Mobile-first bank Chime has enabled Apple Pay support and launched a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments feature.
The moves are very much in keeping with the institution, which operates primarily through a mobile app, available on Android and iOS, and offers account services and Chime Visa Debit Cards to customers. With Apple Pay being a leading platform in the growing world of mobile payments, embracing the technology would seem a natural move for the tech-forward bank, standing in contrast to the change-resistant attitudes among some of the more traditional banks.
Going a step further, the bank has also launched a Pay Friends feature that lets customers send money transfers directly to other Chime members. Peer-to-peer payments are, of course, another area in which digital disruptors are challenging the traditional financial services models, with PayPal also having launched a P2P service, and Apple reportedly working to bring such a feature to Apple Pay.
As such, Chime seems somewhat ahead of the curve, and accordingly the company has attracted considerable investment, having recently close a funding round in which it attained $9 million in funding led by Aspect Ventures’ Lauren Kolodny, who recently joined the Chime board of directors. The company has now raised $21 million in total.
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