Chime Turns a Profit as Members Hit 10.2 Million

The FinTech landscape is undoubtedly a mature one these days. But as Chime Financial’s first quarter 2026 earnings call Wednesday (May 6) revealed, that doesn’t mean that firms can’t still achieve scale without abandoning growth, or that both scale and growth are ever risk-free.

“We’re off to a strong start in 2026, exceeding the high end of our revenue guidance, delivering strong incremental margins, and achieving our first quarter of GAAP profitability as a public company,” said Chris Britt, CEO and co-founder of Chime, noting that the company’s 25% year-over-year revenue growth exceeded both guidance and analyst estimates.

Still, the harder question for FinTechs more broadly is whether they can preserve agility and consumer trust once they begin to resemble the institutions they originally set out to disrupt.

Britt emphasized to investors that the FinTech platform “reached 10.2 million Active Members, with more Americans opening bank accounts with Chime than any other financial institution, putting us more than 50% ahead of our closest competitor.”

And the company’s first profitable quarter could suggest that the competitive edge across a mature FinTech space may look less like insurgent apps and more like fully integrated financial institutions built on modern infrastructure.

At the same time, the quarter also exposed some of the tensions that may end up defining the sector’s next chapter. Chime, for example, is expanding into premium financial services while defending itself against a newly filed class-action lawsuit tied to an alleged April 2026 data breach.

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FinTech’s Big Push Upmarket

Chime’s quarterly results revealed a company shifting from a customer-acquisition machine into a more diversified financial platform. Active members were up 19% year over year, while average revenue per active member increased 5% to $263 and purchase volume rose to $39 billion.

The company’s revenue growth was supported by expansion beyond its core debit card and checking account business. Payments revenue increased 15% year over year to $433 million, while platform-related revenue surged 50% to $215 million. Rather than functioning as a simple low-fee checking alternative, Chime’s executives said that the company is increasingly focused on behaving like a vertically integrated financial services ecosystem.

MyPay, its earned wage access product, generated more than $400 million in annualized revenue during the quarter, according to the company, while Instant Loans originated $180 million in loans during Q1 alone.

And while historically Chime built its brand around targeting consumers underserved or overlooked by traditional banks, the platform this April launched Chime Prime, a premium membership tier aimed at customers receiving at least $3,000 in qualifying monthly direct deposits.

Taken together, results reflect a broader trend within FinTech toward higher-margin financial products.

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The FinTech Advantage

Another revealing aspect of Wednesday’s executive commentary was their emphasis on artificial intelligence as an operational feature across the platform’s back end.

The company said AI-assisted coding increased from approximately 29% to 84% of code shipped internally over a four-month period, which management said improved product velocity while allowing headcount growth to remain relatively flat.

The focus on AI reflects broader adoption trends across the financial technology industry, where companies are deploying generative AI tools to automate engineering workflows, customer service functions, fraud detection and internal operations.

According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s November 2025 CAIO Report, CFOs expect AI to change the makeup of the workforce by creating new roles, raising skill demands and, in many cases, trimming staffing in some areas at the same time. About 65% of the CFOs surveyed say AI’s workforce impact will be equally positive and negative, while 32% say it will be mostly or completely beneficial.

Just 3.3% see the impact as negative overall.

For its own part, Chime indicated that AI-driven efficiencies contributed to operating leverage during the quarter, helping expand margins while continuing to scale new products and services.