Chime (company)
Chime Financial, Inc. is an American financial technology company based in San Francisco, California. It provides fee-free mobile banking services through partnerships with two national banks, Stride Bank and The Bancorp Bank. The company offers fee-free checking and savings accounts, debit cards, and other financial products through its mobile application.
Overview
Chime Financial, Inc. is an American financial technology company based in San Francisco, California. It provides fee-free mobile banking services through partnerships with two national banks, Stride Bank and The Bancorp Bank. The company offers fee-free checking and savings accounts, debit cards, and other financial products through its mobile application. Chime was founded in 2012 by Chris Britt and Ryan King and began services in 2014. The company has grown through features like early access to direct deposits, earned wage access, fee-free overdraft services, and interest-free secured credit cards. It became publicly traded on the Nasdaq in June 2025.
History
Chime was founded by Chris Britt and Ryan King in 2012 in San Francisco, California, as an alternative to traditional banking to serve less affluent communities and people living paycheck to paycheck. The company launched on April 15, 2014, on the Dr. Phil Show. 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. In January 2020, Chime announced a partnership with the Dallas Mavericks as their jersey sponsor as a part of a multi-year deal. Chime had 8 million account holders in February 2020. 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. Chime later announced the successful processing of over $375 million in stimulus payments one week before the scheduled government disbursement date. In August 2021, Chime Financial raised $750 million in a series G funding round, led by investor Sequoia Capital Global Equities, giving the company a valuation of about $25 billion. In September 2021, Chime leased 192,000 square feet of office space across six floors in a San Francisco building owned by Hines. In 2022, Chime was named one of Fortune's Best Places to Work. 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. Chime laid off 160 positions, equalling 12% of its workforce, in November 2022. Chime's revenue in 2023 was approximately $1.3 billion. The company's customers were largely made up of young Americans with incomes ranging from $35,000 to $65,000 annually. By May 2024, the company, which operated under a hybrid work model, reported having 1,300 employees and 7 million customers. At the time, it was processing $8 billion worth of transactions monthly. Chime was also named to the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 list. 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 $18.4 billion. 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. In February 2026, Chime entered a multi-year partnership with Major League Soccer, becoming the league's official retail banking, credit card, and debit card partner. In April 2026, Chime was named among “America’s Most Trustworthy Companies” by Newsweek as well as ranked on Time100’s “Most Influential Companies”. In September 2026, Chime agreed to acquire Stride Bank, N.A., its banking partner since 2019, for $590 million in cash. The transaction is structured as an acquisition of Central Service Corporation, Stride's parent company. If completed, Stride will become Chime Bank, N.A., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chime. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, subject to regulatory and other approvals.
Operations
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 of up to $250,000 is available to users via the partnered banks, not directly through Chime, so customers are not protected against some failures. 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. Accounts are only available to individuals; all money received must be in the name of the individual account owner. Customers cannot appeal to banking regulators to retrieve their deposits, which may not be returned in a timely fashion. Most of its revenue comes from interchange fees on debit card transactions.
Products
Chime's platform offers early access to paychecks, negative account balances without overdraft fees, high-yield savings accounts, peer-to-peer payment services, short term and pre-approved instant loans, and an interest-free secured credit card. It does not charge monthly service fees or overdraft fees, or require minimum balances. Chime also offers federal and state tax filing services on its app. Employees have access to these benefits through its Chime Workplace program.
Fee-free overdraft protection
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.
Chime Card
In June 2020, Chime launched Credit Builder, a credit card designed to help consumers build their credit history. Chime was the most downloaded digital banking app in the U.S. during the first half of 2021, according to Apptopia. In September 2025, Chime retired the Credit Builder card and introduced the Chime Card, a no-annual-fee secured credit card that offers cash-back rewards on purchases. The Chime Card expands on the former Credit Builder's features and doesn't charge interest or require a credit check for approval.
MyPay
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.
Chime Plus
In March 2025, the company introduced Chime Plus, a membership tier that provides additional benefits to customers who receive qualifying direct deposits into their Chime accounts.
Chime Prime
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.
Chime Invest
In July 2026, Chime launched Chime Invest, which integrates commission-free stock investments and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into the existing app. The feature allows users to make investments as low as $1 and choose between self-directed or expert-managed portfolios.
Chime Workplace
Chime Workplace is an enterprise financial wellness suite that provides employees with fee-free banking, earned wage access, and savings tools through their employer. The platform targets hourly workers, extending Chime's consumer banking services into the workplace as an employee benefit.
Social Impact
The Chime Scholars Foundation was founded in 2022, providing low-income students with scholarships up to $20,000 per degree or $5,000 annually. Chime pledges 1% of the company’s equity towards this program. The 2024-2025 school year recipient class was its largest ever, offering scholarships to 440 students.
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