Chime® Bank Review: A Low-Fee Neobank (2024)

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Chime Overview

Chime is an entirely online neobank and alternative to traditional banking headquartered in San Francisco. It was founded in 2014 and offers its services through banking partners Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank. As of 2019, Chime reportedly held assets worth $5.8 billion. In 2023, Bancorp and Stride held assets worth $7.7 billion and $2.4 billion respectively.

Despite operating in the digital space, Chime is still insured by the FDIC, so you can deposit² with confidence knowing that your funds are insured up to $250,000.

GOBankingRates has ranked Chime among theBest Neobanks of 2023.

ChimeReview: Key Features

Chime is an online-only fintech that offers excellent benefits for new customers. It has no monthly service fees, is easy to set up an account, and features competitive interest rates, but it might not be the best option if you need a wider range of financial products and services or prefer in-person banking.

Checking Account

The checking account is the flagship product of Chime. To this day, it remains one of its best features.

There are myriad reasons why this offering has been so appealing to consumers. For one, the lack of fees is certainly refreshing for the average customer who has been nickel and dimed by other banks. There are no monthly fees, no minimum opening deposit, no balance requirements and no overdraft fees. In fact, with Chime’s Spot Me®³, you can overdraft your account starting with $20 and up to $200 after you qualify.

In addition to this, their debit card* has no foreign transaction fee. They will also replace the card for free if you lose it.

And it’s not just the lack of fees that is great about this account. You can also receive paychecks up to two days early⁴ with direct deposit. There are also 60,000 ATMs⁵ in the Chime network, ensuring that you are never too far from your cash.

There are some disadvantages, however. For instance, there is a $2.50 fee for using out-of-network ATMs, and you cannot use any ATM to deposit cash. Chime has partnered with over 90,000 retailers to assist with cash deposits, but the vast majority of them also charge deposit fees. Additionally, there is no option for a joint account, which can be limiting.

Savings Accounts

There is only one savings account option available with Chime. Many of the advantages of the checking account also apply to the savings account. No monthly fees, opening deposit, or balance requirements are all still attractive regardless of the account type. There is also no limit on the interest you can earn.

They also offer two optional automated features that make saving easier. One is the rounding function, where every time you make a purchase with your checking account, it rounds to the nearest dollar and the extra cents are automatically put into your savings.

The second feature is the Save When You Get Paid⁶ option to automatically transfer 10% of direct deposits from into savings from your checking if they are $500 or more, so you won’t be tempted to touch it.

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The only downside is the interest rate. The APY return on the account is only ⁹. While that is higher than many traditional banks and even the national average, for an online fintech platform, it is on the lower end.

Secured Credit Card

Another feature that might persuade you to give Chime a shot is the Chime Credit Builder Visa^® Card⁷. As the name suggests, this is very useful for people trying tobuild credit and does not discriminate against users based on their credit scores. The only requirement is that you receive at least $200 per month into your Chime checking account⁸.

While they do not take past credit history into account, they will report your spending to the relevant credit bureaus, giving you the chance to boost your credit.

You need to put a certain amount in your builder account as collateral to obtain your credit limit.

Most secured cards have high interest rates or annual fees, but Chime has neither, so you can start spending with confidence.¹⁰

Banking Experience

Overall, most of Chime’s users are very happy with their online banking experience. Its clear and functional mobile app has earned a 4.8-star rating on the Apple App Store, and a 4.7-star rating on the Android App Store.

Most users love the ease with which they can connect with customer service via the app and the beginner-friendly interface. At the other end of the spectrum, there are occasional bugs and outages that annoy customers, but these issues are resolved quickly.

Comparable Neobank Options

If you’re looking for an alternative to Chime, check out these two options.

Ally Bank

Ally is similar to Chime in that it is an online bank with no brick-and-mortar branches and has low fees.

Where Ally really shines compared to Chime is in the diversity of their account offerings and services. While Chime mainly offers savings and checking accounts along with a secured credit card, Ally provides a wide range of products including money market accounts and various types of CDs, as well as loan servicing.

In contrast to Chime, Ally also offers higher returns on their savings accounts, with a APY for all balance tiers. Similar to their money market accounts, there are no monthly maintenance fees.

The only thing Ally doesn’t have is a credit card, which Chime does. If you are looking for simple banking, a great app and the ability to improve your credit score, then Chime is a great option. However, if you need more than that, Ally would be better suited to meet your needs.

SoFi Bank

Like Ally, SoFi is another online bank that mirrors many of the same good points as Chime but also offers much more. Not only does it offer a plethora of products that Chime does not, such as loans, mortgages, investing, business financing and insurance, but it also provides interest on the money in your checking account, as well as more than double the APY in their savings account at compared to Chime’s .

SoFi also has its own credit card, but they do credit checks. So, if you have a low credit score, it might not be an option for you. At the end of the day, Chime is easier to use and has a better web interface. However, for any other financial needs, Chime simply does not have the same capabilities.

Final Take

Is Chime the most comprehensive bank or financial product in the world? No, but that’s okay. For many people, all they want is a simple and fee-free way to spend and save money, and that’s where Chime excels. Additionally, many individuals with low credit scores are looking for a way to improve their credit, and in that case, Chime is a good option. However, if you’re a finance enthusiast or someone with multiple businesses or properties who needs a comprehensive suite of financial products, it would be wise to explore other options.

More on Chime Bank

• Chime Account Promotions
• Chime ATM Withdrawal and Deposit Limits
• Where to Load Your Chime Card
• Chime vs. Varo

Cynthia Bowman and Daria Uhlig contributed to the reporting for this article.

*Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.

¹There’s no fee for the Chime Savings Account. Cash withdrawal and Third-party fees may apply to Chime Checking Accounts. You must have a Chime Checking Account to open a Chime Savings Account.

²Once the retailer accepts your cash, the funds will be transferred to your selected Chime Account. Barcode and debit card cash deposits land in the Checking Account. Credit Builder card cash deposits first go through your Card Account and then land in your Secured Account. Cash deposit fees may apply if using a retailer other than Walgreens and Duane Reade.

³SpotMe® on Debit is an optional, no fee overdraft service attached to your Chime Checking Account. To qualify for the SpotMe on Debit service, you must receive $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to your Chime Checking Account each month and have activated your physical Chime Visa® Debit Card or secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card.Qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their Chime Checking Account for up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially but may later be eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. The SpotMe on Debit limit will be displayed within the Chime mobile app and is subject to change at any time, at Chime’s sole discretion. Although Chime does not charge any overdraft fees for SpotMe on Debit, there may be out-of-network or third-party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe on Debit will not cover any non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. SpotMe on Debit Terms and Conditions.

⁴The Chime Credit Builder Visa® Card is issued by Stride Bank, N.A., pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted.

⁵Out-of-network ATM withdrawal and over the counter advance fees may apply. See here for details.

⁶Save When I Get Paid automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposits of $500 or more from your Checking Account into your savings account.

⁷Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. Chime generally makes these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.

⁸To apply for Credit Builder, you must have received a single qualifying direct deposit of $200 or more to your Checking Account. The qualifying direct deposit must be from your employer, payroll provider, gig economy payer, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit OR Original Credit Transaction (OCT). Bank ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, verification or trial deposits from financial institutions, peer to peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo, mobile check deposits, cash loads or deposits, one-time direct deposits, such as tax refunds and other similar transactions, and any deposit to which Chime deems to not be a qualifying direct deposit are not qualifying direct deposits.

⁹The Annual Percentage Yield (“APY”) for the Chime Savings Account is variable and may change at any time. The disclosed APY is effective as of September 20, 2023. No minimum balance required. Must have $0.01 in savings to earn interest.

¹⁰Out-of-network ATM withdrawal and OTC advance fees may apply. View the Bancorp agreement or Stride agreement for details; see back of card for issuer.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 4, 2023.

To determine rankings for the Best Neobanks, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (2) minimum needed to earn APY; (3) savings APY; (4) products/services offered (credit cards and investment services); (5) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores; and (6) number of extra benefits and perks unique to neobanks. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being the best. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, and factors (3) and (6) were weighted 2 times.