Does Chime or Varo offer joint accounts?

Chime and Varo don't offer joint accounts.

Can you use Varo and Chime together?

Yes, you can use Varo and Chime together. Varo allows you to connect to two external accounts.

Which one is better for freelancers or gig workers?

Both offer similar appealing features for freelancers and gig workers. No monthly fees or minimum balances, as well as early direct deposit access for both Varo and Chime .

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Chime vs. Varo: Comparing Features, Fees and Benefits

March 13, 2025

9 min Read

Written by Rudri Patel

Edited by Joe Evans

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Do you manage your bank account via a mobile banking app? Chime and Varo are two online options that can help you walk away from branch banking. Their online apps also make banking more accessible with round-the-clock availability that’s not bound to branch locations.

Let’s take a look at Varo vs. Chime and how they stack up against one another.

What Is Chime?

Chime helps you reach your savings goals by offering saving accounts and online checking without charging a fee. Unlike Varo, however, Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank, providing a whole host of services designed to be simple and cost-effective for consumers.

The app has built-in features like automatic savings, fee-free overdraft up to $200 for eligible members and ATM networks. Chime has gained popularity for providing many fee-free services. If there are any fees, they are relatively low — you only have to pay $2.50 for out-of-network transactions.

What Is Varo?

In the U.S., Varo was the first online banking app that operates as a full-bank charter. That means Varo has full bank status, unlike Chime and the other banking apps associated with national banks.

An Overview of Chime vs. Varo

As mobile apps, Varo and Chime are both relatively straightforward. These apps allow you to check your checking and savings accounts from your smartphone. They offer many similar features and options, aiming to simplify banking and finance management. This way, you don’t have to go to traditional brick-and-mortar banks.

Varo and Chime both offer a debit account and optional savings account without charging monthly fees. In addition, they both simplify the banking process by offering automatic savings tools: When you transfer money to your checking account, an adjustable percentage can be automatically transferred to the savings account. Varo calls it “Save Your Pay,” while Chime’s offering is “Save When You Get Paid.”

Similar to many other online banks, Varo and Chime get you your paycheck two days early in case of direct deposit payments. When your employer processes payroll, the money becomes available to you two days before your scheduled payday.

Besides this, both banking apps let you deposit money from thousands of retail locations through Green Dot.

Varo and Chime also let you pay your bills through ACH transfer. Another benefit of these online banking apps is that you can instantly send money to other accounts without paying a banking fee.

Varo’s customer service is excellent, with a 4.7 out of 5-star rating on Google Play, while Chime has a 4.7 out of 5-star rating. And on the App Store, Varo has a 4.9-star rating, whereas Chime has a 4.8-star rating.

Comparison Between Chime and Varo

Understanding how Chime and Varo compare to one another will help you decide which app will work better for you. Here’s a detailed breakdown of both:

Features	Chime	Varo
Monthly Fee	None	None
Checking Account	Free checking with no account balance	Free checking with no Account balance
Savings Account	Free savings account (requires Chime Checking first)	Free savings account
APY	2% APY	2.5% to 5% APY (requires $1,000+ direct deposit for highest rate)
Balance Requirement	No minimum balance required	Minimum $.01 to earn interest
Automatic Savings Features	Save When You Get Paid – Fixed 10% savings from paychecks	Save Your Pay – Custom percentage savings from deposits
Early Direct Deposit	Get paid up to 2 days early	Get paid up to 2 days early
Overdraft Protection	SpotMe Overdraft Protection (up to $200)	None
Cash Deposits	Available through Green Dot locations	Available through Green Dot locations
Bill Pay and ACH Transfers	Free ACH and bill transfers	Free ACH and bill transfers
Instant Money Transfers	Free transfers to Chime users	Free transfers to Varo users
FDIC Insurance	Backed by The Bancorp Bank	Backed by Varo Bank
Debit Card Insurance	Chime Visa Debit Card	Varo Visa Debit Card
Joint Accounts	Not available	Not available
Cash Advances	You can get between $20 and $500 between paydays.	Eligible to receive $20 to $250 and over time $500.

Is Chime or Varo Better?

Chime and Varo offer very similar services, and because of this, it can be hard to know which is the better option. You may want to know if one bank has an edge over the other when it comes to the features offered.

Let’s take a look at which bank is better in each category:

Checking Accounts

Chime: There is no monthly deposit or monthly maintenance fee with a Chime checking account. Chime will get you your paycheck two days early in case of direct deposit payments. Also, Chime offers the Spot Me program to those who are eligible. This allows $200 worth of overdraft without incurring fees.
Varo: Varo does not require a monthly deposit or monthly maintenance fee for its checking account. Varo doesn’t provide overdraft protection, but offers cash advances for up to $100. Varo will decline the transaction if there’s not enough of a balance to cover the purchase amount.
Who wins? Both Chime and Varo offer essentially the same coverage on checking accounts. However, the overdraft protection that Chime offers may give it the slight edge.

Savings Accounts

Chime: There’s no minimum deposit required and balances earn up to 2% APY. There’s also no minimum balance or monthly maintenance fees. Chime requires you to have a Chime Checking Account before you’re eligible for a High-Yield Savings Account.

Varo: You can earn up to 5% APY on balances up to $5,000. Remaining balances earn 2.5% APY. To earn the highest interest rate, you’ll have to meet certain requirements, one of which is to set up direct deposits of $1,000 or more each month.
Who wins? Varo. There are more requirements to qualify for the 5% APY, but even when you aren’t eligible for the higher APY, you earn 2.5% APY.

Automatic Savings

Chime: Chime only offers a static 10% savings from each paycheck on the “Save When You Get Paid” plan.
Varo: Varo has a “Save Your Pay” rule. It allows you to set aside a set percentage of your salary, and the bank lets you decide the percentage.
Who wins? Varo. Varo allows flexibility on how much you want to save.

Cashback Rewards

Chime: Chime offers cashback via their debit and credit card. You can score Chime cashback at over 30,000 locations. You can get up to $0.22 per gallon cash back at participating gas stations, up to 11% back on groceries and up to 24% at participating restaurants.
Varo: Varo offers 6% cashback rewards through their debit and credit card. The limit is $200 per calendar month.
Who wins? Chime offers a higher percentage back in terms of cashback rewards, but only for participating retailers.

Overdraft Protection

Chime: Chime offers overdraft protection for $200 without incurring fees.
Varo: Varo doesn’t offer overdraft protection. Varo declines transactions if there’s not enough to cover the amount of the purchase. There’s an option to get a cash advance of up to $100 for a fee of $5.
Who wins? Chime has the edge here because there’s an overdraft option.

ATMs

Chime: Offers fee-free access to over 60,000 ATMs through the MoneyPass, Allpoint and Visa Plus Alliance networks.
Varo: Provides fee-free access to over 55,000 ATMs via the Allpoint network.
Who wins? Chime offers slightly more ATMs than Varo.

App Scores

Chime: Out of 983,242 reviews, the app received 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store. Chime received 4.7 stars out of 5 stars in Google Play.
Varo: Out of 231,000 reviews, the app received 4.9 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store. The app also received 4.7 out of 5 stars in Google Play. There were 239,000 reviews.
Who wins? It’s a toss-up. Both apps are comparable, although Chime seems to have double the reviews in the Apple store.

Are There Better Banks Than Chime or Varo?

Chime and Varo don’t use ChexSystems, which many traditional banks use. These systems determine whether you’re eligible for a bank account. Since neither of these companies uses ChexSystems, having a bad banking history won’t disqualify you from banking with Chime or Varo.

However, neither Chime nor Varo is the right fit for every person, so here are a few things to consider if you’re not sure one of them is right for you.

Varo and Chime do not offer joint accounts or financial products like auto loans, personal loans or mortgages. They also don’t offer the ability to order a physical checkbook.

However, Chime offers Chime Checkbook, which allows you to send paper checks to anywhere in the 50 states with arrival between three to nine business days. This is a fee-free service.

FAQs

In today's modern world, digital banking is the way of the future. But it's only natural to have some questions that might come into play when it comes to how and why it works the way it does. With that in mind, here are some questions and concerns that might pop up while looking into Chime vs. Varo:

Does Chime or Varo offer joint accounts?
- Chime and Varo don't offer joint accounts.
Can you use Varo and Chime together?
- Yes, you can use Varo and Chime together. Varo allows you to connect to two external accounts.
Which one is better for freelancers or gig workers?
- Both offer similar appealing features for freelancers and gig workers. No monthly fees or minimum balances, as well as early direct deposit access for both Varo and Chime.

Information is accurate as of March 13, 2025.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

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