She Saved $900 Without Noticing When She Switched to an Online Bank
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You know that feeling that you get when you reach into a pocket and you unexpectedly find some money? Pleasantly surprised, right? (And maybe some relief that it wasn’t put into the washer)
Pleasantly surprised is how Samantha Griehl feels whenever she looks at her Chime bank account.
But let’s rewind a bit.
Earlier this year, Samantha got fed up with her bank, a traditional one that she’s banked at for 6 years.
“I was getting charged monthly fees and it just didn’t feel like my business to them mattered,” she said. “I’d be on hold for 30 minutes and they’d give me an unhelpful blanket answer on why certain fees were charged.”
So she started to look elsewhere and based on a friend’s recommendation found an online bank called Chime that understands the frustration of customers and attempts to fix it.
Is an Online Bank Like Chime Safe?
This was the first question that Samantha made sure to get answers on.
Most people visualize a physical bank as being the most secure since there’s literally a vault in the building.
To mimic that security, Chime partners with The Bancorp Bank to offer FDIC-insured accounts – the same as your existing bank and offers a large fee-free ATM network.
You can use the ATMs with a Chime Visa debit card, which offers protection against unauthorized transactions. In fact, you’re able to block all transactions immediately yourself if you lose your card.
Chime also uses 128-bit encryption, two-factor authentication for password protection and Touch ID login to keep your information safe.
When Samantha realized that security levels are the same, if not better, she made the switch.
Here’s why they say it works better for them versus the well-known banks:
1. Save Money Without Noticing
Samantha uses both Automatic Savings options that Chime has to save — one option saves every time she spends and the other lets her save every time she gets paid.
For every purchase she makes with the Chime card, the app automatically rounds up to the nearest dollar and saves the digital change to her savings account. It’s effortless. She likes not having to think about it and because it’s in small amounts, she doesn’t notice the money getting tucked away.
In 8 months, this is how she saved $900.
She also started using the other option to put 10% of every paycheck into savings. She’s already saved $300 from just 2 paychecks.
Chime also offers 10% cash back on certain category spending. This includes groceries, dining out, entertainment, utilities and more.
“All these saving and cash back options really help me save faster,” said Samantha. “I enjoy looking at my bank account now.”
2. Get Your Paycheck Up to 2 Days Earlier
Samantha also gets her paycheck 2 days earlier with Chime versus her co-workers who are still using regular banks. Her payday hits Wednesday instead of the typical Friday.
This is because Chime processes your employer’s check immediately so that you could get paid up to 2 days earlier.
Getting an early payday makes it much easier for Samantha to budget for the weekend and not to incur overspending.
3. No Hidden Fees Whatsoever
Samantha got fed up with fees at her old bank since she didn’t understand why she had to pay $144 a year to keep her account open.
Chime has no monthly fees, no minimum balance requirement, no overdraft fees and no foreign transaction fees. A truly free checking account that’s FDIC-insured up to $250,000
4. Earn Money if You Like Chime and You Tell People About It
With such a positive experience, Samantha gladly told her family and friends about Chime.
At the time of writing this, if they convert, they’ll get a $50 sign up bonus and Samantha gets a $50 referral bonus. Pretty good for just talking about what you like.
5. Bank Anywhere
As Chime is mobile-only, Samantha does everything on the app. Even requesting physical checks to be mailed on her behalf for bills that require it.
“It’s free and simple to use,” she said. “After the initial set up, I remember getting my debit card in like four or five days.”
If you want to transfer money back and forth, you can link an existing bank account. And once you have direct deposit set up, you’ll be able to deposit paper checks via the app.
“I’m really glad there’s a bank like Chime making it easy for us,” Samantha said. “I can’t bank any other way now.”
For more on the Chime Bank app, check out our full review.
