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no monthly service fee
None
$0
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- Receive your paycheck up to 2 days early
- Rounds debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and puts spare change in your Chime Savings Account
- No overdraft fees for overdrafts up to $200 with SpotMe®, if you qualify
- No foreign transaction fees
- Request checks be sent to recipients online
- Can deposit cash at select retailers
- $2.50 out-of-network ATM fee
- No overdraft protection for overdrafts exceeding $200
- No physical checkbook
Chime has one of the best checking accounts out there, but it doesn't offer joint accounts or pay the best savings rate. Its strongest feature is that it's great for people who might not qualify to open accounts elsewhere — it doesn't check your credit score or banking history when you apply for a checking account, savings account, or credit card. It also provides several credit-building tools.
- Get paid up to 2 days early with direct deposits
- 60,000 free ATMs nationwide through MoneyPass® and Visa® Plus Alliance
- Free cash deposits at Walgreens; May deposit cash at other select retail locations but you may be charged a fee
- Rounds debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and moves spare change into your Chime Savings Account
- Qualify for SpotMe® overdraft protection by receiving $200 in direct deposits per month
- Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.
The bottom line: Chime has one of the best checking accounts out there, but it doesn't offer joint accounts or pay the best savings rate. Its strongest feature is that it's great for people who might not qualify to open accounts elsewhere — it doesn't check your credit score or banking history when you apply for a checking account, savings account, or credit card. It also provides several credit-building tools.
Chime Overall Rating
| Feature | Personal Finance Insider Rating (out of 5) |
| Checking | 4 |
| Savings | 4.25 |
| Trustworthiness | 3 |
| Total | 3.75 |
Chime Pros and Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
Chime Spending Account Review
no monthly service fee
None
$0
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- Receive your paycheck up to 2 days early
- Rounds debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and puts spare change in your Chime Savings Account
- No overdraft fees for overdrafts up to $200 with SpotMe®, if you qualify
- No foreign transaction fees
- Request checks be sent to recipients online
- Can deposit cash at select retailers
- $2.50 out-of-network ATM fee
- No overdraft protection for overdrafts exceeding $200
- No physical checkbook
Chime has one of the best checking accounts out there, but it doesn't offer joint accounts or pay the best savings rate. Its strongest feature is that it's great for people who might not qualify to open accounts elsewhere — it doesn't check your credit score or banking history when you apply for a checking account, savings account, or credit card. It also provides several credit-building tools.
- Get paid up to 2 days early with direct deposits
- 60,000 free ATMs nationwide through MoneyPass® and Visa® Plus Alliance
- Free cash deposits at Walgreens; May deposit cash at other select retail locations but you may be charged a fee
- Rounds debit card purchases up to the nearest dollar and moves spare change into your Chime Savings Account
- Qualify for SpotMe® overdraft protection by receiving $200 in direct deposits per month
- Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.
The Chime® Checking Account is a good low-fee account — there are no monthly service fees, foreign transaction fees, or overdraft fees. Chime does charge a $2.50 for using an out-of-network ATM, though.
Early direct deposit allows you to receive your paycheck up to two days early. This helps you both access your money sooner, and transfer money into your savings account to start earning interest sooner.
Chime Savings Account Review
no monthly service fee
2.00%
$0
- Competitive APY
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fee
- Option to round debit card purchases to the nearest dollar and put spare change in savings account
- Option to automatically save a percentage of your paycheck
- Must open Chime Spending Account before savings account
- Deposit cash at Green Dot locations, which may charge fee
- Round debit card purchases to the nearest dollar to put spare change into savings account
- Set up a percentage of your paychecks to be put into savings account
- Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.
The Chime Savings Account makes it easy to automatically save through two automatic savings options. First, it will round any debit card purchase up to the nearest dollar and put the spare change into your savings account. Second, you can set up a percentage of your paycheck to immediately go into your savings account.
You must have a Chime® Checking Account before opening a Chime Savings Account, because the two often work in tandem.
About Chime
Chime is a banking platform, not a bank. However, your accounts are FDIC-insured through Chime's partner banks, Stride Bank, N.A. and The Bancorp Bank, for up to $250,000.
Chime has a checking and high-yield savings account. You must open a checking account to qualify for the savings account.
Chime checking and savings accounts do not require a credit check, and the platform doesn't look into your banking history through ChexSystems like most banks do. This means Chime has two of the best second chance bank accounts out there. Second chance accounts are for people who wouldn't normally qualify to open a bank account at another institution.
The company also offers the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card, which helps you build credit without requiring a credit check to qualify. The card is issued by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and may be used everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted (please see the back of your card for its issuing bank).
Chime has partnered with Experian to provide in-app integration of Experian Boost. Experian Boost is a service that lets you use on-time bill payments to build credit. Chime members will be able to connect Experian Boost to their Chime app and raise your FICO score over time.
The Chime mobile app has 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple store and 4.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store. You can email, call, or talk via live chat with Chime representatives 24/7.
Is Chime Trustworthy?
Chime has an A- rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB grades a company based on its honesty in its advertising, transparency about business operations, and responsiveness to customer complaints. The highest possible grade is an A but Chime has an A- due to the high number of customer complaints on the BBB website.
There has also been government action against Chime. Chime used the URL "Chimebank.com" as well as using the words "bank" and "banking," even though the company is not licensed to operate as a bank in any jurisdiction. In a 2021 settlement with The Commissioner of Financial Protection and Innovation, Chime agreed to make it clear in future advertising that it is not a bank.
Many users have filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying that Chime has unexpectedly closed their accounts and sometimes kept them from accessing their money.
Chime FAQs
Yes, Chime has legit checking and savings accounts. Its partner banks are Stride Bank, N.A. and The Bancorp Bank, which provide FDIC insurance on up to $250,000 in your Chime accounts.
Some of Chime's main downsides are that it doesn't have joint accounts, and it pays a lower savings rate than many other online high-yield savings accounts.
Chime may be worth it if you're looking for a strong checking account — the Chime® Checking Account doesn't charge monthly service, overdraft, or foreign transaction fees. It's also worth it if you have a poor credit or banking history. It doesn't check your credit score or banking history when you apply for an account, and it has several tools to help you boost your credit score.
Chime has a free overdraft protection program called SpotMe®. This program allows you to overdraw by up to $20, and your limit may go up to $200 depending on your Chime account history. SpotMe® has its pros and cons. On the plus side, it's free, and you don't have to link to a savings account for overdraft protection like you do with many banks. But you can only qualify for SpotMe® if you receive at least $200 in direct deposits per month.
You may withdraw up to $500 per day from an ATM with Chime. You can also make a total of $2,500 in debit card purchases per day.
How Chime Compares
Chime vs. Ally
Ally is an online bank that offers CDs and a money market account — so if you want to open either of these account types, it's the clear option. Chime only has checking and savings accounts. Ally savings rates are also much higher than Chime savings rates.
Chime is the better option if you need to deposit cash into your account, because you can deposit cash at select retailers (some retailers charge a fee). Ally allows you to deposit checks digitally, but not cash.
Chime is also the better option if you have a poor credit or banking history, because it will accept your application and help you increase your credit score.
Chime vs. Capital One 360
Capital One 360 offers checking, savings, and CD accounts. It's the obvious choice if you want a CD, since Chime doesn't offer CDs. It's also the better option if you want to open a savings account but not a checking account, as Chime requires you to have a checking account to qualify for savings.
Capital One also offers a high-yield savings account with a significantly better rate than what Chime pays. This account gives it a major edge over Chime.
Both institutions are great for second chance bank accounts, because they don't check banking history before approving your application.
Methodology: How We Reviewed Chime
To review Chime, we used the Personal Finance Insider bank account methodology. Each account receives a rating between 0 and 5.
We look at ethics, customer service, and the mobile app when rating each bank account. Other factors considered depend on which type of account we're reviewing. For example, we evaluate interest rates for savings accounts and overdraft fees for checking accounts.
Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC.
Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM. Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payment file from the payer. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
Chime SpotMe is an optional, no fee service that requires a single deposit of $200 or more in qualifying direct deposits to the Chime Checking Account each at least once every 34 days. All qualifying members will be allowed to overdraw their account up to $20 on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals initially, but may be later eligible for a higher limit of up to $200 or more based on member’s Chime Account history, direct deposit frequency and amount, spending activity and other risk-based factors. Your limit will be displayed to you within the Chime mobile app. You will receive notice of any changes to your limit. Your limit may change at any time, at Chime’s discretion. Although there are no overdraft fees, there may be out-of-network or third party fees associated with ATM transactions. SpotMe won’t cover non-debit card transactions, including ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers, or Chime Checkbook transactions. See Terms and Conditions.
