Chime and Cash App are two top fintechs. Chime focuses more on typical banking products, while Cash App is widely known for its peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfer services. At a glance, you’d think these two apps are fields apart, but they share many of the same features, including early direct deposit, cash advances, savings and P2P payments.
 Chime |  Cash App | |
| Bonus | $100 referral bonus for Chime checking account | $5 referral bonus with activity requirements |
| Savings | 2.00% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) | APY: Up to 4% |
| Checking |
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| CDs | N/A | N/A |
| ATMs |
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| Branches | Online only | Online only |
Chime and Cash App are fintechs, not banks. Each has banking partners that can provide FDIC deposit insurance up to the typical insured amount of $250,000. Cash App partners with Wells Fargo Bank, and Chime partners with The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank.
To have your Cash App balance insured by the FDIC, you need the Cash App Card, which is free and simply requires a Cash App balance. Without the Cash App card, your balance is not covered under FDIC insurance through Cash App’s partner bank.
Chime and Cash App are online fintechs that offer spending cards, direct deposit up to two days early, savings with decent APYs and P2P payment services.
The Chime® Checking account features many perks, such as early direct deposit, an optional overdraft service SpotMe®, cash advances and a secured credit-building card with no APR. With a Chime checking account, you unlock the optional savings account that earns 2.00% APY. However, to qualify for features like overdraft services, cash advances and the credit-building card, you need direct deposit of at least $200 per month.
Cash App is, first and foremost, a P2P money app. Famous for its quick and easy money transfers to other Cash App users, it charges no fees to send or receive money in the app. Cash App also offers a prepaid debit card linked to your Cash App balance. The card is free to open and maintain and can be used for spending. Cash App also offers a savings pocket that automatically earns 1.5% APY. If you set up direct deposit of at least $300 per month, you can earn 4% APY on savings. Those APYs are much higher than the national average rate for savings accounts of 0.43%, as reported by the FDIC.
Just like Cash App, Chime offers a feature called Pay Anyone, which lets you send money to anyone with a debit card. There are no fees for its P2P services, and users don’t even need a Chime account — a major leg up on popular P2P apps like Cash App and Venmo.
Chime and Cash App both offer short-term borrowing options.
Chime doesn’t offer any investing services, but Cash App does. Cash App Investing allows you to invest in stocks or crypto with as little as $1. To open an investment account, you must be an adult US resident and provide information such as your Social Security number, address, date of birth and more.
Cash App and Chime are both full of features, which we can expect from two modern fintechs.
Chime’s extra features include:
Cash App’s extra features include:
There are no monthly maintenance fees or opening deposit requirements with Cash App or Chime. Cash App also doesn’t charge overdraft fees, and Chime’s overdraft service, SpotMe, is completely optional.
Cash App and Chime have the same out-of-network ATM fee of $2.50. However, Chime is much more transparent about what ATMs are in-network — Allpoint, MoneyPass and Green Dot retail locations. Cash App states it has “in-network” ATMs but doesn’t list what they are. Cash App says you can use its ATM locator in the app if you have a Cash App prepaid card.
Cash App has the highest Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating of A+, and Chime is currently unrated as of June 2024. However, Cash App and Chime aren’t strangers to BBB complaints — Chime has over 8,000, and Cash App has well over 12,000.
Unsurprisingly, most of Cash App’s complaints center around P2P payments and reports of scams. On Reddit, users warn others that you have to be careful to whom you send funds, with many saying if you send money to a scammer, you probably won’t get it back. The overarching message from customers is that as long as you keep your information safe and only send money to people you actually know, it’s a convenient and easy-to-use app. Other Reddit threads also contain success stories of using Cash App to file their taxes and reports of receiving refunds very quickly after filing.
Chime used to have a major issue of closing accounts due to “suspicious activity” — reportedly from a faulty fraudulent alert system. These complaints have significantly slowed down, and it no longer has an alert on its BBB profile. More recent Chime complaints are typical banking grievances, such as issues contacting customer support and failed attempts to resolve fraudulent charges. On Reddit, many customers point out they’ve used Chime for years with no problems. A few say that Chime’s customer support isn’t great, but that’s typical for online banking services.
It’s a close call, but Chime is definitely better suited if you need a more traditional checking and savings platform. Cash App’s banking features make sense for people who already use it regularly or want to use its investing platform. But it’s unclear what Cash App’s ATM network actually includes, while Chime is transparent about using Allpoint and MoneyPass ATMs, and you can deposit cash at Green Dot retail locations.
Chime’s overdraft service SpotMe and cash advances are available to users who meet direct deposit requirements, neither of which require tips or extra fees. Chime also has Pay Anyone, reducing the need for Cash App because you can send money to anyone with a debit card. It also has a credit-building secured card that’s linked to your Chime checking account, which can allow you to build credit history without APR or worries of racking up high-interest debt.
However, Chime’s savings APY is lower than Cash App’s, with Chime only offering 2.00% and Cash App offering up to 4% if you meet deposit requirements. Cash App’s APY is competitive with some of the best high-yield savings accounts. However, Chime doesn’t have any deposit requirements to get that 2.00% rate.
Chime has checking, savings, P2P money services, cash advances, a credit-building card and so much more.
It’s great for sending money to friends and family, but it falls a little short compared to Chime and more traditional banking options.
Chime and Cash App don’t have any physical branches, and a few other online banks have more to offer with similar features.
Interest-bearing accounts passively grow your money. Compare common types of accounts that earn interest and find the best one for you.
Most banks offer fee-free ATM access, but some of the banks with the largest network of no-fee ATMs include Axosi, SoFi, Upgrade and Varo.
Fifth Third Bank currently offers a $300 checking account bonus when you open a new account and set up qualifying direct deposits.
Chime is better for extra features, but Varo offers cash-back rewards. Our team thinks Chime is the winner by a hair.
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