If you’ve ever run into a situation with your bank where you were assessed an overdraft fee for an innocent mistake in balancing your checkbook, you’ll appreciate a new bank called Chime Bank.
Chime believes that your bank shouldn’t be making money off of your misfortune, and as such, they charge no maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and no bounced check fees. They even allow you to use over 24,000 ATMs for free.
But it doesn’t stop there. Not only is Chime a fee-free bank, but it also has a rewards program that gives you the incentive to save.
So let’s take a look at what Chime has to offer.
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Chime Bank History
Chime Bank is a new company, co-founded by Chris Britt and Ryan King in 2013. The company has raised over $12 million in venture funding, and as of this year has started to accelerate adding new users.
Chime’s banking partner is the Bancorp Bank. Bancorp Bank provides private-label banking solutions to a lot of banks like Chime, Simple, and others. They provide the banking back end, while the front end brand, presence, and software is created and maintained by Chime.
The company was founded with the idea of empowering people to make better financial choices. From their about us page:
We created Chime for one very powerful reason: to empower people to lead healthier financial lives. Sounds simple, right? But it isn’t. Managing money is hard, and too often banks aren’t making it easier. At Chime we’re dedicated to building a new kind of bank account that helps members get ahead by making the hard parts of managing money easy. How do we do this? By eliminating unnecessary fees and creating a service that puts members in control, helps them form healthy habits, and empowers their financial well-being.
Most bank accounts cost you money. We designed Chime differently, with a business model that doesn’t rely on fees to make a profit. Instead, Chime earns a small sum from Visa on Chime card transactions. So the more members spend, the more money we make. We share some of those earnings with our members so that the more you use your card, the more money you save. It’s a win-win.
Chime was founded to help encourage you to make better choices like saving more and to reward you for doing so. So let’s take a look at how Chime does that.
Signing Up For Chime (Get A $5 Bonus)
Chime is currently open for new users. Signing up for a free Chime spending account couldn’t be easier, and if you sign up through our link below, you’ll get a $5 bonus!
- First, Go to ChimeBank.com via this invite link, and enter your full name, email address, and a password.
- Next, enter the rest of your requested details.
- Link your existing checking account or set up a direct deposit to Chime.
Once you’ve set up your account it’s time to let Chime start working.
Chime Spending And Savings Accounts
So how does Chime work?
When you sign up for a Chime spending account you’ll receive a Chime Visa® Debit Card that you can use wherever credit cards are accepted. The debit card is linked to your Chime “spending account” (A spending account is like a checking account – but who uses checks anymore?).
If you want you can also open a savings account, which is needed if you want to enroll in their “Automatic Savings” rewards program (Trust me, you do. We’ll talk more about that below).
Safe and Secure
The Chime Bank account is FDIC insured up to $250,000 through their banking partner The Bancorp Bank, and your account comes with the Visa Zero Liability policy for any unauthorized purchase. While they don’t currently use chip cards, they do say they’re looking at that for the future.
Easy Direct Deposit Or Transfers
To fund your account you can easily set up direct deposit of your paycheck when you signup. Simply provide your Chime Bank routing number and spending account number to your employer or payroll provider and they’ll set it up to fund your account automatically when your paycheck comes through.
If you prefer you can also initiate a transfer from an existing external bank account to be sent to your Chime Bank account. If you initiate a transfer from your Chime Bank account, there are limits of $200 daily or $1,000/month, so transferring from the external bank is probably preferable.
Fee Free Account
Chime Bank accounts are as free of fees as you can get. They charge no maintenance fees, no overdraft fees, and no bounced check fees. Banks in the U.S make billions off of fees every year, in fact, Americans paid $33 billion in overdraft fees last year! One study of U.S. Bank fees found that the average annual fees for an account holder were about $290. By not having fees like the ones mentioned, you’re already ahead of the game.
Americans paid $33 billion in overdraft fees last year. Chime might be part of the solution.Click To Tweet
What fees does Chime charge? Chime charges a $2.50 out of network ATM fee. That’s it.
Using Chime Via Mobile
Chime works well on both desktop and Mobile, but since the bank is optimized for millennials, it works the best on your smartphone, either iOS or Android. The app has mobile notifications set up so that you can get daily balance notifications, as well as real-time notifications of spending on your account.
You can also use the app to find local ATM locations and to get instant cash back at some retailers.
You can also block your card temporarily in the app if you’ve misplaced it.
Automated Savings Program
One of the most exciting features of a Chime account is the automatic savings component of the account. So how does it work?
When you use the Chime Bank debit card they will round up every transaction to the nearest dollar, and put the money aside in the savings account for you.
The savings account has a 0.50% APR, which is decent, and the rewards and automation of savings only make it that much better.
So if you do a transaction for $1.55, it will round it up to $2 and move .45 cents in your savings account.
Plus they now have a new tool that allows you to automatically put 10% of your paycheck aside when the money hits your account.
Chime Bank: Give Your Savings A Bump
Chime is an interesting banking option, that could be useful for a lot of people. I’m a big fan of products that take important ideas – like saving for the future – and make them easier and more automatic.
With the automatic savings program, Chime makes saving money pain-free and easy. Tools to help you save automatically when your paycheck hits your account are a bonus.
Is Chime for everyone? Maybe not. They do have some limitations at this point including lower limits on transfers initiated from your Chime account, and limits on transaction amounts for the Chime Checkbook ($5,000/transaction or $10,000 per month). They also don’t do joint accounts currently. If you can get beyond those things, however, I’d recommend giving Chime Bank a try.
What have you got to lose? It’s free – and if you sign up now through the Bible Money Matters link below, you’ll get a $5 opening deposit!
Start Saving Automatically With Chime Bank. Get Your $5 Bonus!
| Micro Saving/Investing Site | Fee | Account Minimum | Bonuses | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dobot | FREE | None | $5 New Account Bonus (Bible Money Matters readers) | Review |
| Twine App | FREE for cash accounts. 0.60% of account balance for investment accounts. | $5 | $5 New Account Bonus (Bible Money Matters readers) | Review |
| Qapital | $3/month | None | $5 New Account Bonus (Bible Money Matters readers) | Review |
| Acorns | $1/month under $5k. 0.25% of account balance above $5k. Free for college students. | None | Review | |
| Chime Bank | FREE | None | $5 New Account Bonus (Bible Money Matters readers) | Review |
| Stash Invest | $1/month under $5k. 0.25% of account balance above $5k. | $5 | $5 New Account Bonus (Bible Money Matters readers) | Review |
| Rize Money | Pay What's Fair Model (Free?) | None | Review | |
| Digit | $5/month | None | Review | |
| M1 Finance | FREE (fees for add-on services) | None | Review |
Chime Bank
Pros
- Fee free account
- Well done mobile app
- Automatic savings program
- Bonus rewards
- $5 signup bonus
Cons
- No joint accounts
- Low limits
This sounds amazing, do you know if this available in Canada?
I checked their FAQ and it says,
So I’m assuming that means Chime is not open to residents of Canada at this time. Sorry, I guess living north of the U.S. Border means you can’t have nice things. :(
Chime Bank is a scam and will steal your money. Do not trust them with your money. Myself and 3 of my friends ALL had their accounts frozen. When FROZEN you will never receive your money. I lost $16,522. My friends similar amounts. They will use any excuse to freeze your account and use the term “suspicious activity”. And after sending all required documents they still will not allow you to access your funds..
Letters to the completely useless BBB and CFPB do not help. Nothing helps. You cannot file a lawsuit because they use PO Boxes. Can’t serve a PO box.
All these Online banks are horrible but Chime is the absolute worst…You have been warned.
I definitely agree Chime bank is no good, recently my stimulas check was deposited into the account, I received an email that to me it look euthenics, the email said my card was being used at Walmart for 500$, and less than two minutes I received a call from someone who said they are with Chime Bank security,and they need to secure my account so I wouldn’t have to pay the 500$, the man on the phone said they will send me a password and I must enter the password which was CHIMEBANK20, so I thought this was legit, and the end the phone call was disconnected and my money was gone, I reported it immediately, and I had to send in screen shots of the texts the scammer sent to my phone, and send in the dispute application, and the firs representative said I may get all my money back or some, also the agent said they have had several calls with the same issue, within the next two weeks I received the money that was taken, then I get an email saying Chime found no error and I Must pay it back, so what i did was redirected my payroll deposit to my other account. I was scammed and they know but did’t care that I have been getting my job checks direct deposit with them for some time now..When you need them they want be there and they pretty much let you know They don’t give a Damn. Worst bank ever.
I back your statement…I lost $366.00 from a fraudulent charge. I’d had a Chime Checking account for a few months with no issues. But on April 16th, 2020, I received a notification that an Out of Network ATM Withdrawal of $363.50 was posted to my account. I immediately reached out to Chime, as I was sitting at my desk at work, bank card in purse, and had not withdrawn this money. Chime support staff informed me that they could not dispute the charge until it posted. It finally posted to my account on Saturday, April 18th. The bank tacked on an additional $2.50 fee for an out of network ATM. I called Chime support and opened a claim right then, and they cancelled my debit card, issuing me a new card. They informed me there would be a provisional credit added to my account while they investigated the transaction. I asked where the ATM was located that this charge came through, and it was showing the location on the far south side of Chicago, where I have never been before. After trying to explain this to the representative, and asking if they could have someone check the video footage of the ATM, I was assured that “these things happen sometimes” and that it would be cleared up shortly. I received my new debit card in the mail 5 days later and activated it. I also was continuing to receive push notifications on my cell from the Chime app that transactions were being denied from my old card because it was reported lost/stolen. I took screen shots of these notifications and sent them to Chime via email with the claim ID# included to justify my case more so…there was no response. I followed up via phone 7 days after opening the claim to request a status update, and the representative informed me that I should receive the provisional credit no later than April 29th. April 29th arrived, but still no credit. Instead, I received an email from the bank claiming that they found no evidence of fraudulent activity on my account, and therefore no funds would be returned to me. Confused, and frustrated, I opened a complaint/case with the Better Business Bureau and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on April 29th, 2020. After these organizations pushed for a response on the claim, I finally received a response from Chime regarding their decision to not honor my case on May 13th, 2020:
“Investigation result:
As you mentioned, card was in possession and pin was memorized during the disputed transaction occurred.”
What a complete load of nonsense. To this day, I am still $363.50 in the hole, and I have since closed my Chime account. Let this be a testament or the reason to stay away from Chime bank. This happened to me, and I can only speak from my own experience, but do not leave your money in the hands of this bank. You may get your direct deposit a few days earlier than with other banks, but it’s a dangerous gamble, as your money is not protected.
I’ve been using Chime for over 2 years now and for a good part of that they were my main bank. I never really had any issues with them. Now they are used as my secondary bank for transferring funds and savings. Love them
If you wanna try them out, you can use my referral for the 50$ bonus!
https://chime.com/r/normanellsworth
Although, chime is a fee-free bank and you receive early direct deposits, their customer service is horrible! I’ve been a customer for about 6 months. I found out on Monday, while trying to purchase food for my family at walmart, that my card and funds were blocked due to an unauthorized charge I have no knowledge of. It’s going on day three of this so-called investigation and no one is able to give me any answers. All of my funds are tied up in this investigation and I have no way to access it. I am one disgruntled customer and I don’t recommend this bank to anyone. It’s still much for them to learn about serving others.
Hi Charlotte,
We’re very sorry you had such a bad experience. Our system automatically flags any suspicious activity connected to your account, and that seems to be what happened in your case. Someone from our team has reached out to you to resolve the issue.
Again, we’re very sorry for the experience you had and hope to resolve this for you as quickly as possible.
– The Chime Team
Why has no one reached out to me. I can’t access my money. My hard earned money. I can’t eat, I can pay for my school books. I can pay to get o work, I’m gonna lose my job. I can’t do anything.
Did you get it resolved ? I just opened an account and worried it will happen to me since i shop a lot online.
Their customer service is terrible. I set up the account about 3 weeks ago. Set up my work direct deposit to go there. My debit card never arrived I have called them
Multiple times, they wouldn’t send me a new one for 10 days first person told me that they couldn’t next day a card even when I said I would pay for it. After the 10 days now somebody said they do have that capability, and that they were going to next day it, but it would go up for an approval, it’s 3 days later non card and now that I am calling in to inquire where is my card, the customer service line cannot be reached. Is this a real bank?! I am concerned my money is there and will be lost! Be cautious with this bank.
Hi Alejandra,
We apologize for the negative experience you had getting started with Chime. We’re working to improve the member experience in the future by expanding our Member Services team, and we are looking into ways to improve shipping speeds to prevent a situation like this from happening again.
We’re glad to see that you did receive your debit card! Thank you for giving us the opportunity to resolve the issue and for choosing to bank with Chime. We really appreciate having you as a member.
– The Chime Team
Hi my husband is with chime he loved chime but yesterday he was locked out and can’t get back in his password is write his email is write he even went in to chime settings my husband sent them his I’d and how did anyone get to talk to a person all we get is the stupid machine talking or online chat I have never her of a place that only gives a machine this means my husband is going to have to go some where else if they can’t help us
Just pray you never have any problems. Four day waits for email support. 20 min waits on the phone. And when you do get a hold of someone either way, they either don’t know what to do and need to you call back, tell you it’s not their fault and hang up, or recognize that something is going on, but refuse to tell you what that something is and give you no solution.
And if you don’t use direct deposit, do not use this card. I’ve had an account with chime for a while and never had a problem, I loved my account in fact, until I switched to a job at a small business that writes paper checks.To deposit your check you have to: a. cash the check and then use a green dot to load it which can be expensive b. use a mobile app that charges you 5% of the check or you have to wait 8-10 business days to avoid the fee or c. use the worthless mobile deposit function which may or may not accept your check depending on how chime is feeling that day, then get the run-around on why the check was not accepted.
Hi Elizabeth,
Firstly, we’d like to extend our apologies for the frustrating experience you’ve had. We appreciate your feedback, and we’re taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again in the future.
We’re currently expanding our Member Services team, and we’re also working to improve our Mobile Check Deposit feature, which is currently still in beta. Thank you for your patience as we make these changes.
– The Chime Team
How do I transfer money from my account in the UK,to my sons account with chime in Fort worth,Texas
Hi Nancy,
We recommend using TransferWise to move money from your account to your son’s Chime account. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to support@chimebank.com if you have any further questions!
– The Chime Team
NEVER BANK WITH CHIME CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE THEY ARE NEVER WILLING TO HELP NO MATTER HOW LONG YOU HAVE BEEN WITH THEM OR HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE PAID IN I’M SO DISAPPOINTED IN CHIME. I HAD SO MUCH FAITH IN THEM UNTIL NOW SAD TO SAY, BUT AFTER ALL THIS TIME I WILL BE TAKING MY BUSINESS ELSEWHERE. YOU SHOULD RETRAIN YOUR REPS NEVER TO HANG UP ON A LONG TIME CUSTOMER I WOULD RATE CHIME AN F
Hi Dana,
We’re very sorry to hear about your frustrating experience, and we are working to improve our member experience by expanding our Member Services team.
Again, we apologize for the experience you had and hope to win you back in the future.
– The Chime Team
I have had nothing but a positive experience with Chime this is the best bank i have used in 30 years! The customer service is great. They responded promptly and although I was having trouble getting my retirement check direct deposit from CALPERS the staff at Chime were really understanding communicated promptly and helped resolve my problem to the absolute best of there ability. Way to go this is the future of banking.
Good Morning Mr Peter
Thanks for sharing positive insights about Chime.Can UK residents use this bank as the app is not yet available in the Uk?
Thanks
Best Regards
shola
I don’t believe it is available to UK residents yet. Thanks for stopping by!
Interesting business model. Hopefully it gains traction and people begin to save more and avoid those awful fees.
Customer service so bad you’ll think I made it up but if it gets one person to avoid these sheisters it’s worth it. I guess stealing directly is more honest than taking your money in fees so theres that.One night I noticed when I spent money a nearly duplicate charge went through within 15 minutes. I noticed because while trying to buy toilet paper my card was declined even though it should gave had hundreds. Of all the times to buy TP, right? I went online and shut down my debit card when my disabled 8 year old got food poisoning. So it was a few days later when I called Chime about my stolen card, although the card never left my possession. Yet the duplicate charges weren’t online they were at my small town Walmart. If so the thief apparently followed me around and only stole from me in my presence? Makes no sense. Who else could it be but the bank. So I call Chime to dispute the charges and was told I’d be sent paperwork and be credited in 10 days. The paperwork never came. I called and they said they’d send again but still nothing. On the 10th day when I went to see if there was a credit and call again my account suddenly gets suspended. This is already overlong but what followed was a nightmare. Hours on the phone and 2 dozen emails later they finally unsuspend my account after I threaten to go to the bbb, etc. At one point I was told they didnt even know their supervisors name and I was lucky they were doing it at all. By then my paycheck was delayed nearly a week so all my bills had late fees and you guessed it, I still haven’t gotten any paperwork or credit. Oh, and getting direct deposit 2 days early? I used to but now my paycheck is always late. I guess they don’t need access to my money early when I’m not going to let them steal as they please. So if you want to earn no interest with a company that not only causes the loss of hundreds of dollars, is also vindictive if you object – bank with Chime.
I have a similar situation. Chime has a new program they started about three months. Its call Pay Friend Transfer. Since they started that I have had money taken out of my account. The first time I disputed it, I got my money back. The second time I didn’t. This month. They took all of my money out. I am disabled, dietbetic insulin depended, which has to be refridgerated, and 65 years old. I got evicted from my apartment because I did’nt have my rent money. I had called chime one hour after I saw that the money was gone to cancel that transfer. Well I have been calling chime every day to see if they are going return my money. I am going through the same you did, all the bull they gave you. This is the tenth day and I still have not gotten my money back, and living on the streets at 65 years old and no way to take insulin.
I absolutely LOVE this bank/app! I’m wondering how old these other reviews are, because everything must’ve improved since they all posted the negative reviews. I have used Chime bank for a couple of years now. I’ve never had even 1 issue at all. I even actually received the $50 referral bonus, as did the person whom I referred! When Wells Fargo, Bank of A etc etc all crash when their corruption catches up to them, branchless banks such as Chime will still be around. This was my incentive to switch to chime as it is. Also, they used to give you rewards and bonuses frequently, but I haven’t seen them lately. I’m thinking they’ll regret the ‘no fees’ deal soon, and as far as customer service goes, nearly everything can be handled via app or automated phone system. If it can’t be, all you have to do is say speak to an operator 3 times in the menu and you’ll be transfered to a person… Like the rest of the automated systems do. People just want to complain when they’re frustrated, and I understan that, but they shouldn’t be misrepresenting a company in reviews because they are upset at something that they could’ve prevented in the first place. Good job chime bank!
I do not believe that another debit card was sent. I do not believe that an original debit card was sent.
I have seen reviews online and it seems chime is just terrible. You guys send generic messages and honestly don’t care about customers.
A real bank would make a way for someone to gain access to their money.
Let’s say that this next “Debit Card” doesn’t arrive, what does that mean. another 2 weeks without access to my funds.
I’m sure this is not the first time ya ran into this problem. I read about them from about 5 different websites.
You won’t get away with stealing from people. I’ve screenshot my account and warned other people, and ill be making facebook announcements because I refuse to stand by and let people get scammed. Its been an entire weekend, no one has tried to waiver the rules, and don’t tell me the rules are the rules because everyone knows there’s always someone to help out a little extra.
Give Me Access To My Money!!!
Watch how they reply with a generic message, saying “We deeply apologize, were working on “insert crap”…”
Don’t get this card! You can not talk to a live person. They are there to help out. This card is a joke and will let everyone know.
Never had any problems until last week. Deposits are late and now I can’t even login to the Chime app or online. Tried calling and get a “They are having technical difficulties” automatic voice response.
Consider your options before signing up for this card. Chime customer service is terrible. Don’t sign up for this card. If you ever have a disputed transaction, you’ll be waiting 2+ weeks for any communication, with no access to your money. This card used to be a suitable replacement to a traditional bank, it is not, I repeat, NOT a suitable replacement. Use any of your other options before Chime.
How about reporting fraudulent use? I am having an issue with being able to contact my bank about a fraudulent transaction that is now being processed.
Does anyone in authority read and respond to the negative comments? I am trying to decide if this bank is a good and reasonable option.
I Agree that Chime Bank is a scam and will steal your money. Dave is right — Do not trust them with your money. I had $4500 stolen by Chime /Bank, My friends all have had similar amount experiences. And, yes, They will use any excuse to freeze your account and use the term “suspicious activity”. Going on 2 years and still they won’t allow me my money.
I have written the better business bureau Nothing helps.
Chime is the absolute worst. CHIME BANK IS EVIL. Don’t believe their responses here. They will take your money