Chime Financial Files for IPO, Sees ‘Enormous Opportunity to Grow’

Chime Financial filed its Form S-1 registration statement for a proposed initial public offering (IPO) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday (May 13).

The consumer financial technology company said in a press release that it applied to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market with the ticker symbol “CHYM.”

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” the release said.

In its Form S-1, Chime said it addresses “the most critical financial needs of everyday Americans,” including spending, liquidity, credit building, savings, community, support and safety.

The company added that it has 8.6 million active members, up 82% since the first quarter of 2022, and that 67% of these active members use Chime as their primary account relationship.

It noted that it is a technology company, not a bank, and that its bank partners provide its FDIC-insured accounts.

“Looking ahead, with less than 5% adoption in our core target market, we see an enormous opportunity to grow for years to come,” Chime Co-Founder and CEO Chris Britt and Co-Founder Ryan King wrote in the Form S-1.

“Our primary account relationships uniquely position us to expand into adjacent service areas to enrich the lives of our members. Breakthroughs in AI, combined with our extensive dataset and platform, give us an advantage that can continue to compound — enabling us to make leaps forward in efficiency, innovation and member experience.”

Chime has been considered an IPO candidate for years, PYMNTS reported in December.

The company put earlier IPO plans on hold in February 2022 as the industry entered a “FinTech winter.”

Chime has added several new features to its mobile banking app in recent months.

The company launched a premium membership program called Chime+ in March, saying that the program is available exclusively to members who direct deposit. The program’s benefits include a higher APY savings rate, exclusive merchant deals and priority customer support.

Chime also launched a product called Instant Loans in March, saying it enables preapproved members who receive direct deposits to their Chime Checking Account to access three-month installment loans of up to $500.