Chime Financial, Inc. is a San Francisco–based financial technology company that partners with regional banks to provide certain fee-free[4][5]mobile banking services. The company offers early access to paychecks, negative account balances without overdraft fees,[2] high-yield savings accounts,[5] peer-to-peer payments,[6] and an interest-free secured credit card.[7] Chime earns the majority of its revenue from the collection of interchange fees on debit card transactions.[8]
Chime is not a bank and Chime customers do not have a customer relationship with its banks. Chime can and does cancel user accounts without notice; moreover, it is not required to provide a reason for the cancellation to the customer or even have a reason. Customers cannot appeal to banking regulators to retrieve their deposits, which may not be returned in a timely fashion.[9][10]
History
Chime headquarters in San Francisco, California
Chime was founded by Chris Britt (CEO) and Ryan King (CTO) in 2012 [11] in San Francisco, California as an alternative to traditional banking with a mission of creating financial peace of mind.[12] The company launched on April 15, 2014, on the Dr. Phil Show.[13] As of 2020, Chime has raised $1.5 billion in private funding and in 2022 was named one of Fortune's Best Places to Work.[14][15]
Chime provides mobile banking services via its bank partners without monthly or overdraft fees, and it does not require an opening deposit or minimum balance to open a free checking account.[5]
In 2018, Chime acquired Pinch, a startup focused on helping millennials and young adults build their credit scores by reporting on-time rent payments to credit bureaus. Pinch's co-founders joined Chime's team as a part of the acquisition.[16]
On October 16, 2019, Chime experienced a service outage leaving users without access to their deposits. The issue was resolved the next day.[17]
In January 2020, Chime announced a partnership with the Dallas Mavericks as their jersey sponsor as a part of a multi-year deal.[18] Chime had 8 million account holders in February 2020.[19]
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.[20] Chime later announced the successful processing of over $375,000,000 in stimulus payments one week ahead of the scheduled government disbursement date.[21]
In September 2021, Chime closed a deal for the largest office space that year in San Francisco, with nearly 200,000 square feet across six floors.[22]
In February 2022, Chime along with Meta Platforms sued 2 Nigerians accused of impersonating Chime on social media platforms.[23]
In February 2022, sources reported Chime would delay its IPO until later in 2022.[24]
The company confirmed media reports that it was terminating 12% of its workforce in November 2022.[25]
Funding
In August 2021, Chime Financial raised $750 million in a series G funding round, led by investor Sequoia Capital Global Equities.[26] This values the company at about $25 billion.[26]
In July 2021, ProPublica published an article detailing Chime's record of closing customer accounts without notice or explanation, sometimes refusing to return customer deposits.[10] Chime has attributed the closures to the accidental byproduct of fraud prevention.[10]
In 2022 Chime's practice of closing customer accounts without notice or explanation was again reported. The company has no obligation to provide a reason, or even have a reason, to close an account. As of the November, 2022 report the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had received 3,500 complaints about Chime since the beginning of 2020. Customers with closed accounts sometimes had difficulty retrieving their deposits in a timely fashion. Since Chime customers are not customers of any bank, their recourse is often limited.[9][28]
Products
Chime debit card
Chime offers various fee-free banking products, including checking accounts with no minimum balance, an automated savings feature, and early wage access.[31]
In September 2019, Chime launched SpotMe, a fee-free overdraft service where customers can overdraw their accounts up to $100 without incurring an overdraft fee; once the overdraft limit is reached, purchases will be declined but no traditional negative balance fees charged.[32]
Chime launched Credit Builder with Stride Bank, N.A in June 2020, which is a credit card designed to help consumers build their credit history.[33] Chime was the most downloaded digital banking app in the U.S. during the first half of 2021, according to data collected by Apptopia.[34]
Customer service
As of July 2023[update], Chime has a 'B-' rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB).[35] This rating is due to the BBB receiving 7,957 complaints about Chime during the previous 3 years, the company failed to respond to at least 10 complaints, and the length of time the business takes to respond to complaints.[36]
Chime employs customer service representatives that can be reached by phone 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Customers can also reach the company agents via the live chat.
Chime has no physical branches and does not charge monthly or overdraft fees, nor does it require an opening deposit or minimum balance to open a free checking account.[37] As of February 2020, Chime had 8 million account holders.[38] Bank accounts that are provided via Chime's partners are FDIC insured up to the standard maximum deposit insurance amount of $250,000.[39][40][5] So far the accounts are only available for individuals of personal accounts; all money received must be in the name of the individual account owner.
Chime can close user accounts with no notice, it is not required to provide a reason for the cancellation to the customer. Chime's partner banks have a duty under “know your customer” rules to guard against money-laundering or other suspicious activity, including closing down suspicious accounts.[9][10]
US$200 million (2019)[3]
