Chime offers mobile banking products by partnering with regional banks to design member-first financial services; it operates as a financial technology company rather than a bank. Its banking services are provided by The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank N.A., and deposits are Members FDIC. Led by CEO Chris Britt, the company focuses on expanding its product and membership reach through its app-based offerings. In August 2021 Chime raised $750m in a financing round that valued the company at $25 billion post-money. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand operations and business reach. Reports indicated the round would position Chime for a potential IPO in the first six months of 2022. Chime operates as a U.S. mobile bank focused on consumer-facing, transaction- and processing-based banking services. The company is positioning itself as more like a consumer software company than a traditional bank, arguing its interchange revenues are predictable and recurring. Chime reported that its transaction volume and top-line have tripled year-over-year. The company said it is EBITDA profitable and clarified to TechCrunch that this metric is "true EBITDA." Management indicated Chime could be IPO-ready in around a year. Chime has seen rapid valuation growth: about $1.5 billion in early 2019, $5.8 billion after a $700 million raise last December, and $14.5 billion with the latest round. Chime is an online banking service focused on fee-free checking and savings with features like free overdrafts and early direct deposit. The company grew from about 1 million accounts last year to 6.5 million today and adds roughly 150,000 direct deposit users monthly. Chime has processed over $30 billion in transactions and is estimated to generate $300 million in revenue this year, mostly from swipe fees on debit cards. That revenue implies a roughly 20x valuation multiple, and Chime reportedly generates more revenue per customer than it spends to acquire them, typically breaking even on customers in under a year. The company plans to use new funding to develop products, double headcount by the end of 2020, open a new Chicago office, and potentially pursue acquisitions. Chime also recently hired Mark Troughton as chief business officer. Chime is a San Francisco-based mobile banking startup that offers no-fee FDIC-insured checking and savings accounts with features such as automatic round-ups, automatic 10% paycheck savings and no-fee paycheck advances. The company reports customers have opened more than 3 million accounts, which it says makes it the largest brand in its category. Chime announced an oversubscribed $200 million Series D led by DST Global that values the business at $1.5 billion, with participation from Coatue, General Atlantic, ICONIQ Capital, Dragoneer, Menlo Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Cathay Innovation and others. Prior to this round the company had raised approximately $300 million, including a $70 million Series C last year that valued it at $500 million. Chime says it will use the new funding to accelerate growth, launch new products including lending and credit, double its San Francisco-based team to more than 200 employees and expand its leadership. The company is positioned to serve younger, branch-averse customers and, by this raise, now has the highest valuation and most funding among U.S. challenger banks. Chime is a mobile challenger bank that offers a no-fee checking and savings product with features like round-up automatic savings, an option to set aside 10% of paychecks, and early access to direct-deposit paychecks. It earns revenue primarily from interchange on its Visa debit card, collecting about 1.5% in interchange revenue. The app has attracted a young, millennial audience and passed over one million accounts recently, adding more than 100,000 new accounts per month. Chime has processed over $4.5 billion in transaction volume to date and expects to reach $10 billion by year-end. The company launched to consumers in mid-2014 and added its full suite of primary-bank features in early 2016; it is headquartered in San Francisco and has a nearly 80-person team that the company plans to grow to over 100. Future plans include scaling marketing and hiring, expanding product offerings (including short-term credit and debt-management tools), and working more directly with employers on partnerships.

Total raised

$2.0B

Funding rounds

8

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Aug 2021