Chase digital bank review: Free account with cashback
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Offer
- Incentive
- Receive 1% cashback on everyday debit card purchases capped at £15.
- Account fee
- £0
- Interest (AER)
- 0% AER
- Overseas card transactions
- 0%
Our verdict
Learn more about the digital bank Chase that offers cashback with its free current account and app.
Chase's current account has all the things we've come to expect from a digital bank, including 24/7 in-app support, budgeting features, no monthly fees and no charges for using the card abroad (additional merchant or ATM fees may apply). We picked Chase as the best account for cashback.
Chase stands out from the crowd by offering cashback on everyday debit card spending plus the opportunity to earn interest on savings that are put aside using its "round up spare change" feature. Chase's 1% cashback is available for the first 12 months as a new customer and is capped at £15 a month. Alongside this you can also earn 5% AER (variable) interest on your round-up account for 12 months at a time as your balance will automatically transfer to your Chase current account or savings account on the anniversary of when you opened your account.
Pros
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Rewards when you spend
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Interest when you don't
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No fees abroad from Chase
Cons
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No branches if you prefer face-to-face banking
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Can’t deposit cash or cheques into the account
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Overdrafts not available yet
Details
Product overview
| Account name | Chase Current Account |
| Incentive | Receive 1% cashback on everyday debit card purchases capped at £15. |
| Provider | Chase |
| Account fee | £0 |
| Interest (AER) | 0% AER |
| ATM withdrawal limit | £500 |
| Debit network | Mastercard |
| Card type | Cash / Debit |
| Minimum eligibility age | 18 Years |
| Minimum operating balance | £0 |
| Minimum opening balance | £0 |
| Direct debits | |
| Current account switch guarantee | |
| Cheque Book |
Fees
| Currency conversion withdrawal for overseas cash withdrawal in Europe (EEA) | 0% |
| Currency conversion withdrawal for overseas cash withdrawal in non-Europe (EEA) | 0% |
| Foreign cash transaction fee in Europe | £0 |
| Foreign cash transaction fee in rest of world | £0 |
Overdraft information
| Arranged overdraft available |
Since launching in 2021 Chase has set itself up in the UK as the rewarding bank with 1% cashback and linked savings accounts paying up to 3.5% AER (variable) interest. Taking on the likes of Monzo, Starling and Revolut it needed to offer something that made it stand apart. Its cashback on everyday spending, among other perks, has certainly turned heads with 2 million customers opening accounts in the first 2 years.
How we scored Chase
| Feature | Rating | Details |
|---|---|---|
| App rating | 10 Excellent | Chase scores highly across the App Store and Google Play. |
| Monthly fees | 5 Standard | Chase is free to use, with no monthly fee. |
| Transaction fees | 10 Excellent | There are no transaction fees with Chase. |
| Overseas fees | 10 Excellent | Chase has no fees for using your card abroad. |
| Customer service | 9.8 Excellent | Chase scored highly in the Finder Customer Satisfaction Survey. |
| Green credentials | 5 Standard | Chase’s score was low due to its poor operational emissions and its exposure to fossil fuels. |
| Account access | 7.5 Great | Chase supports most account management, but there is no branch or desktop access. |
| Payment features | 6.7 Standard | There is no option to pay in cash or cheques or make/receive international payments. |
| Extra features | 7 Great | Extra features include savings pots, a separate savings account and a round-ups feature. |
What is Chase?
Chase is one of the UK’s newest challenger banks having launched in September 2021. Chase is one of the largest consumer banks in the US and is part of the American banking giant JPMorgan Chase, which announced in January 2021 that it had plans to launch a digital bank in the UK, operating under the Chase brand. In just 2 years Chase has launched savings accounts and now offers investing services with Nutmeg, a UK wealth manager that is part of the JP Morgan group. Note that products provided by Nutmeg are not guaranteed by Chase. But first up is its digital current account.
What are the features of the Chase current account?
This is what you can expect from Chase’s digital-only current account:
- No monthly fees. There are no fees for opening or operating this account.
- Fee free spending and cash withdrawals abroad. There are also no charges for using your Chase card to make purchases or take out cash at ATMs overseas. Handy for all you keen travellers out there. Just bear in mind that merchants and ATM operators may add their own additional charges.
- Direct debits. You can now set up direct debits to be paid from your Chase account and manage them in the app.
- Cashback on debit card spending. You can receive 1% cashback on everyday debit card spending (max £15 per month), including groceries, travel, meals out, entertainment, fashion, and homewares.
- Interest on savings generated by the “round-up” feature. You can round up your debit card transactions to the nearest pound, set the money aside in a linked round-up pot, and Chase will pay 5% AER interest (variable) on this amount. Every 12 months, the money you’ve rounded up is transferred to your Chase current account or Chase saver account and you’re free to start saving all over again.
- Linked saver account. Another feature that the bank has added since its initial launch is a linked Chase saver account. Here you can earn 5% AER (4.89% gross) variable interest daily (paid on a monthly basis). The account is easy access and there is no minimum opening balance.
- A numberless debit card. This helps to keep your card details safe (you can view your card number, expiry date and security code in the app if you need to).
- Budgeting tools. To help you manage your money via the mobile banking app.
- 24/7 customer support. Chase says that you can reach a customer service agent (no bots) at all hours of the day through its app.
You can’t deposit cash or cheques into the account, and Chase does not yet offer overdrafts or joint accounts.
"The Chase current account charges no account fee, yet you can still benefit from 1% cashback on your debit card purchases up to £15 a month.
The drawback is that cashback is only available for the first 12 months – but even so, this is a free account, so it’s still worth thinking about. In fact, there’s absolutely nothing stopping you from opening this account, taking advantage of the cashback offer and closing your account again after a year. After all, there are plenty of other perks with this account, including access to a savings account, fee-free spending abroad, and a round-ups feature, where your spending is rounded up to the nearest £1 and transferred to a savings pot paying 5% AER.
However, if you’re looking for a longer-term cashback offer, you’ll need to look elsewhere – although do be aware that you’ll need to pay a monthly fee for most of these accounts. The Santander Edge account, for example, charges £3 a month and in return, you can earn ongoing 1% cashback (up to £10 a month) on household bills, and 1% cashback (up to £10 a month) at supermarkets and on travel costs. You’ll also get access to a savings account and fee-free spending abroad."
How can I sign up to Chase?
To open an account with Chase you can sign up by downloading its app from the App Store or Google Play Store. You need to be over 18, a resident of the UK and have a smartphone with the UK mobile number. You also need to be a tax resident of the UK.
Chase is now part of the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). This means you can switch to Chase and it will move all your payments over and transfer any positive balance from your old account.
Chase customer reviews
Chase won the banking (current account) category in the Finder Customer Satisfaction Awards 2024, with 100% of customers saying they’d recommend the service to a friend. Feedback included praise for its cashback offer and its interest rates.
One customer commented “It gives me 1% cashback on everything I spend and it’s super easy to use the app”.
Another customer summed the bank up by saying “Chase is a totally different banking experience for me. I feel listened to and I believe that the company has more interest in its customers than the standard UK banks have. I can access my account easily from my phone and everything is clear and simply laid out”.
On the reviews platform Trustpilot, Chase has a score of 4.2 out of 5 – classed as “Great” – based on more than 8,200 reviews (last updated January 2024).
"My sister told me about the cashback rewards and it seemed like a no-brainer to sign up. Since opening the Chase account I’ve used it as my day-to-day account, as well as a savings account. The rewards are the best I’ve seen. I’ve benefited so much from the cashback, and the saving round-ups have really helped me as well.
If there’s one thing you’d tell a friend who’s thinking of getting this, what would it be?
Make sure you take advantage of all the rewards and the fee-free spending abroad."
Is Chase bank and the app safe?
A UK-based subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Europe Limited is licensed to operate the bank. J.P. Morgan Europe Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Funds in your Chase account will be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), which covers deposits of up to £85,000.
Who’s in charge of Chase in the UK?
Sanoke Viswanathan is currently CEO of the digital bank.
The new venture is headquartered at Canary Wharf in London, and its customers are served by mulitple customer contact centres.
Chase stands out amongst the crowded current account market by offering its current account holders 1% cashback (up to £15 a month). Make the most of this offer and you could earn £180 a year, that’s a healthy reward compared to other current accounts that pay no cashback.”
Alternatives to Chase
Chase offers many of the same features that can be found on other digital banking apps. You can benefit from savings round-ups, fee-free spending abroad (although additional merchant fees may apply) and linked savings accounts. What makes Chase stand out from its competitors is its cashback offer and numberless debit cards designed to keep your information safe.
If you are interested in learning more about how Chase stacks up against other digital banking apps, we have written dedicated guides for Chase vs Monzo, Chase vs Starling and Chase vs Revolut.
Customer service information for Chase
| Email support | |
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| Telephone support | |
| In-app or live chat | |
| Contact form | |
| Branch support |
