Chime Financial reportedly plans to launch its initial public offering (IPO) in 2025.
The FinTech company aims to do so in the United States but has not yet engaged banks for the IPO, Bloomberg reported Friday (March 22), citing unnamed sources.
Chime did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.
Chime has been considered an IPO candidate for years, according to the report. The company was valued at $25 billion in 2021 but then saw the technology boom fade as interest rates and inflation increased.
Chris Britt, co-founder of Chime, said in December that the company was “as IPO-ready as a company can be” and was monitoring the conditions of the economy and the stock market, per the report.
Now, the market for IPOs is recovering after two slow years, and tech companies are likely looking to accelerate plans to go public that they had previously delayed, the report said.
It was reported in January 2022 that Chime was prepping for an IPO that was expected to arrive as early as the following spring.
However, the company put its IPO plan on hold in February 2022 as the industry entered a “FinTech winter,” PYMNTS reported in November 2022.
At the time of that report, Chime announced that it was cutting 12% of its staff in a move to ensure the long-term success of the company.
In a statement emailed to PYMNTS at the time, the company said that it was focusing its organization to align with priorities based on current market dynamics.
“As a result, we are eliminating some positions, while still hiring for select others,” Chime said. “We remain very well capitalized, and these steps will continue to position us for sustained success.”
More recently, on March 4, Chime said that it has partnered with Upside to launch a fee-free cash-back feature. The new Chime Deals allows Chime members to take advantage of cash-back opportunities on everyday spending.
On March 14, the company expanded the availability of free access to its in-app tax filing pilot program. With this feature, eligible Chime members can file both state and federal taxes directly through the Chime app.