Chime Review 2024 – Forbes Advisor

Chime offers two bank account options to help you manage your money. However, you can only open a savings account if you have a checking account. Here’s a rundown of each account’s features, benefits and pricing.

Chime® Checking Account

The Chime® Checking Account has a $0 monthly maintenance fee. And there are no minimum balance requirements for this account.

Here are some of the highlights of the Chime Checking Account:

• Get paid up to two days early with direct deposit^{[ ]}
• With SpotMe®, you can get fee-free overdraft up to $200 (with $200 or more in direct deposits each month)^{[ ]}
• Automated savings features
• Send money to friends and family without fees (up to a $5,000 monthly limit)^{[ ]}
• Access to 60,000+ fee-free ATMs nationwide^{[ ]}
• Disable transactions if your card is lost or stolen
• Free debit card replacement
• Compatible with Google Pay and Apple Pay

The Chime® Checking Account is fee-friendly. For example, when you enroll in Chime’s SpotMe^{[ ]} service, you can get fee-free overdraft up to $200. A single deposit of $200 in qualifying direct deposits is required each month to be eligible for this feature. Chime can increase your SpotMe allowance to up to $200 or more at its discretion based on your account history, direct deposit amounts and frequency, spending activity and other factors. Just note that SpotMe doesn’t cover non-debit card transactions such as ACH transfers, Pay Anyone transfers or check transactions.

There’s no credit check to open an account and receive a Chime Visa® Debit Card. Your debit card can be used anywhere Visa® debit cards are accepted.

Read More: Best Checking Accounts Of 2024

Chime® Savings Account

Chime’s Savings Account offers a 2.00%^{[ ]} annual percentage yield (APY). That’s a fairly competitive rate compared to other high-yield savings accounts some of the top online banks offer.

Here are the main highlights of the Chime® Savings Account:

• No monthly fees
• No minimum balance requirements
• No cap on the amount of interest you can earn
• No minimum deposit is required to open an account

You will need a Chime Checking Account to open a Chime Savings Account. Once you have your accounts set up, you can use Chime’s Round Ups^{[ ]} feature to save automatically. Whenever you use your Chime Visa® Debit Card, Chime rounds the transaction up to the nearest dollar and transfers the difference to your savings account^^.

For example, let’s say you spend $25.50 at the grocery store. You’ll pay the store for that amount from your debit card, and Chime will move 50 cents from your checking account to your savings account.

Chime also offers the Save When I Get Paid^{[ ]} feature that automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposit paycheck of $500 or more from your checking account to your savings account each time you get paid.

Read More: Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Other Chime Accounts and Services

The Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card, which is available without a credit check to apply. It’s a secured card designed for people who are trying to build credit^{[ ]}. However, you must have a Chime Checking account and receive monthly direct deposits of at least $200 to qualify and apply for the Credit Builder card.

Here’s how the card works:

1. Move money from your Chime Checking Account to your Credit Builder secured account
2. Use up to that amount you moved over to make purchases on the Credit Builder card
3. Pay back those purchases on time to start to build credit

Chime reports your payments to the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion®, Experian® and Equifax®. According to Chime’s website, many members see an increase in their scores after making on-time payments. The Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card charges no interest^{[ ]}, no annual fee and no minimum security deposit^{[ ]}.

You’ll need a Chime checking account and qualifying monthly direct deposits of $200 or more to apply for the Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card.