Is Chime unavailable in Canada? Here are some alternatives

Chime is a popular US-based neobank that offers user-friendly banking with zero fees. It’s only available for US residents, so Canadians won’t be able to sign up for Chime.

In this article, we’ll explore Chime’s features and the best alternatives to Chime for Canadian residents — including Wise, which offers a free multicurrency account with no markups on international transactions.

Is Chime available in Canada?

Due to differences in banking regulations between Canada and the US, Chime isn’t available for Canadian residents.

If you’re already a Chime user, withdrawing cash from a Canadian ATM using Chime will come with a $2.50 USD withdrawal fee, as only US ATMs belong to Chime’s fee-free ATM network¹.

There are several Canada-based alternatives to Chime that you can sign up for — but which one should you choose? Read on to learn more about each of them.

Best alternatives to Chime in Canada

KOHO

KOHO is a Canadian fintech company that offers prepaid Mastercards with similar features to Chime. With KOHO, you can choose from three available plans:

• Essential: $0 monthly fee, if you deposit at least $1000 each month
• Extra: $18 monthly fee — offers all the benefits of Essential, plus no foreign transaction fees and discounts on Credit Building
• Everything: $22 monthly fee — same benefits as lower-tier plans, with further discounts on Credit Building and personal phone support

If you aren’t sure if KOHO is right for you, you can try any of their plans free for 30 days².

Here’s a quick overview of the pros and cons of choosing KOHO.

EQ Bank

Like Chime, you’ll enjoy zero-fee banking with EQ Bank. For your everyday needs, you can choose between a personal account or a joint account for up to three people.

EQ Bank is partnered with Wise, making international money transfers up to 5x cheaper compared to other banks⁷.

Let’s look at some more pros and cons of using EQ Bank in Canada.

Tangerine

Tangerine is another zero-fee Canadian bank that makes for a great alternative to Chime. You can open a chequing account and choose between several different types of savings accounts.

Here are the pros and cons of choosing Tangerine in Canada.

Simplii

For a Chime alternative, you can also consider Simplii, which offers both a no-fee chequing account and a high interest savings account.

Let’s look at the key pros and cons of Simplii.

Wise — a great alternative for international transactions

If you need to transfer money abroad, you can open a free multicurrency account with Wise.

Wise lets you send money abroad at the mid-market exchange rate — that means no additional markups on exchange rates, and no hidden fees. You pay only for what you use.

Plus, you can order a Wise card and avoid high transaction fees in 160 countries when you travel abroad, with over 40 currencies available.

What does Chime offer in the US?

Chime offers several attractive benefits for US residents. Aside from a $2.50 USD fee when money is withdrawn over-the-counter or from select ATMs, Chime’s services come with zero mandatory fees.

Chime makes it easy to access your pay when you need it — when you set up a direct deposit, you’ll receive your full pay up to 2 days in advance, and you can take out an advance of up to $500 USD during each pay period²³.

With Chime, you can also access automatic savings features, which transfer a certain amount of each transaction or paycheque to an Automatic Savings Account.

Finally, Chime ensures that you’ll never deal with overdraft fees — any transactions you don’t have the funds for will simply be rejected.

Final thoughts on Chime in Canada

Although Chime isn’t available for Canadian residents, there are several great Canada-based alternatives you can look into. EQ Bank and KOHO offer the highest interest rates overall, although with KOHO you’ll need to pay extra to unlock higher interest rates.

For everyday banking needs, Tangerine and Simplii are also great choices, and both can protect your account from overdraft fees, similar to how Chime works in the US.

However, most zero-fee banking options will still add additional markups and fees on international transfers. If you’re sending money abroad, you can open a no-fee multicurrency account with Wise to enjoy mid-market exchange rates and full transparency on how much your transfer will cost.

Sources:

1. Chime ATM network
2. Koho Plans
3. Koho High interest savings account
4. Koho Quick cash advance
5. Koho Direct deposit
6. Koho Travel card
7. EQ Bank International money transfers
8. EQ Bank Personal account fees and features
9. EQ Bank Bonus interest offer terms and conditions
10. EQ Bank Card agreement
11. EQ Bank Personal account
12. Tangerine Chequing account
13. Tangerine Overdraft protection fees
14. Tangerine Credit card
15. Tangerine Interest rates
16. Tangerine Fee schedule
17. Tangerine Wire transfer
18. Simplii Cash back visa credit card
19. Simplii chequing account
20. Simplii savings account
21. Simplii Terms and Conditions
22. Simplii FAQ
23. Chime