Everything to Know About Chime: Legitimacy, FDIC & Neobanking

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Determine if Chime is the best online fintech solution for your money

Co-authored by Hannah Dillon Reviewed by Alex Kwan

Last Updated: April 14, 2024 Fact Checked

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Is Chime legit?

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Chime Features

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Chime Fees

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Pros and Cons of Chime

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Pros and Cons of Neobanks

If you're looking to replace your traditional brick-and-mortar bank, you may have heard about Chime, an online financial technology company. Chime is a popular bank alternative, but you may be wondering if Chime is actually legit. While Chime isn't a bank, it offers online financial services via their partnered banks and is a legitimate financial service. Keep reading to learn more about Chime as well as its features, fees, and a pros and cons breakdown.

Things You Should Know

Chime is a legitimate financial service, but it is not technically a bank.
Chime is a neobank that partners with two FDIC insured banks to offer online banking services, but it is not FDIC insured itself.
Overall many online review aggregators give Chime favorable reviews, but some users have reported recent account closures with no notice.

Section 1 of 5:

Is Chime legit?

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Chime is a legitimate online financial service. Chime partners with The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A., which are both FDIC insured. ^{[1]
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Research source} Overall, Chime has good ratings from top trusted financial review aggregators, including NerdWallet, which gave Chime a 4 out of 5 star rating. ^{[2]
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- FDIC deposit insurance protects your money in the event of a bank failure or closure. Deposits include checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs (certificate of deposit accounts), and MMDAs (money market deposit accounts). ^{[3]
 X
 Research source} Deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category (i.e. trust accounts, business accounts, single accounts, etc.).
- While Chime's partner banks are FDIC insured, the FDIC does not insure the closure of non-bank entities such as neobanks. ^{[4]
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 Research source} This means that if one of Chime's partner banks closes, you are insured by the FDIC, but if Chime closes, you are not.
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It's what is known as a "neobank," which is an online tech company that provides banking services by working with partnered banks. As such, some people may feel uncomfortable because Chime has no brick-and-mortar banks and all money handling is done online. ^{[5]
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Research source} However, while neobanks are fintech companies, Chime's partnership with legitimate, FDIC-insured banks means your money will stay as safe as it would if you went through a traditional bank. ^{[6]
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Recently, customers have complained about Chime closing their accounts. Many users have submitted complaints with the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau stating that Chime closed their accounts without notice. ^{[7]
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Trustworthy Source
US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
U.S. government agency for protecting consumers in the financial sector
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- In 2021, Chime stated to ProPublica that many of these account closures were due to suspected fraud after government stimulus payments, though admitted some of these closures may have been a mistake. ^{[8]
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Section 2 of 5:

Chime Features

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Chime offers some services that traditional banks do. As Chime is not a bank, it doesn't offer everything a traditional bank can, such as loans, mortgages, wealth management, money orders, cashier's checks, and more. However, if you're just looking for a simple, online option for checking and savings accounts, Chime's offerings will fit your needs. Chime offers three different types of accounts: a checking, savings, and credit builder account.
- Checking account: Chime offers a standard checking account that can be opened by any U.S. resident who is 18 or older and has a valid social security number. Chime's checking account has no monthly or transaction fees, and you can deposit money via mobile deposit (paper checks) or in-person cash deposits at various retailers (such as Walmart, Walgreens, Target, or CVS). Chime checking accounts are, however, not eligible to be joint accounts.
- Savings account: Chime also offers a 2% APY savings account. You must have a Chime checking account before you can open a Chime savings account. You can transfer money over easily from your checking account, and Chime offers two automated savings programs to help you save after every transaction or direct deposit. You also don't need to maintain a minimum balance.
- Credit builder: Chime offers the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa Credit Card, which is aimed at helping users build their credit . To be eligible you must have a Chime checking account and must have received at least one $200 direct deposit into your Chime checking account from your employer. If you apply and are approved, you can deposit money into your credit builder card as a security deposit, which is the amount of money you can spend on the card.