*Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of payer’s submission of deposits. Chime generally posts such deposits on the day they are received which may be up to 2 days earlier than the payer’s scheduled payment date.
It’s rare to come across a banking service against profiting off its customers, but then there’s Chime. Chime is a mobile banking tech company that offers totally free banking, including no-fee overdraft protection and 0% interest with its credit card.
Rather than making a dime off its members, Chime partners with Visa and receives a portion of the merchant fee incurred whenever you use your Chime card.
Chime is a great banking app for anybody, but it’s even more perfect if you’re trying to grow your savings, improve your credit or want the convenience of keeping your bank in your back pocket. Oh, and did we mention it’s free?
- Easy transfers between accounts
- Free, no-fee banking
- Award-winning mobile banking
- Limited product offerings
- No brick-and-mortar locations for those who prefer in-person banking
Chime Ratings at a Glance
- Overview of Chime
- Features
- Account Offerings
- See All 7 Items
Overview of Chime
Chime is a financial technology company. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.
Chime is a multi-faceted online money management platform. Its features protect the financial interests of its members. Not only do Chime accounts insulate and grow your wealth, Chime doesn’t profit off members. It also provides fee-free overdraft and early paycheck direct deposits.
Features
Chime members enjoy the following features:
- Fee-free overdraft: Introducing Chime’s SpotMe: fee-free overdraft for eligible members.
- Get paid early: Receive your paycheck up to 2 days early if you have direct deposit.
- Mobile options: Its app was designed by a tech company with more than 250,000 5-star reviews.
- Automatic savings: Chime allows you to set up features like Save When You Spend, which rounds up your transactions to the nearest dollar and deposits the difference into a savings account.
- Mobile payments: Built into the Chime mobile account, Pay Friends allows you to send money to other Chime members. It also enables services like Apple Pay and other mobile peer-to-peer payment apps.
- Security and control: Enjoy the security of federally-insured deposits and sophisticated cybersecurity measures. Real-time alerts keep you tuned in to your account activity and you can disable or block transactions on your debit card from the Chime app.
Chime offers 2 accounts: the Chime Spending Account and the Savings Account.
Chime Spending Account is an online checking account designed to link to your Savings Account.
Spending Account
The Chime Spending Account is a checking account stacked with useful features designed to improve the health of your money. As a Chime Spending Account holder, you’ll enjoy the following:
- No monthly fees
- No minimum balance requirements
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to 38,000 fee-free MoneyPass and Visa Plus Alliance ATMs
- Get paid up to 2 days early with direct deposit*
- Applying for an account takes less than 2 minutes
- Free Chime Visa Debit Card accepted wherever Visa is
- No credit check to apply
- Free debit card replacement
- Can instantly disable card use in the Chime app if you misplace your debit card
- Enabled to make mobile payments with platforms like Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Unlocks access to the Chime Savings Account, a fee-free high-yield savings account
- Built-in savings tools like Rounds Ups and Save When I Get Paid
- Access to apply for fee-free overdraft protection with SpotMe (eligibility requirements apply)
Opening up a Chime Spending Account is as easy as entering your email address.
Savings Account
Chime’s Saving Account is a savings account with all the bells and whistles you could possibly want. It’s also a free account with no minimum balance requirements.
Chime’s Savings Account now offers a 0.50% Annual Percentage Yield (APY)¹. Members can enjoy all of our automatic savings features without having to worry about minimum balance requirements or maximums on interest earned and no fees³.
All of these features make it easier to grow your balance, even if you’re trying to save on a tight budget. But Chime has made it even easier to hit your financial goals out of the park. When you spend using your Chime Visa Debit Card from your Chime Spending Account, your change from each purchase is shuffled into your Savings Account.
You can also set a certain percentage of each paycheck to be directly deposited into your Savings Account with the Save When I Get Paid feature. You can set this feature and then forget about it, so saving becomes an automatic part of your budgeting.
Automatic Savings is one of the best ways to reach any savings goals faster. Chime’s Round Up feature automatically rounds up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfers the money from our member’s Spending Account to their Savings Account. Chime’s "Save When I Get Paid" feature allows members to automatically transfer a percentage of their direct deposit straight into their Savings Account⁴.
Account Minimums
There are no account minimums associated with any Chime accounts.
Chime prides itself on minimal fees and transparent pricing. There are no maintenance or annual fees or interest charges and you may even be eligible for fee-free overdraft protection from SpotMe. (You do have to apply and meet eligibility requirements).
The fees you do see vary by account and can be avoided. Most come from 3rd-party vendors. For example, you may incur fees for using out-of-network ATMs with your Spending Account or for making cash withdrawals from your Savings Account.
How to Open an Account
Anyone can open up an account with Chime. You won't have to meet minimum balance requirements to enjoy Chime benefits.
Applying for a Chime Spending Account takes less than 2 minutes of your time. Once you’ve done this and completed certain qualifying actions, you’ll get the green light to apply for the other accounts you can link to your Chime Spending Account.
Becoming a Chime member is easy. You won’t pay fees and you can grow your balances with ease. Because Chime doesn’t profit from its customers, your best financial interests are always at the forefront.
The only real thing that may give you pause is Chime’s online-only status, but that can be an appealing feature for many. Check out Chime for yourself to dive into fee-free options today.
Disclaimer
¹ APY—Annual Percentage Yield. Effective December 9, 2020 the interest rate will be 0.50%. These interest rates are variable and may change at our discretion at any time. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest.
² The average national savings account interest rate of 0.05% is determined by FDIC as of November 30th, 2020 based on a simple average of rates paid (uses annual percentage yield) by all insured depository institutions and branches for which data are available. visit https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/rates/historical/2020-11-30.html to learn more.³ There’s no fee for the Chime Savings Account but a $2.50 cash withdrawal fee is applied to the Chime Spending Account for out of network ATM withdrawals and over the counter "OTC" withdrawals. You must have a Chime Spending Account to open a Chime Savings Account.
⁴ Round Ups automatically round up debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and transfers the round up from your Chime Spending Account to into your savings account. Save When I Get Paid automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposits of $500 or more into your savings account.
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