Chime Review – Financial Tech Flipping Banking on Its Head
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The mobile financial app Chime® helps people who can’t get a bank account open checking and savings accounts with limited fees.
9/10
Cost
9/10
Ease of Use
9/10
Features
8/10
Services
8/10
The majority of Americans have a bank account. For those who don’t, and even those who have one but still use alternative financial services such as payday loans and check cashing businesses, using such services can cost them more in transaction fees and make banking a hassle.
Bad credit and past mistakes in handling a bank account at traditional or online banks can lead to banks barring these potential customers from opening a new account for up to five years. The Federal Reserve reports that 6% of people are unbanked, and 16% are underbanked.
The mobile financial app Chime® aims to solve this problem by helping people who can’t get a bank account or don’t want one. It doesn’t check if an applicant has bad credit. Instead, it offers them and anyone else a chance to open checking and savings accounts with limited fees.
Chime® just isn’t for people who can’t open a bank account elsewhere. Even if you have good credit and have been with your bank for years, Chime®’s features and benefits may be enough to convince you to manage your finances with it.
Jump To
What is Chime®?
Founded in 2013 in San Francisco as an alternative to traditional banking, Chime® is a financial technology company offering financial services through a mobile app for iOS and Android and its website.
The basic account Chime® offers is the Chime Checking Account, which comes with a debit card issued by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank (members FDIC). This partnership helps Chime® collect most of its revenue. It is paid an interchange fee when the card is used to buy something but doesn't cost you to have it.
Chime® also offers a High-Yield Savings Account. It currently pays an Annual Percentage Yield, or APY, of 2.00% and cannot be opened unless you also have a Chime Checking Account.
Neither account has a minimum balance requirement. The FDIC insures Chime® accounts for deposits of up to $250,000.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
How does Chime® work?
Opening a Chime® account online is easy. Start by clicking on the green button at the top right area of a web page, which should read “Get Started” or “Open an Account,” depending on which page you’re on.
From there, you’ll be asked to fill out eight short online forms that appear individually as you click through the process.
The first is simple enough: asking for your name and email address.
Then separate prompts will ask for your:
- Date of birth
- Mobile phone number
- Home address
- Password that you create
- Social Security number
- Income source
- Job title
- Annual income
- How you’re paid
- How you heard about Chime®
The information is used to identify you and won’t affect your application, Chime says.
The final step is checking two boxes agreeing to the user agreements, and then your application is submitted. The whole process should take less than two minutes.
No credit check
The banking industry has its own form of credit reporting called ChexSystems. It isn’t a credit bureau like the ones that check if you haven’t paid your credit card bill in months but it is a database of closed checking and savings accounts. If you have bad marks on your ChexSystems report, you could be barred from opening new accounts for up to five years.
Chime® says it doesn’t use those reports.
How to deposit money
Chime® doesn’t have physical offices, so adding money to your account isn’t as easy as visiting a local bank.
Instead, Chime® has a few ways to add money:
- Direct deposit from your employer’s payroll provider
- Transfer from a linked external bank account
- Mobile deposit of a paper check (if eligible)
- Cash deposit made at more than 90,000 retailers
Although Chime®’s debit card can be used at more than 60,000 free ATMs across the country through the MoneyPass and Visa Plus Alliance networks, the ATMs it works with don’t accept deposits of any kind. Instead, retailers such as Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid, Family Dollar, Dollar General, Circle K, and 7-Eleven can accept your deposit and transfer the funds into your Chime Checking Account. Tell the cashier you want to deposit money to your Chime account at the register, which they’ll enter as a “cash reload.”
Up to three deposits can be made every 24 hours, up to $1,000 daily and $10,000 monthly.
Some third-party money transfer services such as these may impose fees or limit how often you can deposit cash, Chime® warns.
How to withdraw money
Chime® doesn’t have ATMs where customers can withdraw cash but uses more than 60,000 fee-free ATMs in the MoneyPass and Visa Alliance networks. The Chime app has an ATM finder to find a free ATM at businesses such as Walmart, CVS, Target, and grocery chains such as Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Safeway.
Up to $515 can be withdrawn per day at any ATM. Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass.
Cash withdrawals can only be from Chime Checking Accounts, not Savings Accounts. To pull money out of a savings account, you must first transfer it to your Spending Account.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
How much does Chime® cost?
Rather than asking what fees Chime® charges, here’s a list of the fees it doesn’t:
- No monthly fees
- No minimum balance fees
- No annual fees
- No transfer fees
- No foreign transaction fees
Chime®’s features
Chime® has two types of accounts: checking and savings. You must have a checking account before you can open a savings account with Chime®.
Each account has its own features, though some overlap. Before we detail some of the many features Chime® offers, here’s a breakdown of what the checking and savings accounts have.
Chime® Checking
This is the basic checking account at Chime®. It comes with a Visa debit card that can be used anywhere Visa is accepted.
Here are some of the features of the Chime Checking account:
- Get Paid Early, which allows you to get your paycheck up to 2 days early with direct deposit
- Free ATMs in its network of more than 60,000 locations
- SpotMe, which provides fee-free overdrafts of up to $200 for eligible members
- Mobile Check Deposit, which, if eligible, can unlock mobile check deposits by receiving a qualifying direct deposit. (Eligibility is at the sole discretion of Chime® and may be granted based on various factors including, but not limited to, a member's direct deposit enrollment status.)
Chime® Savings
The Chime Savings account pays 2.00% APY.
Features of the Savings account include:
- No minimum balance
- No fees
- Round Up, which automatically rounds up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfers the round-up from your Chime Checking account to your savings account
- Save When I Get Paid automatically transfers 10% of your $500 or more direct deposits from your Checking Account into your savings account.
Who is Chime® best for?
- People who can’t open a traditional bank account. If you have bad credit or have made banking mistakes that have prevented you from opening an account at a traditional bank, Chime® will allow you to open checking and savings accounts. Chime® doesn’t check credit reports or the ChexSystems database that many banks use to collect information on past clients. Some banks may not allow you to open an account for five years if you have bad marks in its database.
- People who want free services. Chime® doesn’t charge monthly fees, annual fees, transfer fees, minimum balance fees, or foreign transaction fees.
- People who are OK with mobile-only financial services. Chime® doesn’t have physical branches. It relies on its mobile app and website to help customers manage their money and uses direct deposit from partner retailers and 60,000 fee-free ATMs to help them accept and release cash.
Who shouldn’t use Chime®?
- People who prefer physical bank branches. Chime® is not a bank and doesn't have physical officers for customers.
- People who deposit cash often. As mentioned, if you want to deposit cash, it could cost you money. Retailers, banks, and banking services will accept cash deposits but may charge a fee each time.
Chime® pros and cons
Pros
- 60,000+ ATMs. Chime® has more than 60,000 ATMs in two networks.
- Limited fees. Other than $2.50 fees for using out-of-network ATMs or going to another bank or credit union, Chime® doesn't charge monthly fees, annual fees, transfer fees, foreign transaction fees or minimum balance fees.
- Get Paid Early. Get your paycheck up to 2 days early with direct deposit.
Cons
- No physical locations. Chime® doesn’t have any physical offices, so you won’t be able to walk in to speak with someone and manage your money.
- Depositing cash is difficult. Cash can’t be added at the ATMs that Chime® works with. Some retailers work with Chime to accept deposits they transfer to Chime®, though they may charge a fee.
- Mobile deposits require eligibility. Mobile Check deposit eligibility is determined by Chime® in its sole discretion and may be granted based on various factors including, but not limited to, a member's direct deposit enrollment status.
Chime® vs. competitors
Bank | Monthly fee | Branches | ATMs | ATM fees | Minimum balance |
Chime® | $0 | 0 | 60,000 | $0 / $2.50 | $0 |
Chase | $25 | 5,100 | 17,000 | $0 / $2.50 | $0 |
Bank of America | $25 | 6,000 | 15,000 | $0 / $2.50 | $100 |
Note: Under ATM cost, the first figure is for in-network ATMs. The second is for using out-of-network ATMs.
Chase Bank
The Chase Total Checking account is one of the biggest competitors to Chime®, mainly because Chase is one of the biggest banks in the country.
A Chase checking account is free by meeting the simple requirement of depositing at least $500 monthly. That’s the same amount Chime® requires through direct deposit to qualify for its free overdraft protection on debit card charges. Chase even pays new customers $200 to open a checking account with direct deposit.
For $500 in monthly deposits, you get access to Chase’s 5,100 branches and 17,000 free ATMs. If you want to talk to a teller in person, you can.
Bank of America
Bank of America has just as many ATMs as Chase and over 6,000 branches. It has three types of checking accounts, including the Advantage Plus, costing $12 per month. The fee can be waived for having direct deposits of $250 per month.
But where Chime® doesn’t charge for overdrafts, Bank of America does, $10 for an overdraft protection transfer.
If you have more financial needs than basic checking and savings accounts, Bank of America or another large bank may serve you better than Chime®.
Better banking is here.
- No account fees
- Earn up to 4.50% APY
- Up to 2-day-early-paycheck
- No-fee Overdraft Coverage.
- Do it all in one app.
- Up to $2M of additional FDIC insurance through a network of participating banks.
FAQs
How do I reach Chime®?
Not having a physical branch to visit can be a pain in the neck if you have an immediate concern about your Chime® accounts. Chime® customer service is available through its app or email. It is also available by phone on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. CST, and on weekends from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CST. Chime®’s phone number is listed on the bottom of its website, as is its social media channels. The website has a blog and FAQ section that may answer some of your questions, though you’ll have to hunt to find some of them. It also has an online Help Center to answer basic questions.
How much do I need to open an account?
Technically, $.01 is enough money to transfer to open a checking account at Chime®.
Are there really no fees?
The only fee we could find, which Chime® points out a few times, is $2.50 for using out-of-network ATMs or another bank to access your Chime accounts.
Is Chime® legit?
The Federal Reserve reports that 6% of people don’t have bank accounts, called being unbanked. It also found that 16% of people are underbanked, meaning they have a checking or savings account, but they still use alternative forms of banking, such as payday loans and check cashing services, to do their daily banking. Most of those services, if not all, often charge high fees, making paying bills and getting cash expensive.
One of the best things we like about Chime® is how it helps unbanked open checking and savings accounts and helps consumers avoid these problems by not charging fees for using its ATMs, mobile app, or even overdrawing on an account. And it doesn’t hold bad credit or past banking mistakes against people who want to open accounts with it.
Even for those who can easily open a bank account elsewhere, Chime® may be the best place to put their money because they won’t pay fees for basic services.
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Writer
Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist who specializes in personal finance writing and editing. He has worked at newspapers, where he won a Pulitzer Prize, and has written for numerous online publications. These include AOL, US News & World Report, WiseBread, Bankrate, AARP, and many websites focusing on housing, credit and insurance. He lives in California with his wife and daughter.
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