Chime is a financial company that gives banking services to its account holders. Although it operates like a bank, Chime is not a bank but a financial technology company that operates online. Chime headquarters are in San Francisco, in the United States. Since it is an online bank, you need to understand how to transfer money from Chime to a bank account to move funds to your account when in need.
Anybody over 18 years of age can open a Chime online account using their smartphone or a desktop. You only need to download the application from Google Play Store or App Store. You can also operate your Chime account over the web using your desktop computer. Online banks are convenient since you can access your funds anytime you need them. You can pay for goods and services as well as send money to others.
In my article, I will take you through the whole process of how you can transfer money from your Chime account to your bank account. Various reasons can force you to move money from your online banking app to a bank account. You can transfer money to a bank account to save, repay loans, or make it available for your debit card so that you can withdraw at an ATM point.
How do I open a Chime account?
You only need an internet connection plus a smartphone or computer to get started with your Chime account. You also need to gather all the information needed when opening a bank account. Remember that the federal government requires all the money transfer platforms to gather similar information about people willing to open accounts. These include banks, credit unions, and digital wallets.
The following are very important when opening your account with Chime.
- Social Security Number (SSN)
- Identification document. An Identification document can be an Identity card, Driver’s license, or a passport.
- Phone number
- Email address
- Physical address
You may wonder why all these things are essential when opening a bank account. Well, all these are necessary to ensure that only genuine people can open bank accounts. The identification document will help to prove your real identity so that drug dealers and terrorists will not open accounts to fund their evil acts.
The Social Security Number helps to track your tax payment. The federal government requires every citizen to pay taxes. The SSN also helps to identify you further. Your phone number and email address help you receive updates about various banking services and receive calls concerning essential issues to do with your account. Your Physical address is vital to help you receive your Chime debit card or paper statements upon request.
To get started, you need to visit member-chime and enter the necessary details in the fields provided. The process takes around two minutes to complete. Once your account application is successful, Chime will send you the Chime Visa® Debit Card to the physical address you provide. Therefore, you need to be as accurate as possible when entering the details. Afterward, you will need to download the Chime banking app if you have not done so.
How to transfer money from Chime to a bank account
Chime allows you to link an external bank account to your Chime account. That means that you can add an American bank such as Chase, Bank of America, PNC, CitiBank, or Wells Fargo. You need to log into your Chime app or online via a web browser and add the bank details as per the prompts.
To add a bank account to Chime, you need the account and routing numbers of the concerned bank account. The routing number will help Chime correctly identify the receiving bank since hundreds of banks are in the country. The account number will help to identify the exact bank account that will receive the funds. When linking an external bank account to your Chime account, the steps below are essential.
- Log Into your Chime account
- Go to Settings
- Select “Link a Bank Account”
- Choose any of the banks listed and enter your other bank’s login credentials.
Once you have added your bank account successfully, you can then begin the process of money transfer. The steps below will help you to move money to your bank account.
- Log in to your Chime online account
- Hit on Move Money.
- Select Transfers.
- Choose your bank account. When prompted, enter your external bank’s login credentials if you have not added your bank account.
- Enter the amount to transfer and follow prompts.
You can transfer a maximum of $10,000 per calendar day and $25,000 per calendar month. The funds will be available in the bank account within five (5) business days.
Can you move money from Chime to Cash App?
It is easy to move money from Chime to Cash App. You can even transfer money from Chime to a Cash App without a debit card. Since the Cash App allows you to load money from a bank, it assumes that Chime is a bank. You can therefore add your Chime banking details to the Cash App to get started. You thus need to add your Chime account and routing numbers.
Once you have successfully added your Chime account, you can then request funding from your Chime account when performing various transactions. Interestingly, Cash App also allows you to link debit cards and credit cards (both secured and unsecured credit cards) so that you can use them to fund your transactions.
How do you add money to Chime?
You can add funds to your Chime bank account from external bank accounts to fund your transactions. Chime accepts many banks, and there is a possibility that your bank account is one of them. It requires you to log into your external bank’s account online to add Chime account details to your bank account.
Remember that moving money from your external bank account to Chime is a direct deposit, and thus you will need the Chime routing and account numbers. After successfully adding Chime account details, you can transfer money online from your other bank account to Chime.
Alternatively, you can add Chime bank to your prepaid debit card account online and move money via direct deposit to your Chime account.
Why does it take too long to move money from Chime to a bank account?
As I indicated earlier, transferring money from your Chime account to a bank account may take up to five days to complete. The question remains, why does the transfer take that long? There are several reasons why the money transfer process takes so long. These include the following.
- Bank transfers are carried out through ACH that happens during the business days (Monday-Friday). If you do it on the weekend, then nothing happens until Monday.
- Once the processing begins, the partner bank asks Chime to hold the money for three days before posting it in the spending account.
- The receiving bank has to verify whether the source of money is genuine to prevent money laundering or funding of terrorism.
- Also, the receiving bank takes time communicating with Chime to ensure that there is enough money in your Chime account to fund the transaction.
Does Chime have transfer limits?
You cannot transfer any amount of money to your Chime account. There are various limitations that you should be aware of once you open a Chime account.
The ACH transfers are limited to $10,000 per calendar day. Moreover, you can send up to $25,000 per calendar month. However, there are no limits to the number of transfers per day.
Cash loads also have transfer limits. You can do a maximum of three cash loads per day. Also, you need to make a limit of $1,000 per load per day. Furthermore, you can only load a maximum of $10,000 per calendar month. However, Chime does not have limits on ACH transfers from external banks. You can move as many dollars as you can to your Chime account.
How do I use money in my Chime account?
There are several ways on how you can use money in your Chime account. First of all, you can send money to other Chime account holders. To send money from Chime to others, follow the steps below.
- Login your account online
- Navigate to the Pay Friends tab.
- Find the recipient on Chime.
- You can enter the email/phone of someone who is not on Chime.
- Enter the amount (in $) to send and add a note (like an emoji)
- Select “Pay”
If your friend is not on Chime, they have 14 days to enter the required information and instantly claim the money! Also, you can pay online with a Chime debit card when checking out from online stores. You can also pay at select merchant stores by swiping.
Another way you can use money in your Chime account is by withdrawing cash at an ATM. Chime has over 38,000 fee-free MoneyPass® and Visa® Plus Alliance ATMs across the country. You can use the Chime ATM locator to find an ATM near you.
Bottom line
Chime is an online financial service provider that operates as a bank. You can open a Chime account online using a smartphone or desktop. Chime allows you to transfer money to a bank account through ACH. The transaction takes at most five days under normal circumstances.
You can also use money in your Chime account to pay for goods and services or send it to other Chime account holders. Chime has a debit card to withdraw money at an ATM.
