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March 17, 2022

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Chime Credit Builder Card Review [Get The Facts]

Are you here in order to learn a little about facts associated with the Chime Credit Builder Debit Card and what the details are all about or wondering what number to call and how to use this Chime Credit Builder Visa Card to the best extent possible, then perfect! You have found the right article.

In this article, I’m going to give you all the Chime Credit Builder Debit Card facts that you need to know about so that I can help you out with using your card and benefiting the most.

About Chime

Chime was founded by two entrepreneurs, Chris Britt (CEO) and Ryan King (CTO), in 2013 in San Francisco. Chime is not a bank but instead a financial technology company. The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank provides the banking services and issues the Chime Debit Visa Card, and stride Bank is the Bank that issues the Chime Credit Builder Card.

The Chime company doesn’t operate from any fees concerning minimum balance fees or overdrafts, consumer fees, monthly service fees, and means operating not as traditional banks typically operate, which saves their members money.

Chime is basically an online bank that ultimately provides convenient ease of access, does not maintain physical branches, and provides more convenient features than most traditional banks for millions of customers.

Regional banks have partnered with Chime to help lower costs for Americans that have not been served very well by traditional banks, thus creating a more competitive market.

Chimes’ Highlights:

Your money is safe with Chime with Security Features
Overdraft Protection up to $200 that is fee-free
Your account is paid up to 2 days early with a direct deposit
No hidden fees

Chime is one of the top neo banks with millions of customers. A neo bank is a type of Bank that does not have its own physical location. Instead of spending money to maintain their own physical branches, Chime invests that money into building the best online banking platform.

Chime has developed a reputation for valuing its customers and putting their needs first.

Chime Basics

Banking Services for the Chime Visa Debit Card are provided by The Bancorp Bank or The Stride Bank, N.A.; both are Members of the FDIC.

The Bancorp Bank is the Bank that issues the Chime Visa Debit Card.

The Chime company doesn’t have to rely on fees concerning minimum balance fees, monthly service, overdrafts, or other consumer fees to operate, which appeals to many consumers.

In 2018 Chime company customers have reached 1 million. Early in 2019, the total customers have grown to 4 million users and 6.5 million accounts by December 2019.

Most banks make it hard to open an account if you have marks in ChexSystem. Especially if you had a pattern of bad habits or marks on your credit history, these bad marks could affect your finances. At Chime, a second chance is banking for you since Chime does not check you in ChexSystem.

The Chime Credit Builder Card

Many people have made a great choice to open a Chime Credit Builder Card account because they are trying to establish good credit. Also, many people who have had their credit previously damaged wish to build and establish a better credit score again.

The Chime Credit Builder offers a secure credit card that, like a debit card, you will deposit money before being able to spend in your account. This Chime Credit Builder Card account is a safe and secure way to build credit.

Over 200,000 people across the U.S have used this credit-building account.

Since the Visa card from Chime’s Credit Builder account is a low-cost option, it has helped many to build their credit profile once again. A benefit of this card account comes with no annual interest charged or any annual fees.

In order to apply for the Chime Credit Builder Visa card, you will need to first open a Chime spending account, and will be described later in this article with help on how to do so.

An additional security deposit is required to get the same credit limit for your new Chime Credit Builder Visa card.

How Chime Works

As discussed above, Chime offers a credit-building option for its customers. Chime started providing credit building services in June 2019.

If you are already a Chime account holder and have at least one $200 direct deposit within the last 365 days in their Chime Spending account are eligible.

Basically, to use your card, simply transfer money deriving from your Chime Spending Account to a secured account and link to your Chime Credit Builder Card account.

The Chime Credit Builder Card account is a safe and secure way to slowly build or improve your credit.

The Chime Credit Builder Visa Secured Card has no annual interest charges, fees, or minimum security deposit, making the card one of the most affordable options in its class.

Also Read How To Activate My Netspend All Access Card

Traditional secured cards keep your security deposit until you close the account. With your Chime security deposit, you can actually use this deposit to help pay your balance at the end of each one of your monthly billing cycles.

In other words, if you have, for example, $300 in your Credit Builder Card Account and you use $200 to pay your Chime Credit Builder Card, then you would still have a credit limit of $100 for the next month unless, of course, you add more money to your Chime Credit Builder Account.

Of course, this will not always mean that this is a solution across the board. Always carefully review the details as it is important before signing on to decide if a Chime credit card is a good fit for your financial situation.

For example, if you deposit $100, then your credit limit will be $100 with a $10,000 per day spending limit on your Chime credit card. Of course, once you spend the money you have deposited, you will need to deposit more money before additional spending from this debit card account.

However, suppose you are normally short on cash to continually build up your deposit into your Chime Credit Builder account from month to month. In that case, a more traditional option that’s secured might be a better account for you.

Pros

Chime also has a safety feature where you can lock your card. This protects you if your card is lost or stolen and additionally prevents ATM withdrawals and other transactions. You can do this from your Chime app. This feature offers greater security and control.

Customers are happy about having 0% foreign transaction fees, no credit check when applying, and the easy application process.

You can increase your “Available To Spend” limit at any time. Simply deposit more money on your card, and your limit immediately goes up.

The “Move My Pay” feature allows you to transfer your paycheck to your Credit Card. This means every payday; you can increase your credit limit.

Pros in a nutshell

There are no interest charges.
There are no annual fees.
There are no foreign transaction fees.
There is no minimum security deposit that is required.
There is no credit check to apply for the card account.
When you turn on Safer Credit Building, your balance will be automatically paid on time every month.
The major credit bureaus and credit scores will continuously be updated to build your credit as on-time payments.
APR: N/A

Traditional credit cards can hurt your credit score if you do not use them properly. If you miss a payment, max out your card, or cancel the card too soon, you may see your credit score drop.

With Chime Card, you only spend what you have. There is no need to worry about going into debt or missing payments. Chime requires a security deposit, and then you are able to spend the amount you deposited. This protects your credit score.

Whether you are buying groceries or gas, your everyday purchases can now count toward building your credit no matter what you charge on your Chime Credit Builder Account Card.

Cons

First, You will need to open a direct deposit account with Chime.
Your deposit in your card account will be the limit of your account, no amount higher than the amount of your deposit.
There is no additional option for you to graduate to an unsecured card
There are no branches for in-person service.
There have been recent customer complaints regarding access to Chime accounts and funds.

Fees

Annual Fee: $0

Foreign Transaction Fee: 0%

Balance Transfer Fees: N/A

Cash Advance Fee: N/A

Only a few questions are needed to sign up or register for your new Chime Credit Builder Card. You don’t need any initial deposit to open your account. No initial deposit saves many low-income families troubles, and with 6M customers, it’s not a coincidence.

At Chime, a checking account has another name – a spending account.

The spending account is like a checking account, except there is no physical checkbook. Instead, the Chime checkbook is a virtual checkbook.

It is $5 per check and $10k limit per month to write a virtual check that Chime mails on your behalf.

To apply for a Chime Credit Builder, you first need to have a Chime Spending Account and will need to have made a qualifying direct deport of $200.00 or more within the last year.

The above link is where you will fill out your personal information and simply follow the required prompts so you can submit your application.

Next, to qualify for a Chime Credit Card, you must have a Chime spending account, a white credit card, and you need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Also Read How To Get A Loan With A Netspend Account

If you don’t have a Chime Debit Card Account and wish to do so, simply click this link to apply at https://trufinancials.com/chime.

You will need to provide:

Full Name
Valid Email
Valid Phone Number
Home Address
SSN
Banking Information

Chime claims to accept everyone who applies as long as they provide accurate information and have an SSN.

More Features

A get-paid early feature is what Chime promotes many times. The feature of get paid early allows you to have access to your paycheck up to 2 days early than any traditional bank. This really helps if you live paycheck to paycheck. You must have an emergency fund to have the 2 days early feature.

Chime Accounts can auto-transfer a portion of your money to a savings account that you have so you will have an emergency fund. Chime provides 0.01% on the savings account, which is much lower than other banks, but this account’s benefits outweigh this small percentage as not being the main objective to build credit and save on fees.

Mobile payments is another feature when your family and friends also use Chime Spending Accounts. This allows you to transfer money to family and friends accounts in a peer-to-peer system with a limit of $2k.

Chime is a Visa Debit Card with an EMV chip for added security and can be used at Visa Plus Alliance ATMs and at over 38k MoneyPass locations that are fee-free.

Chime has two automatic savings options. When you use the Visa Debit Card, your purchase can be rounded up to the nearest dollar, and the change will go to the savings account. You will not save a fortune this way, but it is better than nothing. You can save when you get paid.

This will help you to signup for a regular Chime Account, which is basically a checking account; then once you’ve opened that product, you want to go ahead and Sign up for the credit builder card, which is basically an extension of your chime spending account.

The chime spending account will then be the product that allows you to build credits without ever taking on any debt.

To recap,

If you need to rebuild your credit score and control your spending, then Chime Credit Builder is great. You do not need to pay monthly or yearly fees. The card is a secure credit card, so your spending limit will always be within your budget.

You can max out your credit limit, and it will not affect your credit score. The features Chime offers provide you with flexibility, full control of your credit limit, and convenient security features to quickly protect your money.

You have the Chime spending debit card, which is the white plastic card, and the Chime credit builder card, which is the green plastic card that is essentially a prepaid credit card, and you are off to the races to build your credit again!

Chime FDIC Approved

Chime has FDIC insured deposits of up to $250,000. Chime uses encryption and other security features to protect your personal information and data.

You can instantly block your card by using Chime’s blocking feature in your Chime app. This allows you to instantly stop withdrawals or transactions. You can also block international transactions in the Chime app.

You can opt-in for instant alerts when money is spent. You can also set up two-factor authentication.

Visa Zero Liability Policy protects chime Visa cards. This ensures customers do not have to pay for unauthorized charges.

Generally, you can use your Chime credit card at any location that accepts Visa.

Credit Bureau Reports:

Chime Credit Builder reports your credit usage to the three major credit bureaus. Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. If you use your credit properly and utilize your credit limit well, you can slowly rebuild your credit score.

Chime card will report the following things to major credit bureaus:

Your payment status. This is a record of whether or not you have paid your balance. You can enable the Safe Credit Building feature, and the money you have already deposited will be used to pay your balance.
Past due amount. If you have any outstanding balance, this will be reported. Since your credit limit is controlled by how much money you deposit, you should be protected from having an unpaid balance.
Account age. Chime will report the period you have held your credit card. The longer you keep your card, the better.
Current balance. This is the amount of money you have spent since your last statement. This will also include any unpaid/past due balance.

Chime Card reports this information at the beginning of each month and

has helped 95% of their customers build their credit history once again.

How Is My Credit Score Calculated

Calculated by combining multiple factors. They are:

Your Payment history is 35% of your credit score.
Credit Utilization counts for 30%.
Credit age counts for 15% of your credit score.
Credit mix, which counts for 10%.
Credit Inquiries count for 10%.

Also Read How To Get Netspend And PayPal To Work Together

About Credit Utilization

Credit utilization refers to the way you use the credit limit you have. Credit utilization will affect your credit score. Your credit utilization percentage is calculated by dividing the amount you owe by the amount of credit available to you.

Usually, Credit Bureaus want to see a 30% or lower credit utilization.

Here is an example to show how the ratio is calculated. If your credit limit is $1000. and you have spent $300 then your credit utilization would be calculated by 300/1000 = 30%

Chime does not report your credit utilization; however, keep your credit usage in mind if you have any other open credit cards. Limit the percentage of your credit limit to 30% or less.

Chime Account Phone App

(If you don’t have a phone app for Chime, you can download it by clicking here.)

2. Click Move Money (the bottom icon on your phone app.)

A couple of options are then available such as:

Direct Deposit
Depositing a check
Depositing cash at an ATM (Automated Teller Machine)
Transferring from another Bank Account or Card Account.

3. Click Transfers

The app will say add money from an external account, and at the bottom of the app, you can see it says link your external account.

Chime uses Plaid to link your Bank details and is secure. Plaid is a large company that allows you to connect your banks instantaneously, so you don’t have to worry about details.

There will automatically be a list of the most popular Banks to choose from, or you can type in the Bank that you wish to utilize.

Enter the login credentials for your other Card or Bank accounts, such as email and password.
Plaid will then verify your information.
Then choose the account you want to have set up.

(The Card account you have will then be instantly linked to your Chime Visa Debit Account.)

This will allow you to then be able to transfer money into your Chime Visa Debit Account.

After you have linked your other card account with your Chime spending account, you can then use the Chime app, so you are able to make money transfers from your different card account to your Chime Spending Account, with the

following limits:

There is a maximum of $10,000 for each calendar day.

There is a maximum of $25,000 for each calendar month.

Normally your funds will then be available within (5) business days.

Green Dot Deposit Locations

Have you ever wondered how to deposit Cash money to a Chime Debit Card? For example, a green dot location can be found at your local 7-Eleven or over 90,000 retail locations like Walmart or Walgreens. If you Google a green dot location, you can find the nearest available outlet nearest you.

Stores that accept Chime card deposits:

Walmart
Dollar General
Family Dollar
CVS
7-Eleven
Walgreens
Duane Reade
Speedway
TA Operating LLC (TravelCenters of America)
Royal Farms
Cumberland Farms Corp
Kwik Trip Inc
Krause Gentle (Kum & Go)
Rite Aid
Pilot Travel Centers (Pilot Flying J)
Holiday Station Stores
Circle K Stores
GPM Investments
Sheetz Incorp

You are allowed to make up to 3 Deposits every 24 hours to your Chime Visa Debit Card Account.
The total you can deposit is up to $1,000 every 24 hours
The total deposit is a maximum of $10,000 every month.
There is up to a $5 fee per deposit.

When you arrive at a retail store, simply:

Go to the cashier and state your purpose to the cashier.
The cashier will ask for your Chime Debit Card and swipe the card.
The cashier will collect the desired amount of money you wish to deposit plus a $5 fee.
The cashier will, of course, then give you a receipt showing your transaction.

You will then also receive a notification from your Chime Debit Card account in approximately 5 mins.

Contact Chime Visa Debit Card Account Customer Support

If you are having trouble using or depositing money onto your Chime card,

then contact Chime Support at 844-244-6363.

You can also email Chime at support@chime.com.

If your balance is paid and you wish to cancel your account and/or card, you can do so one of two ways:

Log into your Chime account and follow the directions to cancel your account.
Call Chime support at 844-244-6363.

Then choose Option 1.

Next, verify your information and then choose Option 4.

Listen to the responses and confirm the information is correct.

Once you finish the call, your account closure should process around 11 Pm CST the same day.

Previously, Chime has received comments and reviews from customers complaining about Chime’s customer service. Customers also complained about the very long wait times.