Stride Bank and Chime Continue Banking Services Agreements

Stride Bank has extended its private-label banking services partnership with Chime Financial.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)-member bank said in a Wednesday (Jan. 11) press release that this partnership reaffirms its standing as a key banking partner and enables the FinTech company to offer fully regulated products.

“Consumers should not have to choose between innovation and consumer protection,” Stride Bank President of Payments Jimmy Stallings said in the release. “We are proud to partner with Chime as they continue to create easy-to-use banking products that are loved by millions of Americans.”

Collaborations between banks and FinTechs — done responsibly — has been encouraged by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

In a report issued Nov. 16, the Treasury Department said that FinTechs have offered new capabilities but also create new risks to consumer protection and market integrity, PYMNTS reported at the time.

PYMNTS research has found that 39% of U.S. consumers use FinTechs in some capacity, whether as their primary or secondary financial institution (FI).

This indicates that at least 68 million U.S. consumers use FinTechs to some extent, often to receive or send money in peer-to-peer (P2P) fashion, according to “The Role of FinTechs,” a PYMNTS and Ingo Money collaboration.

FinTechs are especially popular among low-income consumers who live paycheck to paycheck with issues paying the bills. The report found that among those consumers, 39% use FinTechs and 22% use them as their primary FI.

Stride Bank said in its Wednesday press release that Chime offers consumer banking services that are free and don’t rely on fees and minimum balance requirements, thereby making basic banking services easy to use and accessible to Americans who haven’t been well served by traditional banks.

“Banking customers waited a long time for a company like Chime to come in and disrupt a fee-happy industry,” Stallings said in the release. “Stride looks forward to continuing to serve the needs of Chime members while also working to bring the next generation of financial solutions to life.”