activeFeaturedNeobankBroker
- HQ
- San Francisco
- Fee
- $0 on Checking and Savings
Chime
US spend account with early paycheck and no monthly fee.
Legal entity: Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC. Chime is not FDIC-insured.
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7.1Solid
AlternativesFive questions
At a glance
Is it a bank?
No. Chime is not a bank. Your money sits with The Bancorp Bank, N.A. / Stride Bank, N.A..
If it fails?
Pass-through FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A. Chime itself is not FDIC-insured (Chime About).
Salary?
Direct deposit is the product pitch, via the partner-bank deposit account — not because Chime is a bank.
Open from abroad?
US consumer product. Residency and SSN/ITIN rules sit with the partner banks. Not a non-resident IBAN.
Monthly fee
Free
Account number
United States — routing / account number, not an IBAN
NeoBankDB Verdict
Licence first · score second
7.1
/10 · Solid
Correct product for a US paycheck, wrong product if you need a chartered bank or to wire overseas. Always name Bancorp/Stride when someone asks ‘is Chime FDIC insured.’
What it is
Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Eligible deposits are held at partner banks and FDIC-insured through those banks. The consumer pitch is fee-free spending, early paycheck, and SpotMe. The consumer risk is account restriction without a branch to walk into — the same BaaS pattern the Synapse collapse made famous, though Chime’s partners are named and large.
Best for: US hourly and salaried workers who want early direct deposit and no monthly fee.
Last checked 2026-08-01. Not advice.
What it does well
- +Genuinely free everyday account
- +Get Paid Early is the feature people actually use
- +Huge in-network ATM footprint
- +Credit Builder is a real on-ramp
What to watch
- −Chime is not a bank — read the partner line
- −Trustpilot is ugly; account locks dominate the 1-star pile
- −Not for international lives
- −SpotMe is not a true overdraft facility
Legal entity, not the app icon
Who is behind it
- Legal name
- Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC. Chime is not FDIC-insured.
- Parent
- Chime Financial, Inc.
- Founders
- Chris Britt and Ryan King (Chime About).
- Offices
- San Francisco
- If something goes wrong
- Banking complaints sit with the partner bank that holds the account (Bancorp or Stride) as well as Chime support.
Who holds the money
The account
- Platforms
- iOS · Android
- Account types
- Spending · Savings
- Partner bank
- The Bancorp Bank, N.A. · Stride Bank, N.A.
- Minimum balance
- $0
- Lowest monthly fee
- $0
- Who can open
- US consumers
- Availability
- United States
- IBAN country
- United States — routing / account number, not an IBAN
- Support
- In-app / email — lockouts dominate the 1-star pile
- Hours
- In-app / email
- Remote open
- US consumer product. Residency and SSN/ITIN rules sit with the partner banks. Not a non-resident IBAN.
- Onboarding
- US KYC through the Chime app; the deposit account is at Bancorp or Stride.
- KYC documents
- US identity (SSN/ITIN path as the banks require) plus liveness.
- Minimum age
- 18.
- Languages
- English
- Salary / payroll
- Direct deposit is the product pitch, via the partner-bank deposit account — not because Chime is a bank.
- Local rails
- US ACH / debit. Not an IBAN.
- ATM network
- 60k+ in-network ATMs (MoneyPass / Visa Plus Alliance — confirm live)
- Overdraft
- SpotMe is a courtesy, not a true overdraft facility
How money actually moves
- Who holds the cash
- Current account at a partner bank
- How money moves
- ACH / USD
- Built for
- Personal
- Settlement
- App-ledger instant; bank rails per corridor
- Freeze risk
- Fintech reviews can pause inbound while they check a transfer
- Card
- Chime lists a physical card and a virtual card on visa, plus Apple Pay and Google Pay. Confirm the live product in the app — a card is not a current account.
Licence first
Safety
Pass-through FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, per ownership category at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A. Chime itself is not FDIC-insured (Chime About).
Who holds the money: The Bancorp Bank, N.A. / Stride Bank, N.A.
- OCC / FDIC (partners)Partner-bank fintech · United States
Fees
- Monthly
- Free
- FX markup
- Not a travel product
- ATM
- Fee-free at 60k+ in-network ATMs
- Interest
- Chime Savings (partner-bank APY, variable)
Features
- –IBAN
- ✓Fee-free core
- –Multi-currency
- ✓Apple Pay
- ✓Google Pay
- ✓Virtual card
- ✓Physical card
- –Metal card
- –Crypto
- –Stocks
- –Business
- –Kids
- –Halal
- SpotMe overdraft (eligibility)
- Get Paid Early
- Credit Builder secured card
- No monthly fee, no minimum
- Savings round-ups
Editorial, not a live demo
Screenshots and video
Official YouTube · ChimeMedia is editorial context, not a live demo of the app. Screenshots go stale — read the licence first.
Before you tap Sign up
How to open
Step 1
Understand it is not a bank
Chime’s own About page: financial technology company, not a bank. Chime is not FDIC-insured.
Step 2
See which bank holds you
The Bancorp Bank, N.A. or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC. Read the cardholder agreement for the bank on your account.
Step 3
US KYC
This is a US deposit-account stack. It is not an IBAN and not a non-resident current account.
Official help: help.chime.com
Operator documents
Their own papers
These are the operator’s documents. They outrank this review if they disagree.
Score
- Safety25%
- 7.4
- Fees20%
- 9.2
- Features15%
- 7.0
- App15%
- 8.6
- Global15%
- 3.2
- Support10%
- 5.4
Change log
Full logProduct
SpotMe and credit-builder SKUs still the growth loop
Not a bank. Overdraft-like features are the product. Score safety on the partners.
Product
SpotMe and credit-builder SKUs still the growth loop
Not a bank. Overdraft-like features are the product. Score safety on the partners.
Safety
Industry BaaS shock (Synapse) — Chime partners unchanged in name
Chime is not Synapse. Eligible deposits still named at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. Confirm live. The lesson is: always name the insured depository.
Safety
Industry BaaS shock (Synapse) — Chime partners unchanged in name
Chime is not Synapse. Eligible deposits still named at The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. Confirm live. The lesson is: always name the insured depository.
Available in
Straight answers
FAQ
01Is Chime a bank?
No. Chime is filed as Partner-bank fintech. The money sits with The Bancorp Bank, N.A. / Stride Bank, N.A..
02What happens to money in Chime if it fails?
FDIC up to $250,000 via The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A.
03What does Chime charge each month?
The monthly fee on this file is Free. Fees change — open the operator's pricing page if it is linked.
Ratings and reviews
4.0 / 5 from 1 published review on NeoBankDB.
Marcus J.
United States· 2026-08-27Verified userSpotMe saved a weekend. It is Bancorp / Stride, not a bank named Chime.
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From NeoBankDB
News11 May 2026 · 2 min
Chime’s partner banks, restated
The Bancorp Bank, N.A. and Stride Bank, N.A. If those names change, the page will too.
Read the noteNote9 Apr 2026 · 10 min
After Synapse: how to read a US neobank that is not a bank
FDIC pass-through is a record-keeping claim. If the middleware holds the ledger, you have a new kind of risk.
Read the note