Chime Review (2026)

Facts checked October 19, 2026 against Chime's own account agreements, fee pages, FDIC and regulator records (13 sources, listed below). We re-check prices about once a month. We do not earn a commission from Chime.

Chime at a glance

How Chime works

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. You open Chime Checking and, if you want, a Chime High-Yield Savings Account; the money is held at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A. The section below on who holds your money lists both banks with their FDIC certificates and Chime's own wording on pass-through insurance. On September 8, 2026 Chime agreed to buy Central Service Corporation, the parent of Stride Bank, for $590 million. Chime's 8-K says the deal needs Federal Reserve and OCC approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

The savings rate is set by your direct deposit tier, which Chime calls Chime Plus and Chime Prime. Both are free. With a single $200+ deposit or $400+ in total in the past 34 days you get Chime Plus and 3.00% APY. With $3,000+ in the past 34 days you get Chime Prime and 4.00% APY. Below that the rate is 1.00% APY. Chime raised all three rates on October 6, 2026, from 0.75%, 2.75% and 3.75%. Chime Plus and Prime also add cash back on the Chime Card: 2% in a chosen category (up to $30 a month) for Plus and 5% (up to $75 a month) for Prime.

A hypothetical saver keeps $5,000 in Chime savings for a year, and the rates stay where they were on October 19, 2026. At the Prime rate that earns about $5,000 x 4.00% = $200. At the Plus rate it earns $5,000 x 3.00% = $150, and at the standard rate $5,000 x 1.00% = $50. The $150 gap between Prime and standard depends on bringing in $3,000+ of direct deposits every 34 days, so a gig worker whose deposits dip below that in some months earns somewhere in between. Our emergency fund calculator shows how much to keep in savings in the first place.

SpotMe on Debit lets you overdraw on debit card purchases and cash withdrawals with no fee, starting at $20 and possibly rising to $200 or more. It does not cover ACH payments, Pay Anyone or Chime Checkbook. MyPay is separate: a revolving line of credit of up to $500 per pay period, free if you wait up to 24 hours or $2 to $5 per advance for instant delivery, and not offered in every state. Compare both with other apps in our banking app comparison.

Who Chime fits, and who should skip it

Limitations to know

• The 3.00% and 4.00% rates depend on qualifying direct deposits in a rolling 34-day window, not on your balance. [1]
• SpotMe starts at $20; higher limits up to $200 or more come later and are not guaranteed. It does not cover ACH payments, Pay Anyone or Chime Checkbook. [2]
• MyPay is a line of credit, needs qualifying direct deposits in the past 36 days and is not available in every state; most starting limits are $40 to $100. [5]
• Instant transfers to an external account cost 1.75% of the amount, with a $500 a month default limit. [4]
• We could not confirm Chime's current fees for cash deposits at retailers or for card purchases abroad; check the fee table in the app before you rely on either. [4]

Chime compared with alternatives

• Pick Varo if you want a chartered bank and have $800+ a month in direct deposits and under $5,000 saved.
• Pick OnePay if you have no direct deposit and want 3.35% APY on savings with no condition.
• Pick SoFi if you want checking, savings and investing at one chartered bank with 3.30% APY with direct deposit.
• Pick Current if you want Paycheck Advance of up to $1,000 and accept a bonus instead of an APY.

Security and privacy

• Chime says: "Chime is not FDIC-insured. The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. are the FDIC-insured members. Certain conditions must be satisfied for pass-through deposit insurance coverage to apply." The FDIC's own warning about non-bank apps is in the section on who holds your money. [1]
• On May 7, 2024 the CFPB ordered Chime Financial to pay a $3.25 million civil penalty and at least $1.3 million in redress for delaying refunds of balances on closed accounts, under a five-year consent order. [12]
• In February 2024 Chime agreed to a $2.5 million penalty in a California DFPI consent order over complaint handling, and in March 2021 it settled with California and Illinois regulators over marketing that allegedly implied Chime was a bank, Chime's 10-Q says. [10]
• Partner bank: in May 2020 the FDIC ended its 2014 Bank Secrecy Act consent order against The Bancorp Bank. We found no later action against Bancorp or Stride Bank; the OCC's enforcement database could not be searched from here. [13]
• We could not read Chime's security and privacy pages, so its two-factor options and data-sharing practices are not listed here.

Recent changes

Chime FAQ

Is Chime a bank?

No. Chime Financial, Inc. is a financial technology company. Its accounts are provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. Chime agreed in September 2026 to buy Stride Bank's parent company, a deal it expects to close in the first half of 2027 if regulators approve.

Is Chime safe and FDIC insured?

Chime itself is not FDIC-insured. Money in your account is held at The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, and Chime says certain conditions must be met for pass-through deposit insurance to apply. The FDIC says insurance does not protect you if a non-bank company fails. Chime paid a $3.25 million CFPB penalty in 2024 over slow refunds on closed accounts.

What does Chime pay on savings?

Since October 6, 2026: 4.00% APY with Chime Prime ($3,000+ in qualifying direct deposits in the past 34 days), 3.00% APY with Chime Plus (one $200+ deposit or $400+ in total in 34 days) and 1.00% APY otherwise. Compare rates in our <a href="/high-yield-savings/">high-yield savings comparison</a>.

Does Chime charge fees?

There is no monthly fee and no overdraft fee. Chime charges $2.50 per out-of-network ATM withdrawal (plus the ATM owner's fee), $2.50 per over-the-counter cash withdrawal, 1.75% for instant transfers to an external account and $2 to $5 for an instant MyPay advance.

Chime vs Varo?

Varo is a bank itself (FDIC certificate 59190) and pays 3.75% APY on the first $5,000 with $800+ in monthly direct deposits; Chime pays 4.00% APY on savings with $3,000+ in 34 days but holds money at partner banks. See our <a href="/neobanks/varo/">Varo review</a>.

How does SpotMe work?

SpotMe on Debit is an opt-in, no-fee overdraft service for debit card purchases and cash withdrawals. It needs a single $200+ qualifying direct deposit or $400+ in total in 34 days, starts at $20 and may rise to $200 or more. It does not cover ACH payments, Pay Anyone or Chime Checkbook.

How we researched this review

We did not get paid or receive a free account for this page. We read Chime's own pricing page, help center, security and privacy pages and app-store listing on October 19, 2026, quoted each fact from those pages, and link every one below. We did not run a long-term hands-on test, so we do not score the app; where a point rests on what the company says rather than something we can check, we attribute it to Chime. Cost figures are our own arithmetic. We re-check prices and plans about once a month and log changes in the table above.

Sources

1. Chime, High-yield savings account (APYs effective 10/06/26), checked October 19, 2026.
2. Chime, Membership tiers (Chime Plus and Chime Prime) policy, checked October 19, 2026.
3. Chime, ATMs and cash withdrawal fees, checked October 19, 2026.
4. Chime, Deposit account agreement (The Bancorp Bank), checked October 19, 2026.
5. Chime, MyPay, checked October 19, 2026.
6. Chime, Get paid early, checked October 19, 2026.
7. Chime, Credit Builder and Chime Card, checked October 19, 2026.
8. Chime, Help center, checked October 19, 2026.
9. Chime Financial, Inc., Form 8-K (Central Service Corporation agreement, September 2026), checked October 19, 2026.
10. Chime Financial, Inc., Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, checked October 19, 2026.
11. SEC EDGAR, Chime Financial, Inc. filings, checked October 19, 2026.
12. CFPB, Enforcement action: Chime Financial, Inc., checked October 19, 2026.
13. The Bancorp, Inc., Form 8-K (FDIC consent order terminated, May 2020), checked October 19, 2026.

Head-to-head comparisons

• Chime vs SoFi
• Chime vs Ally Bank
• Chime vs Cash App
• Chime vs Varo
• Chime vs Dave

This review is general information, not financial advice. APYs are variable and can change at any time. FDIC insurance protects deposits if an insured bank fails; it does not protect against the failure of a non-bank app company, which is why we name the bank that holds your money.