If you have started using Chime for online banking services, there is a chance you might have heard about Green Dot as well, as they provide and maintain systems for various chain stores which are compatible with Chime. Hence, you might be wondering – “Is Chime Green Dot?”.
Chime and Green Dot are not the same. Chime is a financial technology corporation that specializes in mobile banking apps. Green Dot also offers a banking app. However, they are also a prepaid debit card company and a developer of payment platforms. When comparing the two banking apps, there are noticeable differences.
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Chime and Green Dot Are Two Separate Companies That Offer Different Services
Green Dot has now been active for more than two decades, and they are well known for developing platforms that are used by Uber and Apple Pay Cash, for example. On the other hand, Chime is a younger financial company that has been working on mobile banking services for a decade now. They are well known for their groundbreaking feature SpotMe and the system which requires no fees for maintenance.
However, They Have Established a Partnership
As of recently, you can use Chime in any place that uses Green Dot’s platform and applications. Furthermore, if you have been using the Green Dot banking app, you can now transfer funds to Chime in a few simple steps:
- Log into your Chime account on either the internet browser on your PC or mobile app.
- Select the “Move Money” option.
- Select the “Transfers” option.
- In the pop-up window which will appear, you should enter your Green Dot account.
After doing this, you will be able to easily add money to Chime without any hidden fees. However, it is recommended to use just one banking app, and Chime has many advantages over Green Dot when it comes to banking services.
It Is Best to Know the Main Differences Between the Services Before Choosing Which App You Want to Use
We will now provide you with a comparison of the two services and give our personal opinion on what banking app is more worthwhile.
| Chime | Green Dot | |
| Fees | Chime has no monthly subscription fees and taxes on regular services. Only special services like the usage of out-of-network ATMs and wire transfers have additional fees. | Green Dot has a 7.95 dollars monthly subscription fee. This fee can be removed by becoming a premium user. However, in order to do that, you have to deposit at least 1,000 dollars monthly on your Green Dot card. |
| Interest Rates | Chime offers a 1% interest rate on an unlimited and unlimited amount of money. | Green Dot offers 2% on the first 10,000 dollars. |
| Daily deposit | Chime accepts daily deposits of up to 1,000 dollars. | Green Dot accents daily deposits of up to 3,000 dollars |
| Sign-up bonus | Chime has a 50-dollar sign-up bonus if you use their promotional links to create an account. | Green Dot has no sign-up bonuses or free trials. |
| Overdraft | Chime allows its users to incur 200 dollars of debt on their debit cards. | Green Dot has a different system where you have to apply for a loan. It can be between 100 and 10,000 dollars. |
These are the most important aspects to consider when choosing an online banking service, but we shouldn’t disregard other technical aspects as well. When it comes to smartphone applications, Chime, overall, has better reviews, but both apps are pretty easy to learn, and all services require just a few clicks.
Another quite important issue is privacy and security. Here we have to say that both companies have high standards, and it is a draw (partially, this is due to the fact that both companies use the same ATM network).
They Are Similar, but for Personal Banking Services, Chime Is Slightly Better
If you are looking for a banking app to use on a daily basis, we would recommend choosing Chime, and here are the main reasons:
- The fact that Chime has no monthly subscription is enough to go for this app. Green Dot provides the same features (their app has a less convenient interface than Chime’s and there are fewer features in total,) and there are not really any advantages even though there is a monthly fee.
- It might seem that Green Dot is better if you need to loan money. However, borrowing money from Chime is much more useful for everyday life. For example, if you need more money in the supermarket, you can easily access the app and borrow up to 200 dollars. This is not possible with Green Dot.
- Finally, we can’t disregard the sign-up bonus that Chimes gifts to every new user. Fifty dollars is a generous amount of money, and downloading the app and registering takes no more than five minutes.
Green Dot has a higher interest rate, but this evens out when you add its monthly subscription fee. You can load less money on Chime on a daily basis, but that often has no real impact if you are just using the app for everyday life. We could say that Green Dot is perhaps a better choice if you have to use it for a business.
Banking Applications Like Chime’s Have Made Our Lives a Lot Easier
First of all, remember that Chime is not a national bank, so before using such apps, you first need to open valid bank accounts. Be that as it may, such apps have proven to be more than useful and have reduced the queues significantly (the coronavirus pandemic has shown how helpful they can be). Therefore, don’t hesitate to try the Chime app (or any other, for that matter) for banking services.