San Francisco based mobile banking start-up Chime raised an additional $200 million in Series D financing led by DST Global, valuing its business at $1.5 billion. The oversubscribed funding round saw participation from new investors Coatue, General Atlantic, ICONIQ Capital and Dragoneer Investment Group, along with existing investors Menlo Ventures, Forerunner Ventures, Cathay Innovation and others. This funding round has made Chime the most funded banking start-up with the highest valuation among other US challenger banks.
The company is focused on a younger, millennial audience which no longer believes in the need for physical branches for banking. They are tired of numerous transaction fees levied upon account holders by traditional banks worldwide. Chime offers a “no-fees” bank account, which does not penalise users for dropping below a minimum required balance or even overdrafts on accounts. Chime operates by a modern day banking app with features that maximize efficiency and offers the security of banking transactions on mobile phones. Chime’s co-founder and CEO Chris Britt previously worked at Flycast, comScore, VISA and Green Dot; co-founder and CTO Ryan King spent time at Plaxo and Comcast before Chime. This mix of both technology and finance has provided Chime with leadership that facilitates financial technology innovation and is connected with today’s youth.
The innovative team of Chime offers unique features that help differentiate it from other mobile banking apps in the market. An automatic savings feature rounds up purchases to pocket the change and save it for future use. Chime automatically saves 10% of your paycheck into Chime’s savings account. It also offers its users a no-fee paycheck advance that gives its users the freedom to spend their income even before they receive their paycheck. All these features have been developed with keeping the millennials in mind, and they solve everyday problems such as saving a change, early paycheck and saving from your salary every month. Till date, mobile users around the world have opened more than 3 million FDIC insured bank accounts on Chime making it the largest mobile banking brand.
Chime plans to use the new investment to continue to accelerate growth and maintain its trajectory over the years. They also plan to release new products in the lending and credit market. “We are excited to welcome some of the world’s leading growth investors to Chime. Banking should be free, helpful and easy to use. We aim to set a new standard in the industry by using technology to create service that is truly aligned with the best interests of consumers.” said Chris Britt, CEO and co-founder, Chime.
