By : 
Mr Credit Card
Mr Credit CardBottom Line: Good for those Comfortable with an online bank or those looking to get the Chime Credit Builder
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About Chime
Chime is a financial technology (FinTech) company (not a bank) and offer their banking services through two partners, Bancorp Bank N.A. and Stride Bank N.A.
Bank Details
Second Chance Banking
When you open a checking or savings account with Chime, they do not check the ChexSystem. Hence, those who have their bank account closed and a record in the ChexSystem wil find that Chime will give you a second chance to establish a bank account.No Monthly Fee or Min Balance
Chime does not charge any monthly fee nor does it require any minimum balance to open and account. Best of all, unlike some online banks, there are no requirements to waive monthly fees. Chime does not charge not charge any.No Overdraft Fee - Protection for up to $200
Chime allows you to avoid overdraft fees by enrolling in SpotMe once you have activated your Chime Visa Debit Card and receiving a direct deposit of at least $200 a month. Once you have enrolled in SpotMe or the Chime Credit Builder Visa, your overdraft limit will start at $20 and gradually increase to $200 depending on your account activity and history.2 day early pay for payroll direct deposit
Chime will allow account holders to access their paycheck 2 days early if they set up a payroll direct deposit with Chime.$500 Line of Credit
Chime is one of the rare online banks that allows you to take a line of credit of up to $500 before payday to cover any short falls bank account to pay your bills. This feature has no credit ckecks and no interest and allows you to avoid getting payday loans to cover shortfalls due to payroll dates mismatch with your bills.Free Cash Deposits with st Walgreens
As online banks have no branches, you would have to go to their retail partners like Walmart, CVS and Dollar Tree to deposit any cash into your account. These retail outlets nornally charge $4.95. While Chime also allow you to deposit cash into your account via these partners (for a fee), you can deposit cash into your Chime account at Walgreens for free. Chime is one of the very rare online that allows free cash deposit with a retail merchant partner.Over 50,000 ATM locations
Most online banks partner with Allpoint ATM network (they have over 47,000 ATMs nationwide). Aside from partnering with Allpoint Network, Chime has also partnered with MoneyPass ATM at 7-eleven and Visa Plus Alliance ATM, thus giving their customers access to more in-network ATMs than their competitors.What You Should Be Aware of
No Joint Accounts
Chime does not allow joint accounts. It will probably not be a big for most people but for those who want to open a joint account, Chime is not for you.No Vaults
Unlike some online banks, Chime does not have vauts where you can divide your savings account into different sections, each for a different purposes.Low APY on Savings Accounts
At this moment, Chime's high yield savings account only offers you a 2% APY. This is lower than some of it's competitors who offer, 4%, 4.50% and even up to 5% APY on their online savings account.Competition
Chime vs Varo - Both Chime and Varo are similar in many ways. Like Chime, Varo has no fees and provides 2 days Early Pay on direct deposits. Varo also has no overdraft fees but they accomplish this by simply not allowing you to overdraft and will decline any transaction that will result in an overdraft. In contrast, Chime will spot you for up to $200 in overdraft amount if you have a direct deposit of at least $200.
Varo also offers cash advance of up to $500 with no interest charges (just like Chime). However, they do charge cash advance fees which varies depending on the amount of cash advance (which will be repaid on your next direct depost). When we factor in the cash advance fee, then it is not interest free and the effective rate is quite high.
Unlike Chime, which uses 2 banking partners, Varo is a FDIC insured bank. Varo's savings account also has a much higher APY (5% for up to $5,000 and 3% APY for the rest). This is in contrast to just 2% that Chime offers.
If having the ability to overdraft occasionally or get a interest-free and fee-free cash advance is more important to you, Chime is clearly better than Varo. But if you are looking for a high yielding savings account in an online bank, then Varo Savings Account is better.
Chime vs SoFi - Like Chime, SoFi does not perform any ChexSystem review. They are however, an FDIC insured bank and thus offer a wider range of traditional banking services including many types of loans. Unlike Chime, SoFi actually pays a 0.50% APY on their checking account and also provides 2-Days Early Pay on direct Deposits. SoFi also has no overdraft fee and gives you up to $50 overdraft protection if you have a direct deposit of at least $1,000. Unlike Chime, SoFi does not give any interest free loan prior to your payday to tide you over an unexpected or mismatch bill.
SoFi's savings account has a higher APY (4.60% vs 2%). Like Chime, SoFI also provides roundup savings and in addition, they provide savings vaults where you can separate your savings account into different vaults that you intend to use for different purposes.
Chime is better than SoFi in overdraft protection amount and lower requirements. They also offer up to $500 in interest and fee-free shor term loan to be paid from your direct deposit to tide you over your payday. SoFi is better than Chime in that it pays interest on their checking account and has higher APY on their savings account. SoFi also offers more tradtional banking products like loans (which Chime does not).
Chime vs Go2Bank - Go2Bank is another online bank from Green Dot that does not do any ChexSystem review. They do charge a $5 monthly fee unless you have a direct deposit set up. Go2Bank also has 2 days early pay on your paycheck if you set up direct deposit. It also has a overdraft protection whereby you can get protected for up to a $200 overdraft protection if you set up direct deposit. But you have to repay it in 24 hours to avoid fees. Go2Bank also does not have the up to $500 early payday line of credit which Chime has. However, like most other online bank, Go2Bank has much higher APY on their high yield savings account than Chime (4.5% vs 2%).
Our Take: Chime is a Great Second Chance Online Bank
Chime also has a unique secured credit card whereby you can actually use your security deposit to pay for your bills. I consider this one of the best secured credit cards available for rebuilders today.
Lastly, Chime is fee-free and has no minimum deposit requirements and you can also deposit cash for free at any Walgreens store.
To sum up, based on our evaluations and review, we are giving the Chime Bank Account a 4.5 out of 5 stars based on them allowing those with ChexSystem problems to get approved, their fee-free and no minimum deposit requirements, the 0% no credit check line of credit of up to $500 before payday and also the ability to get a no credit check Chime secured credit card after you have opened an account. The relatively low APY on their savings account (compared to other online banks) prevent us from giving it a higher rating.
If you have a record with ChexSystem, and/or find yourself constantly taking out payday loans to pay bills before your payday, then we highly recommend the Chime Online Banking Account.
Some Chime Customer Reviews
I have had Chime for over 5 years now and have no issues with them. There was an instance where Amazon servers went down a week and all their apps did not work. But other than that, I over the fact that there are no overdraft fees, Spot Me, direct deposits that was 2 days early. I even used their credit builder card which improved my FICO scores 100 points.
I bank with both Chase and Chime and I have to say that I prefer Chime to chase because their apps have more features and I can get my paycheck 2 days early. I have used MyPay a few times as well and it has helped with bills that arrive before my paycheck.
I used Chime with a couple of other bank accounts to manage my money and never had an issue with them. I also use their credit builder which has helped me boost my credit score by 50 points within 4 months and I was able to get a better credit card as a result.
I have been using Chime for 2 years and so far I have no issues. I even deposited checks using the Mobile app and to my surprise, it works.
I have Chime and I think it is ok if you are young and are ok with a mobile bank with no branches. But IMO, it is better to get a bank with actual branches so that if you have any problems, you can actually go to the branch and speak to someone. This beats speaking to bots and chat agents on the app.
I have Chime for the last 3 years as well other bank accounts with branches. I also get my paycheck 2 days early and though I think that some people may have had problems with this because of who processes their payroll. I like that Chime does not charge any overdraft fees whereas my other bank charges $25 and another $20. You can now also load cash into your Chime account for free at Walgreens.
Had Chime for 4 years and had no problems at all until my account was hit with a couple of fraudulant charges. After submitting all the evidence I have, Chime concluded their investigation saying there was no fraud. I have since closed my account.
All was good with Chime until I got hacked by an Amazon seller. I eventually got my money back after 90 days and it happened again. So I simply closed my account and opened a Capital One 360 (which has given me no problems so far).
