playbooks

The Playbook that Fueled 12+ Million Users For Chime

The Playbook that Fueled 12+ Million Users For Chime

Mulenga Agley
Jay Mokashi
Contents
  1. 1. Chime Has Done So Much Right...
  2. 2. Serving The Underserved
  3. 3. A Business Model Aligned With Customer Success
  4. 4. The Playbook That Fueled 12+ Million Users
  5. 5. From Digital-Only To An Integrated Marketing Mix
  6. 6. Slower Tides And The Road To Ipo
  7. 7. Lessons For Your Fintech Playbook

I’ve spent my career in fintech growth marketing, and few stories are as instructive as Chime’s meteoric rise. Chime is often held up as the poster child for challenger banking in the US, a company that went from scrappy startup to an 8.6 million active user powerhouse by 2025. It did so by cracking the code on a difficult market: everyday Americans underserved (and often overcharged) by traditional banks. I want to break down how Chime’s marketing strategy fueled its performance, from user acquisition tactics to brand positioning, and how those tactics translated into a multi-billion dollar valuation. Chime’s modern growth playbook, rooted in product virality, genuine understanding of culture, and relentless focus on customer needs, helped them achieve a 67% primary-account adoption rate, which is insane. I want to touch on how Chime is balancing its fee-based revenue model with new lending products, and how its marketing is evolving to navigate a slower growth environment en route to an IPO in a down market. Let's get into this...

Serving the Underserved

Chime’s founding insight was that traditional banks were neglecting a huge swath of Americans. Chris Britt (Chime’s CEO and co-founder) saw friends and family in working-class communities being hit with needless fees and poor service. Chime positioned itself from day one as “a technology company, not a bank,” partnering with FDIC-insured banks behind the scenes but crafting a consumer-friendly brand. The target market was clear: households earning $100,000 or less, roughly 75% of U.S. households. In practice, Chime’s core users have been lower-income and middle-income Americans (many living paycheck-to-paycheck), often in the $35k–$65k annual salary range. These are customers whom big banks historically profited from via overdraft fees, minimum balance fees, and other “gotchas.” Chime took the opposite approach, building its brand around no hidden fees, transparency, and trust.

From a marketing perspective, this mission-driven positioning was a golden differentiator. Every Chime campaign could tap into a deep well of consumer frustration with legacy banks. Chime’s messaging consistently highlights pain points like “Get paid two days early” (solving the waiting for payday), “No overdraft fees” (solving the $35 surprise fee), and “No monthly fees”. By positioning itself as the antidote to unfair banking practices, Chime built an emotional connection with users. It wasn’t just offering a free checking account; it was offering relief and respect to customers long ignored or penalized by incumbents. This clear, values-driven messaging, “banking that has your back”, resonated strongly with Chime’s audience and gave its marketing a potent story to tell.

Importantly, Chime backed up its brand promise with a product experience that delivered real benefits. Features like fee-free overdrafts up to $200 via SpotMe, two-day early direct deposit, and an easy-to-use mobile app turned many first-time users into evangelists. In fact, Chime estimates it has penetrated only about 3% of its core < $100k income market so far, indicating enormous room to grow. Now, with an eye on growth, Chime is starting to expand its target to higher earners (up to $200k), noting that even half of Americans making over $100k live paycheck-to-paycheck and share similar financial challenges. Reaching this more affluent segment will require broadening Chime’s product set (things like credit, investing, insurance) while maintaining the same low-cost, consumer-first ethos. From a marketing standpoint, it means Chime must prove its value to customers who might not feel “underbanked” but still appreciate a better deal and a friendlier experience. That’s a messaging tightrope, but Chime’s strong brand foundation gives it a fighting chance to win over this next demographic layer.

A Business Model Aligned with Customer Success

One of the most powerful drivers of Chime’s growth is that its business model is inherently aligned with its customers’ success. Unlike traditional banks that earn money when customers mess up (overdrafts, late fees) or fintech lenders that profit from pushing borrowers into debt, Chime makes money primarily when its users use the product in healthy ways. Roughly 72% of Chime’s revenue comes from interchange fees, the small cut of each transaction paid by merchants when a Chime card is swiped. In other words, Chime only wins when members actively swipe their debit or credit card for everyday purchases. The remaining revenue is mostly from consumer-friendly sources like out-of-network ATM fees (which are avoidable), voluntary tips users give for the SpotMe service, and the $2–$5 fees users can opt into for instant access to the new “MyPay” paycheck advance feature. Notably, even Chime’s credit card product (Credit Builder) charges no interest, it’s a secured card designed to help users build credit without debt.

This model has dictated Chime’s growth strategy from the start. Because Chime doesn’t charge monthly fees or overdraft fees, it must encourage users to make Chime their primary spending account in order to generate revenue. This is exactly what has happened: 67% of Chime’s 8.6 million active members now use Chime as their primary financial account, regularly depositing paychecks and using Chime for daily transactions. Each active customer swipes their Chime card an average of 54 times per month, and about 70% of that spend is on non-discretionary essentials like groceries and gas. Those swipes generate interchange revenue for Chime without costing the user a dime (the merchant pays the fee).

Chime’s marketing and product design work in tandem to maximize this “top-of-wallet” behavior. For example, Chime aggressively incentivizes direct deposit enrollment, often offering sign-up bonuses or early access to paycheck features, because once a customer’s paycheck flows into Chime, they are likely to use the Chime card for most purchases. Internally, Chime describes this as a flywheel model: a great product experience (no fees, helpful features) leads members to route their paycheck to Chime; that in turn leads to frequent card usage; usage drives revenue which funds more product features and marketing. Crucially, happy customers then refer new customers, feeding the flywheel (more on referrals shortly). The brilliance of this model is, as one analyst put it, “Chime’s incentive is aligned with the member: they win when people swipe, not when people slip.” In a sector where many players have relied on what one might call “gotcha” revenues or unsustainable lending, Chime’s trust-based monetization engine has been a competitive advantage. It builds goodwill and loyalty, which supercharges word-of-mouth growth.

Financially, this approach proved its worth in Chime’s performance. Chime’s revenue reached $1.67 billion in 2024, up ~30% from the year prior, and the company nearly broke even (a net loss of only ~$25 million for 2024, after years of aggressive growth investment). In fact, Chime turned a quarterly profit for the first time in Q1 2025, a rarity among fintech unicorns. This progress comes despite a heavy reliance on interchange fees that some skeptics worried wouldn’t scale. Chime proved that scaling usage (and carefully controlling costs) can indeed scale revenue. By Q1 2025, transaction profit margin, revenue after variable costs like processing, fraud, etc., was 67%, with some margin compression versus the prior year as new services like Credit Builder and MyPay grew (these carry more direct costs). In short, the economics are improving with volume, and Chime has shown it can grow responsibly.

To be clear, Chime’s interchange-dependent model isn’t without risk. The company openly acknowledges that regulatory changes (like modifications to the Durbin Amendment’s interchange cap exemption for small banks) could impact its economics. That’s partly why Chime is now expanding into lending-related products (e.g. the MyPay cash advance, and plans for installment loans or credit cards down the line), to diversify revenue while continuing to “keep a minimal balance sheet” and stick to low or no fees for users. The challenge will be introducing these new revenue streams without eroding the customer trust Chime has built. Marketing will play a key role in positioning Chime’s new offerings so that they are seen as extensions of its mission (helping users access money or credit safely), rather than a pivot to the fee-driven tactics consumers despise. So far, Chime seems aware of the balancing act, for example, MyPay advances carry no interest and only an optional rush fee, keeping the consumer value prop friendly. This careful alignment of business model and customer benefit has been, and must remain, the North Star of Chime’s growth marketing strategy.

The Playbook that Fueled 12+ Million Users

How did Chime translate this aligned product and mission into hyper-growth? The company’s marketing playbook centers on meeting users where they are (online, on social media, on their phones) and turning customers into advocates. As a growth marketer watching Chime, I’ve seen them combine modern digital tactics with old-fashioned word-of-mouth, all while maintaining a consistent brand voice of being on the customer’s side. Let’s break down the core components of Chime’s growth marketing strategy:

  • Referral Flywheel and Word-of-Mouth: Chime’s single biggest acquisition channel in recent years has been its own users. The company reports that member referrals have been the heaviest driver of active user signups since 2022. This didn’t happen by accident, Chime built referral bonuses and sharing features directly into its app experience. For example, Chime has long run promotions like “Refer a friend and you each get $50” (with conditions like the friend setting up direct deposit). These cash incentives, combined with a positive product experience, supercharged organic growth. People naturally tell their friends about services that save them money; Chime’s no-fee banking is inherently buzzworthy in communities fed up with bank fees. By gamifying referrals and making it easy to invite others, Chime tapped social networks to grow far more cheaply than a traditional bank. (It’s reported that digital banks like Chime have a customer acquisition cost around $100 per user, vs. $600+ for traditional banks that rely on branches and paid ads.) The genius here is that each referred customer is likely to be high-value, they come in with trust in Chime thanks to a friend’s recommendation, and they often start by setting up direct deposit (since that’s how the referrer likely earned their bonus). This built-in virality gave Chime a growth engine that many fintechs spend fortunes trying to create. Even as Chime has scaled to millions of users, it continues to leverage this referral flywheel (for instance, the company used a waitlist referral campaign for its 2024 MyPay launch, resulting in “millions” joining the waitlist and the highest referral month in Chime’s history during that campaign).
  • Social Media Savvy and Community Engagement: Chime’s marketing team has mastered the art of being accessible and authentic on social platforms. Rather than the stuffy, impersonal social media presence of a big bank, Chime speaks the language of its largely millennial and Gen Z audience. The brand keeps an active presence on Twitter (X), Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, using a friendly, often humorous tone and engaging directly with users. They share financial tips, celebrate user milestones, and promptly address customer questions or complaints in public. This approachable voice makes Chime feel more like a community than a bank. Chime often features user-generated content as well, reposting customer testimonials, memes about “bank fees suck,” or stories of how Chime helped someone avoid an overdraft. This strategy not only humanizes the brand, it builds trust: customers see a company that’s listening and cares about their financial well-being. Moreover, Chime has leaned into storytelling in its campaigns, highlighting real member success stories. For example, Chime’s ads and blog posts will spotlight individuals who fixed their credit score using Chime or saved money to start a business, narratives that inspire and subtly market the product’s benefits. By shining the spotlight on its users, Chime turns customers into heroes of the brand story, deepening loyalty and word-of-mouth.
  • Influencer Partnerships for Cultural Relevance: Chime was early to recognize that influencer marketing could turbocharge its reach, especially among younger consumers. But they’ve executed these partnerships in a way that feels genuine. Chime works with a range of influencers, from personal finance YouTubers and bloggers to mainstream lifestyle creators, ensuring they truly use and believe in Chime so the endorsements come off as authentic. A prime example is Chime’s recent MyPay campaign, where they partnered with social superstars like Kai Cenat (the most-subscribed Twitch streamer in the world) and Zach King (one of TikTok’s biggest creators). These influencers created content around the theme “Why wait for payday?”, showing how Chime’s MyPay lets people access earned wages anytime. The result: the launch video garnered over 155 million views and the campaign racked up 332 million+ video views across platforms. This is staggering reach that traditional bank ads could only dream of. The key was choosing influencers whose audience aligns with Chime’s (young adults who are financially active) and giving them creative freedom to tell a relatable story. Chime’s team smartly integrated these influencer pushes with trending music (e.g. using a hit song in a TikTok challenge) and interactive elements to maximize engagement. By driving cultural relevance, essentially making a bank product cool to talk about, Chime extended its brand into viral social conversations. And importantly, these partnerships always circle back to Chime’s core value props (like no fees or faster pay), so it’s not just awareness but education. The authenticity factor can’t be overstated: influencers disclosed their partnership and shared personal anecdotes about using Chime, which built credibility with skeptical followers. For a fintech whose users rely on trust, picking the right messengers was critical and Chime largely got it right.
  • Content Marketing and SEO (Scaling Education with AI): In addition to flashy campaigns, Chime has invested heavily in content marketing to capture organic interest and educate consumers. Chime runs a popular blog and resource center covering topics like budgeting tips, credit building, and banking 101. Rather than purely pushing Chime products, much of this content offers unbiased financial guidance, which helps build trust and also improves Chime’s ranking on Google for relevant searches. Impressively, Chime has taken its content strategy a step further by developing an in-house AI content engine nicknamed “Chime Content GPT.” According to its IPO filing, Chime uses this generative AI system to analyze which blog articles, videos, and topics have performed best, then rapidly create new content (with oversight from its editorial team and certified financial writers) in those niches. The result is an SEO machine that has helped Chime dominate organic search results for key terms that “resonate most with everyday Americans”. For example, if someone googles “how to avoid bank fees” or “get paid early app,” there’s a good chance a Chime article or landing page will be near the top. This tactic quietly but effectively drives a steady stream of inbound interest at low cost, essentially letting Chime educate the market while subtly promoting its solutions. It’s a modern twist on content marketing, combining AI scale with human authenticity. And it fits perfectly with Chime’s brand: offering free value (financial advice) with no strings attached, further positioning Chime as a helpful ally in one’s financial journey. By leveraging SEO and content, Chime reduces reliance on paid ads and insulates its growth from the whims of ad market prices. It’s a long-term play that many fintechs overlook, but Chime’s execution here is yielding real dividends in lower customer acquisition cost and higher trust.
  • Transparency, Tone, and Trust in Advertising: Across all these tactics, one thing remains consistent in Chime’s marketing: a tone of transparency and simplicity. Chime’s ads, whether on social media, YouTube, billboards, or TV, hammer the message of “no hidden fees,” “banking made easy,” and similar straightforward value propositions. The design is often clean and friendly, using Chime’s bright green color and plain language. This is very intentional. Finances can be intimidating or tedious to the average consumer; Chime wants every interaction with its brand to feel reassuring and empowering. Even when Chime ventured into more traditional advertising, like a 30-second TV spot during NFL Opening Night and the Emmy Awards (part of the MyPay campaign), the content was on-brand: it featured real Chime members and a catchy anthem about getting paid, underscoring the real-life benefits of not having to wait for payday. By keeping its marketing voice consistent, human, optimistic, and zero-BS, Chime differentiates from both stuffy banks and flash-in-the-pan fintech gimmicks. This consistency builds trust over time. Customers hear the same promise again and again, and Chime delivers on it in the app, which creates a trustworthy feedback loop. In an industry where trust is a currency, Chime’s marketing has been instrumental in making its users feel “this is a bank account that’s on my side.” That feeling translates directly to loyalty and the astonishing stat that two-thirds of Chime’s users have made it their primary account. For a relatively young brand to achieve that kind of primacy is evidence that the marketing, in concert with product, nailed exactly what this audience was yearning for.

From Digital-Only to an Integrated Marketing Mix

It’s worth noting how Chime’s marketing mix has evolved as the company matured. In the early years, Chime relied almost exclusively on digital channels (social media, influencers, referral invites, email) and largely avoided expensive traditional media. This made sense for a startup targeting tech-savvy millennials who cut cable TV and live on their smartphones. It also kept acquisition costs low and trackable. However, as Chime grew to tens of millions of users and started eyeing mass-market adoption (including slightly older or higher-income demographics), it wisely broadened its marketing to integrated, multi-channel campaigns. The MyPay launch in 2024 is a prime example of Chime flexing a more comprehensive marketing muscle. That campaign featured everything from a nationwide experiential tour with a giant “Money Vault” truck (literally driving around a vault to symbolize breaking the paycycle) which garnered significant PR and 1+ million sweepstakes entries, to a segment on Good Morning America that brought Chime’s message to breakfast TV audiences. Chime also executed its heaviest media buy ever, combining digital ads with traditional outlets: high-impact TV spots (as mentioned, NFL and Emmy broadcasts), over 600 out-of-home placements like billboards (including a prominent Times Square billboard), and a blitz across online platforms from Meta to Snapchat to Twitch. This was a new level of spend and reach for Chime, resulting in billions of impressions and a notable jump in brand awareness in a short time.

Why is this significant? It shows Chime’s growth strategy adapting to the reality that as you saturate the early adopter market, you need to capture the next layer of users who may not come through pure virality or digital targeting. Those users might need to see a billboard on their commute or a TV ad during the football game to become aware of Chime. The success of the MyPay campaign, which drove one of the highest months of new enrollments in Chime’s history, validated that broader marketing can pay off, especially when it’s as well-orchestrated and message-cohesive as Chime made it. Even with these bigger campaigns, Chime maintained a strong direct response focus. They tracked things like brand search lift (60–80% increase during TV moments) and saw that those who visited Chime’s site after seeing MyPay ads converted at significantly higher rates than other traffic. In other words, the campaign not only created buzz, it brought in high-intent users who became active members, the holy grail of marketing efficiency.

Chime’s ability to execute such a 360-degree campaign while still preserving the grassroots feel of its brand is a testament to its marketing team’s skill. As a growth marketer, I know how challenging it is to justify and measure big offline spends. Chime made it work by ensuring all channels (experiential, PR, influencers, TV, digital) told a unified story (“Why wait for payday?”) and funnelled users toward a clear action (join Chime and set up direct deposit for MyPay). This is a playbook other fintechs can emulate: when growth in core channels plateaus, design an integrated campaign around a marquee feature or pain point, and invest in making it a cultural moment. Just be sure to tie it back to a tangible user benefit, as Chime did, so that new signups aren’t just high in volume but high in quality.

Slower Tides and the Road to IPO

The backdrop to Chime’s recent marketing moves is a tougher macro environment for fintechs. After the frenzy of 2020–2021 (when venture capital was plentiful and user growth seemed limitless), Chime entered 2023–2025 facing slowing growth and skeptical markets. Annual active user growth was +23% in 2024, still healthy, but far from the rapid doubling of earlier years. Competitors (both fintech and traditional banks) have copied features like early payday and dropped some fees, making differentiation harder. And externally, the valuation climate changed dramatically: Chime’s last private valuation in 2021 was a heady $25 billion (a ~26× revenue multiple at the time), but since then fintech stock comparables have been hammered. For instance, Affirm, a once high-flying BNPL fintech, saw its stock plummet about 90% from late 2021 to late 2022, and digital bank peer Dave.com, which went public via SPAC, traded far below its debut valuation for much of 2022–2023. In short, the market pivoted from “growth at all costs” to “show me sustainable economics.” Chime could no longer count on investor euphoria to buoy its valuation; it needs to demonstrate durable growth and a path to profitability. Fortunately, as discussed, Chime is almost profitable and actually hit positive net income recently, a big credibility boost heading into an IPO.

From a marketing strategy perspective, the new macro reality meant discipline and efficiency became the watchwords. Chime did in fact trim its sales and marketing spend as a percentage of revenue, spending $519.8 million on marketing in 2024, which was only a 15% increase from 2023 (while revenue grew ~30%). This indicates Chime is reaping more organic and efficient growth, likely thanks to the referral engine and SEO/content strategy, and perhaps being more selective with paid campaigns. The focus has shifted slightly from pure acquisition volume to acquisition quality and engagement. Rather than spending exorbitantly to sign up marginal users, Chime is doubling down on getting the most out of its existing member base and ensuring new members become long-term active users. We see this in the product strategy: launching features like Credit Builder, MyPay, and exploring loans not only add new revenue streams, but they also increase customer stickiness (a user with a Chime credit card or a short-term loan is even less likely to leave the platform). Marketing now has more to talk about to existing users, e.g. campaigns to activate MyPay among current members, not just messages to attract new ones. In fact, the MyPay campaign wasn’t solely about new customers; a large part was driving adoption among **existing Chime members (and it worked, the majority of eligible members started using MyPay almost immediately). This is a savvy adjustment: when new user growth is harder, get more value from your base through cross-sell and increased engagement.

Chime’s marketing also had to contend with an audience that is facing economic pressure (high inflation, etc.) and possibly becoming more conservative in spending. The answer has been to emphasize how Chime can help users save money and buffer financial shocks. Recent content from Chime has leaned into financial literacy, budgeting tips, and reassurance that Chime’s services (like SpotMe overdraft protection or MyPay advances) can provide a lifeline without predatory fees. Essentially, Chime is positioning itself as a partner to get through tough times, a smart angle when people are worried about a potential recession or just tighter budgets. This kind of empathetic marketing not only attracts users looking for help, it also ingrains Chime deeper as a primary account. For example, someone who might have treated Chime as a secondary account could be persuaded to set up direct deposit if they learn they can get paid early or avoid a costly overdraft during a crunch. Chime’s high primary-account adoption (67%) is a result of consistently marketing these relief features and then delivering on them.

Finally, as Chime prepares for an IPO in a down market, credibility and brand stature are more important than ever. The last thing Chime wants is to go public and be lumped in with the “flashy fintechs that never made money.” So we see the company’s narrative shifting subtly in marketing and PR: from just user growth to responsible growth. Chime now highlights metrics like revenue per active user (which reached $251, up from $210 in 2022), improving unit economics, and its expanding product suite for the future. When comparing itself to peers, Chime is making the case that it’s a category-defining company in digital banking, not a niche app. For instance, Chime proudly notes that its primary banking customer base is now on par with some big traditional banks (an eye-catching Forbes claim was that Chime has more customers considering it their main account than even Chase does in digital channels). Whether or not that’s an apples-to-apples comparison, it underlines the narrative of Chime as a significant player, not an upstart. We also see Chime continuing big partnership marketing (like its multi-year jersey sponsorship of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, a $33 million deal). These investments boost mainstream visibility and signal confidence, useful for both acquiring customers and impressing investors. In the IPO filing, Chime even quantified its market opportunity at $86 billion annually for the under-$100k segment, and $426 billion with the higher-income segment included, making sure Wall Street sees the headroom ahead. For a growth marketer, it’s fascinating to watch Chime balance two audiences in parallel: consumers (with continued friendly, relatable campaigns) and investors (with data and proof points that Chime can be the rare fintech that achieves scale, loyalty, and profitability). The unifying thread in both efforts is Chime’s consistent focus on its mission, “helping everyday people achieve financial progress.” It’s not just feel-good fluff; it directly guides how they acquire, retain, and monetize customers.

Lessons For Your Fintech Playbook

Standing at the intersection of product and marketing, Chime exemplifies what it means to build a fintech brand in the modern age. By zeroing in on a huge underserved demographic and treating those customers with respect, Chime created a value proposition that essentially markets itself, no fees, no catches, just a better banking experience. The growth tactics layered on that foundation (referral programs, social media engagement, influencer-fueled virality, and content-driven education) all reinforce the same message: Chime is on your side. This consistency between what Chime says and what it does for users has yielded extraordinary results, millions of users who not only signed up, but made Chime their financial home. The data speaks for itself: high activity rates, growing ARPU, and a customer base that is majority primary checking accounts. That kind of engagement is every fintech’s dream, and Chime earned it through savvy growth marketing tightly coupled with product strategy.

As a growth marketing professional, I take away several key lessons from Chime’s journey:

  • Solve a Real Pain Point and Shout it from the Rooftops: Chime identified real pain points (fees, paycheck delays) affecting tens of millions, solved them, and made those solutions the centerpiece of all marketing. That created a natural emotional hook and word-of-mouth worthy product. If your startup isn’t solving an acute problem, no growth hack can substitute for that kind of organic pull.
  • Align Revenue with User Happiness: By making money when customers use the product (and not when they fail), Chime turned its business model into a competitive advantage. This alignment made marketing messages more credible and attractive. Startups should aim for this alignment, it turns marketing from persuasion to simply communicating a truth people want to hear. Chime could honestly say, “We don’t charge you fees; we make money from Visa when you swipe, so we only win if you win.” That’s powerful.
  • Build a Community, Not Just a User Base: Chime’s focus on social engagement, community content, and user stories created a tribe of advocates. They didn’t just acquire users, they nurtured relationships. In fintech especially, trust and familiarity drive adoption. Chime’s community-building paid dividends in referrals and loyalty that any early-stage company would envy.
  • Mix Guerrilla Tactics with Big Campaigns (at the Right Time): Early on, Chime hustled with low-cost tactics, referrals, influencer shoutouts, quick-turn content. Later, it amped up to integrated national campaigns to reach the next scale of audience. Timing is key: nail your product-market fit and core digital channels first, then pour fuel with broader marketing when you’re ready to serve a mass audience. Chime’s MyPay campaign showed how to do a big splash right, centered on a product feature that reinforced the brand promise, ensuring the spend translated to engaged users.
  • Stay Agile and Data-Driven: Underlying all of Chime’s marketing is a data-driven mindset. They doubled down on what worked (referrals since 2022, content that ranks well, influencers who generate results) and weren’t afraid to iterate. The use of AI in content and the detailed tracking of campaign performance demonstrate a growth team always tuning the dials. In a fast-changing market, that agility is crucial, today’s playbook might not work tomorrow if conditions shift.

Chime still has challenges ahead. The fintech landscape is littered with cautionary tales of once-hyped companies that faltered (from the implosion of certain crypto platforms to the retrenchment of many neobanks). Chime will need to continue innovating product-wise and remain disciplined in unit economics as a public company. But if its marketing history is any guide, Chime understands how to adapt and keep its audience engaged. They’ve managed to turn a boring product (a checking account) into a financial lifestyle brand for millions. That is no small feat. As a growth marketer, I’m excited to see how Chime’s playbook evolves, and I suspect many fintech founders are taking notes, just as I have, on how to combine growth, brand, and customer-centricity to build a fintech unicorn that just might stand the test of time.

At Growthcurve we lead the performance marketing for ambitious fintech companies who need to grow their brand and customer base in tandem, we've helped hundreds of businesses world wide achieve record breaking growth, funding rounds and successfull scale to IPO and beyond. Whether you're a founder, a CMO looking for trusted operators or an investor who needs to breathe new life into the growth of a portco, reach out and book a call with us, we'd love to get involved.