Chime (company)

Chime Financial, Inc. is an American financial technology company based in San Francisco, California. It provides fee-free mobile banking services through two national banks, Stride Bank and The Bancorp Bank.[2][4][5][6]

Chime offers early access to paychecks, negative account balances without overdraft fees,[2] high-yield savings accounts, peer-to-peer payment services,[7] and an interest-free secured credit card.[8] It does not charge monthly service fees or overdraft fees, or require minimum balances. Most of its revenue comes from interchange fees on debit card transactions.[9] On June 12, 2025, Chime became public via an initial public offering.

Chime is not a bank. It is able to offer its services via its relationships with banks; customer funds are routed to a chartered bank. FDIC insurance is available to users via the partnered banks, not directly through Chime, so customers may not be protected against some failures.[10][11] In 2021 and 2022, Chime was criticized for closing customer accounts without notice and not returning funds in a timely manner.[12] In 2024, it was fined for poor handling of customer complaints and agreed to upgrade its customer service.

History

Chime was founded by Chris Britt (CEO) and Ryan King (CTO) in 2012[13] in San Francisco, California, as an alternative to traditional banking to serve less affluent communities and people living paycheck to paycheck.[14] The company launched on April 15, 2014, on the Dr. Phil Show.[15] As of 2021, Chime had raised $2.3 billion in private funding. In 2022, it was named one of Fortune's Best Places to Work.[16][17] One of Chime's early growth drivers was its introduction of early paycheck access, which advanced funds to customers based on ACH payment notifications rather than waiting for official settlement.[18]

On October 16, 2019, Chime experienced a service outage leaving users without access to their deposits. The issue was resolved the next day.[19]

In January 2020, Chime announced a partnership with the Dallas Mavericks as their jersey sponsor as a part of a multi-year deal.[20] Chime had 8 million account holders in February 2020.[21]

In April 2020, in response to the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chime announced a pilot program to provide users who e-filed tax returns with the IRS a $1,200 advance on the Economic Stimulus Payment via SpotMe, Chime's fee-free overdraft product.[22] Chime later announced the successful processing of over $375 million in stimulus payments one week before the scheduled government disbursement date.[23]

In August 2021, Chime Financial raised $750 million in a series G funding round, led by investor Sequoia Capital Global Equities,[24] giving the company a valuation of about $25 billion.[24] In September 2021, Chime leased 192,000 square feet of office space across six floors in a San Francisco building owned by Hines.[25] According to a report by Forbes, Chime had planned to hold an initial public offering (IPO) in March 2022. The company delayed its IPO, however, in February 2022.[26] Chime laid off 160 positions, equalling 12% of its workforce, in November 2022.[27]

As of May 2024, the company, which operated under a hybrid work model, reported having 1,300 employees and 7 million customers.[28] At the time, it was processing $8 billion worth of transactions monthly. Chime's revenue in 2023 was approximately $1.3 billion. The company's customers are largely made up of young Americans with incomes ranging from $35,000 to $65,000 annually.[28]

In 2024, Chime was named to the CNBC Disruptor 50 list[29] and had approximately 22 million customers.[30]

Chime issued publicly traded stock on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker symbol “CHYM” in June, 2025. Chime went public on June 12 after raising $864 million in its IPO, valuing the company at $11.6 billion.[31][32][33]

In September 2025, the company introduced the Chime Card, a no-annual-fee secured credit card with 1.5% cash back in rotating categories.[34][35]

As of October 2025, Chime has an 'A+' rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), with 8,000 customer complaints during the previous 3 years.[36]

Products

Chime offers various fee-free banking products, including checking accounts with no minimum balance, an automated savings feature, high-yield savings accounts, peer-to-peer payments,[7] and an early paycheck feature.[38]

In September 2019, Chime launched SpotMe, a fee-free overdraft service that allows customers to overdraw their accounts by up to $100 without incurring a fee; once the overdraft limit is reached, purchases will be declined but no fees charged.[5]

In June 2020, Chime and Stride Bank launched Credit Builder, a credit card designed to help consumers build their credit history.[39] Chime was the most downloaded digital banking app in the U.S. during the first half of 2021, according to Apptopia.[40]

In 2024, Chime launched MyPay, an earned wage access (EWA) product that allows users to access up to $500 of wages before payday. MyPay has no mandatory fees or interest and does not require a credit check.[41]

In January 2025, Chime began offering federal and state tax filing services on its app.[42] Instant Loans became available in March 2025, allowing pre-approved members to access immediate funding up to $500.[43] In the same month, the company introduced Chime Plus, a membership tier that provides additional benefits to customers who receive qualifying direct deposits into their Chime accounts.[44] In September 2025, the company introduced the Chime Card, a no-annual-fee secured credit card that offers cash-back rewards on purchases. The Chime Card doesn't charge interest or require a credit check for approval.[34][35]

In April 2026, Chime announced the launch of Chime Prime, a premium membership tier offering rewards, including 5% cash back, to members who receive at least $3,000 in qualifying direct deposits each month.[45]

Consumer and regulatory problems

See also

• Challenger bank
• Financial technology
• Payment card industry