Chime Holds 60% of US Digital Banking Market Without Bank Charter

A May 2020 report highlighted that Chime dominated approximately 60% of the US digital banking market while operating without its own bank charter, instead relying on banking-as-a-service partnerships with sponsor banks. This model allowed Chime to scale rapidly without navigating the lengthy and contentious charter approval process that other fintechs like Monzo and Varo were pursuing. The report also noted that Varo had received only preliminary approval from the OCC dating back to 2018 and had not yet achieved full licensure.

Robinhood had withdrawn its charter application in November 2019. Revolut had launched US services in March 2020 through a partnership with FDIC-insured Metropolitan Commercial Bank rather than securing its own charter. The landscape demonstrated that BaaS partnerships remained the dominant path for fintechs to offer banking services in the US, with charter applications facing significant delays and opposition.