The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® is a secured credit card to help you build credit if you have bad, limited, or no credit.
It offers credit building and a flexible credit limit at no additional cost (no fees, no interest charges). The catch is that you need to open a Chime checking account in order to get the card and transfer money from your Chime account to your credit account as a security deposit. The security deposit you pay will act as your credit limit.
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Quick Review
The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® is a low-cost, no-frills credit card for borrowers looking to build or rebuild their credit. While it doesn’t offer any rewards, it offers credit-building features and comes at a minimal cost to borrowers.
The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® requires you to have a checking account with Chime. Once you’ve moved a minimum of $200 from your Chime checking account to your Chime secured credit account, you can begin using your Chime secured card.
Your credit limit is equal to the amount of money in your credit-builder account. Unlike many secured credit cards, you can use your security deposit to pay off your card’s balance and add more funds to your deposit at will. With other cards, your security deposit is often inflexible and only refundable upon closing the account.
One of the major benefits of this card is that there are no fees and no interest, making it a low-cost credit-building resource. The only fee that Chime charges is $2.50 for using an out-of-network ATM.
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Important Details
Basic Card Details
- APR: 0%
- Annual fee: $0
- Credit card issuer: The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.
- Initial credit limit: $200 minimum
- Security deposit: $200 minimum in your Chime spending account
Additional Information
- Reports to the three major credit bureaus
- Chime doesn’t report credit utilization rate because there is no pre-set credit limit
- Fee-free transactions at any Moneypass ATM in a 7-Eleven location and at any Allpoint or Visa® Plus Alliance ATM
- Offers instant transaction alerts
- Card lock
- 24/7 live support
- Secure two-factor and fingerprint authentication
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® Feature Breakdown
To decide whether or not the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® is the right choice for you, learn about the most important features of the credit card.
Fees
Chime does not charge annual fees, maintenance fees, program fees, or foreign transaction fees.
However, there’s a fee of $2.50 if you use the card to withdraw money from an out-of-network ATM. In-network ATMs are:
- Moneypass ATM in a 7-Eleven location
- Allpoint ATM
- Visa® Plus Alliance ATM
Interest Rates
Chime does not charge interest on the Chime secured credit card. This is perhaps the most unique feature of the card, as credit card interest is standard across cards.
Rewards
Chime does not have a rewards program. While it’s common for credit cards for bad credit and limited credit not to offer rewards, there are a handful of credit cards that do. If earning cash back or credit card points is important to you, look into other credit cards for bad credit or credit cards for no credit.
Security Deposit
The Chime Credit Builder card does not have a traditional security deposit. Instead, you’re required to have a Chime checking account with at least $200 of qualifying direct deposits to be eligible for the card.
The qualifying direct deposit must have been made by your employer, payroll provider, or benefits payer by Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit.
The following deposits will not be considered qualifying direct deposits:
- Bank ACH transfers
- Pay Anyone transfers
- Verification or trial deposits from financial institutions
- Peer-to-peer transfers from services such as PayPal, Cash App, or Venmo
- Mobile check deposits
- Cash loads
Using Your Security Deposit
Once your qualifying deposit has been made into your checking account, you can move $200 or more to your Chime credit account and use that as your credit limit.
You can add to these funds at any time in order to increase your credit limit.
Additionally, you can use your security deposit directly to pay balances on your credit card. This is a rare feature, as many secured cards lock your security deposit until you upgrade to an unsecured card or close your account.
Credit Reporting
Chime reports to the three major credit bureaus: TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax.
Credit reporting is an important part of building credit, as this information is used to update your credit report.
While Chime reports your payment activity (i.e., whether you make payments on time each month), but doesn’t report credit utilization. Credit utilization is the amount of your credit limit you’re currently using; Chime doesn’t report this, and the secured credit card doesn’t have a set credit limit.
Credit Building
The Chime Credit Builder card offers features that help you improve your credit score, including:
- Safer Credit Building: This allows you to automatically pay your monthly balance with the money in your Credit Builder secured account. Turn it on so that your monthly balances are always paid on time. As this responsible borrowing is reported to the credit bureaus, your credit score will improve.
- Move My Pay: This is an optional Credit Builder feature that allows you to automatically move a set amount from your Chime checking account to your Credit Builder credit card account whenever you get paid.
Cash Advances
You can use your Chime card to withdraw cash from ATMs, an act known as a cash advance. Keep in mind that withdrawals made on in-network ATMs are free, but cash advances on out-of-network ATMs will cost a fee of $2.50.
Should You Get the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa®?
FinanceJar verdict
The Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® is a decent borrowing option for people who want to build or rebuild their credit. The biggest downside is that you must open a Chime checking account and the rules for making a qualifying deposit can be difficult to navigate.
In favor of the card is its lack of fees and interest, meaning it’s a safe borrowing option for those who have struggled with credit card debt in the past.
Chime also offers some automated features that you can turn on to help keep your account in good standing. Lastly, it’s a credit card that doesn’t require a credit check to qualify, so applying for the card won’t damage your credit score through a hard inquiry.
Who is this card for?
- People with a Chime checking account: The best Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® borrower is one who already has a Chime checking account. Once you have a qualifying Chime account, you can automatically qualify for the secured credit card, move funds to your credit account, and begin building credit.
- People with low or no credit: As Chime won’t check your credit when you apply for the card, even those with very poor or nonexistent credit scores can qualify. The card offers features to help build or repair credit, including strategic credit reporting, automatic payment services, and no interest charges.
Comparable Cards
See how the Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® compares to similar credit cards available to poor-credit or limited-credit borrowers.
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® vs. Self Visa®
Both of these cards are designed to build credit. In both cases you have to open a linked account and meet certain criteria to be eligible for the card.
With the Self Visa®, you start with a credit builder loan account. Once you’ve made three monthly payments on time, have $100 or more in savings, and your account is in good standing, you become eligible for the Self Visa® credit card.
The advantage of the Chime secured card is that you don’t have to take out a loan, so you won’t pay any interest like you would on the Self card. However, since you have two credit building accounts with the Self Visa®, you have the potential to build your credit up more quickly since information from both accounts is reported to the major credit bureaus each month.
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® vs. Academy Bank Credit Builder Secured Visa®
Both of these credit cards focus on credit building and require linked accounts with the respective issuing banks.
Academy Bank requires a credit-builder savings account. Your security deposit of between $300–$3,000 is placed in this savings account and used as the security deposit for your card.
The Chime card is the better option of the two, as it doesn’t charge interest or an annual fee, while the Academy Bank card has an APR of 21.24% and charges an annual fee of $39.
Chime Credit Builder Secured Visa® vs. U.S. Bank Secured Visa®
Once again, both these cards are designed for credit building and repair and require linked accounts. Chime requires a checking account, while U.S. Bank requires a savings account. Your refundable security deposit for the card is held in this secured savings account.
For both cards, your credit limit is the same amount as your security deposit and neither charges an annual fee. However, the U.S. Bank secured card has an APR of 24.74%.
In addition, while Chime does not charge fees, U.S. Bank charges fees for balance transfers, cash advances, and foreign transactions. Ultimately, the U.S. Bank Secured Visa® is a more expensive borrowing option. However, if you already have a U.S. Bank account, it may be the more convenient choice.
