How Chime Could Impact Your Credit Score

While a standard Chime account won't touch your credit, their Credit Builder card is designed specifically to help. Here’s how using it can positively influence your credit score over time.

1. Open a Credit Builder Account: The journey begins by signing up for Chime’s Credit Builder Secured Visa® Credit Card, which is specifically designed to report your activity to major credit bureaus.
2. Set Your Spending Limit: You'll move money from a Chime Spending Account to your Credit Builder secured account. This deposit becomes your credit limit, ensuring you can't spend more than you have.
3. Make Everyday Purchases: Use the Credit Builder card for regular expenses like gas, groceries, or bills. Each transaction contributes to building a payment history, a key component of your credit profile.
4. Ensure On-Time Payments: Chime’s Safer Credit Building feature can automatically pay your monthly balance on time using the funds in your secured account. This helps establish a consistent, positive payment record.
5. Build Credit History: Chime reports your payment activity to all three major credit bureaus—TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. Consistent on-time payments can gradually help increase your credit score.

How Much Will Chime Affect Your Credit Score?

The impact Chime has on your credit score depends on how you use its features. Here are a few key factors to consider:

• Credit Builder Reporting. Chime's Credit Builder reports your payment history to all three major credit bureaus. Consistent, on-time payments can positively influence your score by building a reliable credit history.
• No Hard Inquiry. Opening a Chime account does not involve a hard credit inquiry. This means your credit score will not be negatively impacted simply from the application process.
• Credit Utilization. The Credit Builder card doesn't report a credit utilization rate to the bureaus. This helps you avoid the negative impact of high utilization, a key factor in credit scoring.

How You Can Avoid Chime Affecting Your Credit Score

Understand Chime's Core Services

Chime's standard checking and savings accounts are not credit products and do not report to the major credit bureaus. By using only these core services for your daily banking, your activity will not influence your credit score, either positively or negatively.

Opt-Out of the Credit Builder Program

The only Chime product designed to impact your credit is the optional Credit Builder secured card. To completely avoid any effect on your credit file, simply do not enroll in this program and stick to the standard debit and savings features.

Choose the Right Card to Chime

No matter your current standing, it is always possible to improve your credit score through consistent, positive financial habits. By focusing on a few key areas, you can see meaningful changes in as little as three to six months.

• Monitor Your Credit Reports: Regularly check your free reports from all three major bureaus to catch and dispute any inaccuracies or signs of identity theft.
• Set Up Automatic Payments: Your payment history is the single biggest factor in your score, so ensure you never miss a due date by automating your bill payments.
• Lower Your Credit Utilization: Aim to use less than 30% of your available credit. You can achieve this by paying down balances or requesting a credit limit increase on existing cards.
• Become an Authorized User: If you have a trusted friend or family member with a good credit history, being added to their account can give your score a boost.
• Diversify Your Credit Mix: Lenders like to see that you can responsibly manage different types of credit, such as credit cards, installment loans, and mortgages.
• Limit Hard Inquiries: Space out your applications for new credit and use prequalification tools whenever possible to avoid multiple hard inquiries in a short time.

The Bottom Line

Chime's standard accounts won't impact your credit score. However, its optional Credit Builder card is designed to help build credit by reporting your payments to the major credit bureaus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does opening a Chime account affect my credit score?

No, opening a standard Chime checking or savings account does not require a hard credit inquiry, so it will not have any impact on your credit score.

Does Chime report my debit card activity to credit bureaus?

Chime does not report your regular debit card spending to the three major credit bureaus. Only payments made with the Credit Builder card are reported.

Can I get a traditional loan from Chime to build credit?

Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank, and does not offer traditional loans. Its main credit-building product is the secured Credit Builder card.