Unlike Varo , which was granted its preliminary approval for a National Bank Charter last autumn and is well on its way to becoming a true bank , Chime , like many of its digital banking peers , partners with FDIC-insured banks . The approach is a popular route for fintechs with no banking charter that typically sees the bank being responsible for the regulatory aspects of the business and the fintechs more free to innovate . Chime , according to Britt , “ is the largest and fastest growing company in the challenger banking space , founded on the fundamental belief that basic banking services should be free and that customers shouldn ’ t have to pay institutions to hold their money .”
Discussing the merits of these approaches to the market , the panellists were asked whether the ability to disrupt banking diminishes as the challenger evolves into a bank in the truer sense . Britt highlighted Chime ’ s several partnerships , stating that “ the notion that you have to be a bank to have a great suite of banking services is false . We ’ ve been able to scale to many millions of accounts ,
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