Chime Reviews
- 4,790,241 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
+1 more
About Chime
Chime is a financial technology company that aims to provide helpful and easy-to-use online banking services. You can open a checking account, a savings account with a 0.5% annual percentage yield and a secured credit card that helps increase your credit score. Chime charges no monthly fees and no overdraft fees. U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are at least 18 can apply on Chime’s website or using its app.
- 0.5% APY on savings account
- No-fee overdraft protection up to $200
- Secured credit card with no fees
- Over 60,000 fee-free ATMs
- Some services require direct deposit
- No joint accounts or secondary cards
Featured Reviews
What is Chime?
Chime is a fintech company partnering with two banks to offer “member-first” banking services online to members in all 50 states. It offers a checking account with a Visa debit card, a savings account with a 0.5% APY and a secured credit card that helps build credit. Other benefits include fee-free overdraft protection, early direct deposit and over 60,000 no-fee ATMs. There are no monthly fees or minimum balances.
Chime is based in San Francisco and has offices in Chicago and Vancouver, British Columbia. Members can reach customer service by phone seven days a week.
How does Chime work?
Chime is not a bank; it’s a fintech company that partners with two banks: The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank. It's online only, with no physical banking locations. Members can log in to their accounts on Chime’s website or using the app. There are no fees to set up and maintain a Chime checking account, savings account or secured credit card.
To be eligible to sign up with Chime, you need to be at least 18 and a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. with a valid Social Security number. Once you open an account, you get a Visa debit card. You also have the option to open a savings account and apply for a Credit Builder secured credit card. Chime also lets you:
- Set up direct deposit and get access to the funds up to two days early
- Send (including paper checks) and receive money without fees
- Withdraw cash without a fee from any MoneyPass ATM
- Deposit checks with mobile deposit
- Get fee-free overdrafts up to $200
- Get balance notifications and instant transaction alerts
Chime accounts
Chime has three types of accounts. When you become a Chime member, you open a checking account and receive your Visa debit card. You then have the option to open a savings account and apply for a secure credit card.
Checking
Chime offers an overdraft protection program, SpotMe, which gives you protection up to a limit (between $20 and $200) with no fees.
Savings
Two optional savings features allow customers to automatically transfer money to savings. With Round Ups, all purchases you make with your debit card are rounded up to the nearest dollar; Chime transfers the amount to your savings account. The Save When I Get Paid feature automatically transfers 10% of direct deposits of $500 or more from checking to savings.
Credit Builder
You can pay the monthly balance automatically with the Safer Credit Building feature. You can also pay manually. Chime reports to all three major credit bureaus. There is no credit check when you apply for the card, no annual fee and no interest.
Chime fees
Chime has no monthly fees and no overdraft fees. The only fee at Chime is a $2.50 charge for out-of-network ATM withdrawal or a withdrawal at a bank or credit union where you present your debit card.
You can also be charged a fee by an out-of-network ATM operator, third-party money transfer services or retailers other than Walgreens that allow you to make cash deposits to your checking account.
Chime FAQ
What bank is Chime?
Chime’s banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank. Both are FDIC-insured; accounts are insured up to $250,000 per depositor.
How does Chime Credit Builder work?
Chime Credit Builder is a secured Visa credit card that is designed to help members build credit. Chime reports to all three major credit bureaus. To apply, you need a Chime checking account and qualifying direct deposits of at least $200; no credit check is necessary.
Once you have the Credit Builder card, you can use it anywhere Visa is accepted and start building credit. Your credit limit is based on the amount of money you move from your checking account to the secured account. There are multiple ways to pay off your card each month, including Safer Credit Building, which automatically pays your balance.
What time does Chime direct deposit hit?
Direct deposit funds are available as soon as Chime receives the payment file from the payer. This can be up to two days earlier than the scheduled payment date. Chime recommends contacting the payer if you have questions about the timing of direct deposit.
How do I add money to Chime?
Members can transfer money electronically from other banks. They can also add money via direct deposit and mobile check deposit and by depositing cash at thousands of retail locations (free at Walgreens).
Is Chime a prepaid card?
No, neither the Chime Visa debit card nor the Credit Builder secured credit card is a prepaid card. The Credit Builder card is secured by the money you move into the secured account.
What are the cons of Chime?
Some of Chime’s services have eligibility requirements. SpotMe, the fee-free overdraft program, requires a qualifying direct deposit of at least $200 over the previous 34 days. Credit Builder, the secured credit card, also requires a $200 qualifying direct deposit.
Other cons of Chime are it doesn’t allow joint accounts or secondary cards, and it doesn’t have a rewards program.
Is Chime legit?
Chime is a legitimate financial technology company working with The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank, which are both FDIC-insured. Members in all 50 states use its mobile banking services, including Chime’s checking account, savings account and secured credit card, and benefit from overdraft protection, early access to direct deposit funds and easy sending and receiving of money — all with no fees. There are many fintech companies in the mobile banking space; consider comparing Chime with several others before deciding on the right one for you.
Chime Reviews
Filter by Rating
- (102)
- (21)
- (26)
- (55)
- (877)
Popular Mentions
- 4,790,241 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
A link has directed you to this review. Its location on this page may change next time you visit.
- 4,790,241 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2025
I really like the ease of Chime banking! I like the daily reminders of my balance. I think their app is the most simple app I have (and I have many!). If I could only have one app, Chime would be it. That said, my Chime wish list would include a sound notification when getting my direct deposit like a "Chime" alert - lol I find myself checking for hours waiting for my deposit, which is annoying. I also wish there was a way to connect Chime with Zelle. I have had a couple of issues with vendors that do not like working with Chime. Finally, I also heard Chime does not "report" as a credit card on credit reports and was advised to get rid of it by a debt consolidation business.
Reviewed Aug. 17, 2025
Only reason for not 5 stars? Changes fees have started when transferring funds. Not a lot but it's a slippery slope. Okay first let me say I have had time since the first year it was doing its thing.... There was a lot of stigma for a long time didn't matter to me though because in my opinion I was the smartest person I knew for having Chime instead of the other guys. However I will say this a handful of things have changed since I opened my account as time has went on chime is starting to now at the end of last year 2024 and now 2025 started trying to be more like it's competitors stupid? Very!
Is it nearly as bad as any of the other banking institutions or credit unions? No, nowhere's near. But I would like to add that I have certainly peeped the changes in the direction they are seemingly trying to head and I would love to cut them off before they get there and remind them that the only reason why they have all of the customers they have is because they are so different from the other guys. NO FEES. NO BS. NO FUSS. NO MUSS. It's the one bank where you truly feel like you're in the driver seat of your own finances. You want to checking account, Great. You want direct deposit, perfect. You want to savings account, even better. You want a credit builder because you need to build credit and your credit sucks and nobody will give you anything to help make it better? Chime's got your back there too!
You want to automatically have a percentage of your direct deposit go into your savings account, No worries. You want all of this with no additional fees, no BS, no oh we have to charge you for this and then we have to charge you for that and then we have to charge you for swiping your card then we have to tell you you have to pay so much money to just keep the account open. No you don't have to deal with none of that through CHIME! AND YOUR MONEY COMES EARLIER THAN EVERYONE ELSE YOU WORK WITH EVEN THOSE WHO WORK AT A CREDIT UNION!
They have virtual cards any card that you have a physical in. They can give you a virtual. You can put the virtual onto your Google Pay. You can turn it off, freeze it, unfreeze it, same with the physical card. There's so many neat features and ways to help you even links to tell you how to get paid for doing surveys and for someone who has banked with them for well over 5 years, probably going on closer to 8 years or more now who had to try to adult with other banking institutions and failed epically, chime is unbeatable! The only thing that could do them in is trying to be more like the other guys!
You have full control over your money. They even have a thing called spot me and once you are starting to get direct deposits into the account, They loan you a little bit of money here and there, you pay it back, you have a choice on whether or not you pay the like dollar or two fee. But you don't even have to and then if you need to access your savings account money they're not going to charge you for that. It all sounded too good to be true for me in the beginning after everything that I had experienced with other banks surviving into my late twenties having nothing else but those guys.
Now almost a decade later I swear by time and I don't care about the stigma, I don't care about the looks that I get, it works for me. It's the only reason why I had the credit boost that I got, had it not have been for chime I honestly don't know what I would have done as a single working mother. The spot me feature save the day on more than 100 occasions for well over 3 years! I really don't have enough time or energy or probably space in this box to give you the list of reasons why this is the best bank to have! And it's the only bank that's not stealing from you that's a big plus!
There is a bit of a stigma around it and I've learned from other people who have chime that sometimes when you go to a hotel they won't accept that as a payment method which is insane. I guess maybe because you can turn off the card? So if they want to charge more. When you leave they can't if you have your card frozen. But I did customer service for Citibank for 2 years when I told almost every customer that called mad they should download the chime app 💯‼️
Thanks for subscribing.
You have successfully subscribed to our newsletter! Enjoy reading our tips and recommendations.
Reviewed June 28, 2025
I started out very happy with Chime but then a bad thing happened when my phone took a crap. They will no longer let me have access to my account on my new phone which means I can't check my balance like I used to and being a disabled ** veteran on a very strict budget, I need to keep track of my account balances and also since I have no access I cannot authorize the extra money part they promised and was able to use until this happened!!!! Just so everyone knows as soon as my SSDI is given to my new card account, I am cutting up my Chime cards and throwing them away as fast as possible since I am that dissatisfied with them. I know that since this review is so negative, it will probably be hidden and never show up, but if it even helps 1 person will make me happy.
Reviewed Jan. 22, 2025
This is a truthful review. I am actually a Chime customer. My credit score was 530 and Chime got it up the 758. I used the Chime credit builder card and paid for everything with it. But I never considered them a real bank so I have another bank account for direct deposit. I withdraw from my real bank and refill the Chime card at any Walgreens. I know it's inconvenient but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I only transfer money to the credit builder card when I'm about to buy something.
Reviewed Dec. 18, 2024
I absolutely love Chime, but I would like to be able to freeze and unfreeze my card on the opening screen instead of having to go to three different screens to lock my card and unlock my card. Also, I live in a rural area that doesn’t have a chime, ATM and I would like to have the ATM here in Chillicothe, Missouri. A bunch of us have it and wish that we could have an ATM so we could avoid ATM fees. The closest one to us is about 25 miles west of us with less people.
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2025
I created a Chime account about a month ago to fulfill a transaction. The other person had Chime available, but I ended up being scammed and of course, nothing could be done. Chime sends me an email telling me they closed my account due to a review. Okay, good, I don't need your account anyway. A review??? I was scammed using your card and nothing could be done on your end. I've accepted that and moved on.
Reviewed Dec. 17, 2025
I wish I could give a negative 0. I will be closing my account and my husband account and my kids will be closing also. It’s a shame you can’t transfer money back to the person who sent the money to you, add your bank info and debit card to transfer money and it still doesn’t allow you to. I will be telling friends and family to do reviews, also bad business and report them to Better Business Bureau. Terrible company, bad attitudes when it’s our money that keeps your business open.
Reviewed Dec. 11, 2025
My digital card was breached from my own phone. I had no access for two days — two full days where I couldn’t even get into my account. And after all that, after their failure to protect me, they had the nerve to conduct a sham “investigation” and then close my account because I supposedly violated their terms. The audacity is unbelievable.
They never heard my side, never asked for an explanation, never acknowledged that the breach happened while I was locked out. Instead, they ran with their confused, incompetent assessment and decided I was the problem. Their investigation wasn’t just sloppy — it was an absolute farce. Instead of protecting a customer who was clearly compromised, they chose the laziest, most negligent path possible. Their handling of this situation has been nothing but unprofessional, dismissive, and frankly, shameful. If this is their idea of customer protection, everyone deserves to know. I will be sharing this experience everywhere so others can avoid the same careless treatment. Avoid them unless you enjoy being failed by their security and then blamed for their incompetence.
Reviewed Dec. 10, 2025
I just picked up a check for 200k from my lawyer and was going to deposit into my Chime account. I already have several thousand dollars in my account as well as my direct deposits. I had recently disputed a charge for 30.00 for a charge in which I received nothing and was told I would be refunded. Chime chose not to give me my money so as a result I deposited the check in another account at another bank and will be moving my funds and direct deposits and closing my accounts with Chime in the next few days. For $30? They lost 250k in business. I do hope it was worth it!
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2025
I have been with Chime over three years. I have had negative experiences with their customer service. There’s nothing was a charge on my account for over $150 to Door Dash. I called Chime and was told I have to wait for it to be charged before I can file a dispute. Thus is ridiculous and they are difficult to reach. I tried for several days to get through!
Chime Company Information
- Company Name:
- Chime
- Website:
- www.chime.com
