Credit Builder card will be held in a secured account as collateral, which means you can spend up to this amount on your card. But unlike other secured cards, you can use some or all of your deposit to pay off your charges at the end of every month.⁵
The Credit Builder Card is also unusual in that it doesn’t have a minimum security deposit. You can deposit as much or as little as you want. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
This card has no annual fee and doesn’t have a credit check to apply. Best of all, it doesn’t charge interest.⁶ To be eligible to apply for Credit Builder, you must have an active Chime® Checking Account, which is a type of bank account offered by Chime that allows you to manage your finances online. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Extensive ATM Network
It’s common for digital banks to partner with an ATM network to provide cash services to their customers. What’s uncommon is for one bank to partner with three different networks.
But that’s exactly what Chime does. It offers fee-free cash withdrawals at Moneypass, Allpoint, and Visa Plus Alliance ATMs. In total, members have access to more than 60,000+ in-network ATMs. And many of these ATMs are located in convenient locations that members may already frequent, like Walmart, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, and more. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Unfortunately, none of Chime’s ATMs can accept cash deposits. If you want to put cash into your account, you’ll have to visit a register at one of its retail locations (like Walmart) and ask a cashier to add the funds to your account. This is not only inconvenient but is also likely to involve third-party fees.
Are There Any Fees?
Chime’s fee schedule is super short compared to some banks. There are no maintenance fees, overdraft fees, foreign transaction fees, or bounced cheque fees.
You’ll pay $2.50 for out-of-network ATM cash withdrawals. And you’re likely to incur a third-party fee when you add cash to your Chime account at a retail location. That’s it!
Chime is about as close to a fee-free account as you can get. They take pride in aligning their business profits with their members’ needs. If you join, you can expect transparency and a bank account with no fine print. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
How Does Chime® Compare?
Chime is consistently on our lists of the best free checking accounts and best checking accounts for college students. Why? It’s free, mobile-friendly, and has a lot of great features.
Is My Money Safe?
Yes, Chime customers receive up to $250,000 of FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) insurance protection per depositor through its partner banks, The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A.
Chime also works hard to keep your account and debit card private. Its website is encrypted, its debit cards come with Visa Zero Liability protection, which means you won’t be held responsible for unauthorised charges, and it supports both two-factor authentication, a security process that requires two forms of verification, and fingerprint authentication.
Contact
Digital banks aren’t typically known for their customer service. But Chime is one of the few that seems to mostly get it right. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
The company offers 24/7 live chat and email support at support@chime.com. You can also get in touch with them by phone at 844-244-6363. Their phone specialists are available Monday-Sunday, 3 AM to 11 PM (CST). If you’re going to choose an online bank, phone support is a pretty big deal, as you won’t have the option to get in-person assistance at a local branch
But it’s important to point out that “availability” doesn’t necessarily mean “competence.”. Chime’s Trustpilot rating is currently 3.8/5 which Trustpilot considers “Great” but not “Excellent.
Why Should You Trust Us?
I have been writing and researching banking and personal finance products since 2009. At The College Investor, we’ve been comparing and reviewing banks since 2018, and track the best banks for savings and money market accounts daily from a list of over 50 major banks and credit unions. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Furthermore, our compliance team reviews our rates every weekday to ensure that we are accurately showing the correct rates and terms so you can make an informed decision about where to open a savings account.
Who’s this for, and is it worth it?
If you have straightforward banking needs, Chime is an excellent option. It has no monthly fees. It’s got a built-in savings tool. And you can spend money with a Visa® Debit Card or pay bills via the mobile Chime Chequebook.
The beauty of Chime is in its simplicity. However, that simplicity has some drawbacks. The Chime Chequebook only allows $5,000 in a single transaction, for example. Also, Chime doesn’t support joint accounts. So if you and your spouse want to share an account, Chime isn’t a good option right now. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
If you think that Chime is right for you, you can open an account here. Or if you want to explore other options, you can compare the top online banks here.
Common Questions
Here are some common questions about Chime:
What is Chime?
Chime is a financial technology company that has a free checking account and more features – all on your phone.
Chime is about as fee-free as you can get in a checking account. There are no monthly maintenance fees, overdraft fees, or foreign transaction fees. Chime Review: Pros, Cons,
Does Chime offer free ATMs?
Yes, Chime is networked with over 60,000 fee-free ATMs.
Does Chime have a debit card?
Yes, you get a debit card with your Chime account.