Can I Use My Chime Builder Card With No Money?

If you wish to go cashless and are wondering whether you can I use my chime builder card with no money, this guide answers all your queries! Chime cardholders must deposit money onto the secured card to establish a credit limit before they may make regular purchases. There is no basic security deposit, no interest, and no credit check required to do so!

Chime Builder Card – Everything You Need to Know 

Chime provides customers with access to basic services including checking, savings, and credit accounts. Similar to other secured cards, the Secured Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card offers a way to establish a strong credit history.

• With the chime Builder card, you can deposit money towards the credit limit; you can only spend up to what you have set up.

Chime is not a bank. It is a provider of financial technologies. The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A., Members FDIC, offer banking services. We have briefed an outline below for you so that you can grasp everything you need to know.

• Chime Builder Card is a secured credit card.
• Annual cost: zero
• There is no need for a minimum-security deposit. 
• The amount you can spend with the card depends on how much you send from your Chime Spending Account onto your Credit Builder secured account.
• Bonus: none.
• Rewards: none.
• APR: N/A.
• There is no foreign transaction fee.
• No credit check is required to apply.
• Reported payments to the three major credit bureaus.

Guidelines For Using the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card

You must open a Chime Spending Account and have received at least $200 in Chime direct deposits into the account within the last 365 days. This is the only way to be eligible for the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card.

Your employer, payroll service provider, payer for the gig economy, or payer of benefits must make the qualifying direct deposit via an Automated Clearing House (ACH) deposit or perhaps an original credit transaction (OCT). 

Attention! Once the deposit has been verified, a Chime client can sign up for one Credit Builder secured account. He or she can acquire a Visa credit card without having their credit history checked or making a minimum deposit.

The following are not considered valid direct deposits.

• Bank-to-bank ACH transfers.
• Pay Anyone transfers.
• Authentication or trial deposits from financial firms.
• Mobile check deposits.
• Monetary loads or deposits.
• One-time direct deposits like tax refunds and similar transactions.
• Peer-to-peer payments made through applications like Venmo and Cash App.

You might be interested in reading: Payday Loans That Accept Chime.

Why Should You Choose Chime Builder Card?

You may have already grasped some advantages of Chime builder card but there are definitely more in stock! Let’s take a look at these one by one.

Without Credit Check

When you apply for most credit cards, even secured ones, a hard inquiry is made on your credit report. This is to help the card’s issuer determine your creditworthiness. These strong pulls can temporarily lower your credit scores by several places. This is not ideal if you are new to credit even if you are subsequently approved for the card.

The Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card, however, does not run a credit check when you apply, making it an excellent choice for people with bad or no credit.

Zero Interest Costs

The Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card doesn’t have an interest rate. This is because it restricts your spending to the funds in your protected Credit Builder account. It’s a credit card that resembles a redeemable prepaid debit card in several aspects. 

This is advantageous because using this card won’t result in credit card debt. Some secured credit cards have high interest rates. This makes it easy to incur costly debt while building your credit history.

Flexible Credit Limit

Your card’s spending limit is determined by the amount of money you transfer from your Chime Spending Account onto your protected Credit Builder account. You have the option of moving money manually or automatically each time you receive payment. 

• Transferring money takes about a minute and is almost quick.

Anywhere Visa is accepted, you can utilize the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card to do the purchases. Some other secured credit cards offer fixed credit limits, and you’ll need to use the card for a while before you qualify for an increase in the credit limit.

The Autopay Option

An unintentional missed payment can be avoided with the Safer Credit Building feature, which is a variant of the autopay feature offered on more conventional credit cards.

The entire transaction amount is placed on hold within your Credit Builder secured account each time you use the card to make a purchase. The funds placed on hold are automatically applied to your bill when it becomes due. This prevents you from paying your bill on time and running out of money before it is due.

No Impact on Credit Score

You don’t need to be concerned about the proportion of your total funds available that you can spend because your credit utilisation is not disclosed to credit bureaus.

Maintaining on-time payments is crucial since, in contrast to a prepay debit card, your transaction history and other characteristics will be disclosed.

Your card would be disabled if you don’t make a payment on time until you settle the balance. Furthermore, if a payment is overdue by 30 days, the credit bureaus will be notified, which could lower your credit scores.

Things To Watch Out for With Chime Builder Credit Card 

The Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card eliminates many of the potential pitfalls for anyone who is new to using credit cards if your only objective is to establish credit. However, a few other initial credit cards provide cash-back benefits even though they have interest rates and a set security deposit.

• If you decide to use the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card, be aware that future unsecured credit cards you use won’t have the same restrictions.

No perks or welcome bonuses, which are typical of other credit cards, will be given to cardholders. Benefits as cash back, points, or advertising cash deposits are not available through Chime. Chime isn’t the ideal choice if prizes or bonuses are more crucial than having no interest.

There Are No Bonuses or Awards Available

Prior to recent years, rewards on secured credit cards were quite uncommon, but things have changed. Unfortunately, because it doesn’t provide any sort of rewards programme, the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card doesn’t follow this trend.

Rewards aren’t the top priority while trying to improve your credit, of course. They can be found among the cards in this class, though, and they’re wonderful to have. For instance, the Discover it® Secured Credit Card, which has no annual fee, offers 1% cash back on all other transactions in addition to 2% cash back at restaurants and gas stations on up to $1,000 in quarterly expenditures. 

A bonus offer is available to new cardholders, which Discover describes as follows: “Offer: Only from Discover, get unlimited cashback matching. When your first year is up, Discover will effectively match all the cash back you’ve accrued! There is no minimum or maximum prize amount. Just a match dollar for dollar.”

No Way to Upgrade

You can build your credit with the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card, but there are no higher-tier cards available once you have done so. There is therefore little justification for continuing to use this one. You’ll need to open a new account with a different issuer if you think you’re ready for such a credit card with rewards and other perks.

Works Differently!

It’s simple to keep to a spending plan and make on-time credit card payments with the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card. Although your credit ratings will benefit from this, whatever credit card you finally graduate to will operate completely differently.

The training wheels completely fall off once you begin to use an unsecure credit card with a rate of interest and fees.

Revolving credit cards let you spend to your credit limit, take on debt while just making the bare minimum payments, and then spend the whole amount again. Additionally, if you do a late fee, you can be hit with a fee, an increased interest rate, and a significant drop in the credit scores.

The Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card can undoubtedly assist you in establishing credit; nevertheless, before applying for another credit card in the future, become acquainted with how they operate.

Chime Builder Card with No Money – Alternatives

Opening an account and receiving direct deposits can be challenging for some people, but the connection between both the Chime Spending Account as well as the Chime Credit Builder Visa® Credit Card simplifies the card’s distinctive user experience. 

The OpenSky® Secured Visa® Credit Card is a choice for anyone without a bank account because many other secured credit cards also need a bank account to fund the security deposit.

Note! The security deposit can be paid with a debit card, cheque, money order. It is also possible to do so by Western Union in addition to these methods.

The Bottom Line 

If a cardholder needs to rebuild bad credit or establish new credit, Chime’s Credit Builder Visa secured card can be a smart choice. You can not use your Chime Build Card with no money. However, no interest is charged on any transactions, and there is no yearly fee. There is no minimum credit score need for Chime, and the business doesn’t even perform credit checks.

• Cardholders establish credit limits by adding funds to a Credit Builder account, much like with other secured credit cards.

They can also add funds by using direct deposits. Before requesting a Credit Builder Visa credit card, however, customers are needed to set up direct deposit.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Can I use Chime Credit Builder if I don’t have any money?

No. You must open a Chime Spending Account and have received at least $200 in direct payments into the account within the last 365 days to qualify.

Is cash advance available with Chime Credit Builder?

You receive a cash advance when you use the Credit Builder Card to make an ATM withdrawal. Chime does NOT, however, impose interest or fees for all of this! So, it functions exactly like a debit card.

How much may a Chime card be overspent?

The preferred ratio for credit reporting agencies is 30% or less. Because Chime does not disclose credit utilisation rates, you may relax using the Chime Credit Builder card. You may use the card to make any purchases you choose in the spending account of yours. Additionally, it prevents late costs.

Can I use an ATM to overdraw my Chime Credit Builder card?

Alternatively, you can withdraw money by using SpotMe. This is Chime’s fee-free overdraft service that enables you to overdraw up to $200 using your debit card. There are limitations and eligibility restrictions.