Chime Review

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Business Insider’s personal finance team compared Chime to the best banks and found it to be a standard offering. Chime is a fintech company, so it has limited banking services compared to online banks.

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 Overview

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.

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 4.7 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store. You can email, call, or talk via live chat with Chime representatives 24/7.

Chime Pros and Cons

Chime Pros

• Good accounts for people with low credit scores or poor banking history
• Low-fee checking and savings accounts
• A $0 minimum deposit for a checking or savings account
• Receive your paycheck up to two days early
• Automatic savings plans
• Free tax filing if you have an account

Chime Cons

• Must open a checking account to qualify for the savings account
• Doesn’t offer a CD or money market account
• No joint accounts
• Low savings rate compared to other online banks
• Can’t overdraw your account by more than $200

Banking Options with Chime

Chime offers several different products, including a checking account, a savings account, and a credit card designed to help build your credit. It also offers free tax filing services for its members.

Chime Checking Account

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.

The Chime checking account’s lack of monthly service fees and low amount of other fees means Chime is a good banking option for free checking accounts.

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.

While Chime doesn’t charge overdraft fees, it also only lets you overdraw your account by up to $200. The best banks for overdraft protection might let you overdraw your account by a larger amount.

Chime Savings Account

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.

Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card

The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card helps you build credit without requiring a credit check to qualify. The Chime Credit Builder 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).

This is a secured credit card, which means your Chime credit card limit is determined by how much money you have in your Credit Builder secured account. For example, if you have $100 in your secured account, you’ll have a $100 credit limit; you don’t have a set credit limit when you open your card. That being said, you have a daily credit limit of $10,000, no matter how much is in your account.

Chime Tax Return

Chime offers a free tax return service for its members through April Tax Solutions and Column Tax. Chime’s website says that its free tax software doesn’t charge any fees for filing both state and federal taxes, although the website’s fine print mentions that you might have to pay if you decide to buy other optional financial products offered in relation to your tax filing.

If the tax return software makes a mistake that results in you having to pay money to the IRS that you wouldn’t have to otherwise, Chime’s tax software partners will reimburse you up to a total of $10,000. If you find an error in the preparation that lowers your total refund, april will let you amend your return for free. Column Tax will reimburse you for up to $250 if you are able to get a higher federal or state tax return or lower refund elsewhere.

If you choose to direct deposit your tax return into your Chime account, you could get your return up to six days early.

Chime’s website says it covers the most common tax situations, including salary and self-employed income, freelance and gig work income, unemployment income, crypto or stock sales, and itemized tax deductions.

Is Chime Trustworthy?

Chime has a B- 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+. Chime has this rating to the high number of customer complaints on the BBB website, as well as the government action taken against the business.

In 2024, the CFPB required Chime to pay a $3.25 million penalty. The CFPB says that Chime did not give customers timely refunds when their accounts were closed, which caused significant financial harm to consumers. The CFPB also required that Chime provide at least $1.3 million to the consumers it harmed.

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 Alternatives

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 poor credit or banking history because it will accept your application and help you increase your credit score.

Ally Bank Review

Chime vs. Capital One 360

Capital One 360 is an online bank that 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 your banking history before approving your application.

Capital One 360 Bank Review

Chime Banking Fees and Charges

Chime’s banking options are low on fees, making them a good choice if you don’t want to worry about monthly bank maintenance fees. Chime’s savings account, checking account, and credit card all have zero monthly service fees.

If you get a Chime checking account, you’ll need to pay a $2.50 out-of-network ATM fee if you use an ATM that isn’t in Chime’s network. You’ll also probably have to pay a third-party fee charged by the out-of-network ATM. The best banks to avoid ATM fees both don’t charge out-of-network ATM fees and reimburse third-party ATM fees.

Why Chime is Legit

Chime has good bank products, but it isn’t a bank itself. That being said, Chime is still legit, and its banking products are still covered by the FDIC.

Despite not being a bank, Chime is a legitimate banking service. Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank, but it partners with two banks to provide and back its bank accounts: Stride Bank and The Bancorp Bank. Your money is actually being held in bank accounts offered by those two banks, which means the money in your checking account and savings account are FDIC-insured for up to $250,000.

Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed Chime

To review Chime, we used the Personal Finance Insider bank account methodology. Each account receives a rating between one and five stars.

We look at ethics, security, miscellaneous features, 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.

We use a weighted average to get our star rating, which means we weigh certain features, like interest rates and fees, at a higher weight percentage than others. We understand that these areas can more heavily impact a person’s overall banking experience.

Chime Overall Rating

Chime FAQs

Laura Grace Tarpley, CEPF

Personal Finance Reviews Editor

Kit Pulliam

Banking reporter

Kit Pulliam (they/them) is a banking expert who specializes in certificates of deposit, savings accounts, and checking accounts. They’ve been reporting, editing, and fact-checking personal finance stories for more than four years. ExperienceIn college, Kit worked as an undergraduate research assistant in a psychology lab. While there, they found that they were passionate about writing and helping others write about topics that matter.Before Business Insider, Kit was an editorial specialist for Tax Analysts, diving into the tax code to help readers get the best information about a confusing but necessary subject.They find banking similar to taxes in that way: There are some things everyone needs to know because just about everyone needs to work with a bank — and you don’t want to end up with an account that doesn’t serve your needs.As interest rates change, they enjoy the fast pace of reviewing rates for products like CDs and high-yield savings, which can change daily and have a direct impact on readers’ money.Their work has been featured in Business Insider and MSN. They were part of the My Financial Life series with Business Insider.ExpertiseTheir expertise includes:

• Certificates of deposit
• Savings accounts
• Checking accounts
• CD rates
• Bank reviews

EducationKit is an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where they studied English and psychology and received the Jum C. Nunnally Honors Research Award for their senior thesis.Outside personal finance, Kit enjoys reading, film, video games, and cross stitching. They are based in the DC area.

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Evelyn He

Compliance and Operations Associate