Chime Launches: SpotMe^® on Credit Builder

“It started out sounding really simple—facilitate the use of SpotMe on Credit Builder, a combination of our two most popular products, as a way to give our members a safety net when it comes to their finances,” Melissa Hamilton says of SpotMe¹. SpotMe, Chime’s fee-free overdraft that's already saved members a whopping $18 billion in fees since 2021, is now available as an overdraft line of credit when members use the Chime Secured Credit Builder Visa^® Credit Card². This means members can use their Credit Builder card to access up to $200¹ in fee-free SpotMe coverage. “It’s an extremely complicated product, but we made it as simple as possible for our members. That was always our number one priority.” 

When Melissa started working on the product requirements document (PRD) for SpotMe on Credit Builder, the number one goal was to streamline the member experience. “We looked at ways to reduce our technical debt, but ultimately, there wasn’t any way to simplify what turned out to be an exceptionally complex technical project if we wanted to maintain the member experience,” she says. “There were options that would have made it simpler to build but would have fallen short of the product we wanted to deliver: a seamless way for our members to join their urgent, day-to-day spending needs with their long-term goals of building credit history.”

We sat down with two SpotMe on Credit Builder team members to take a closer look at how they delivered on that goal while staying focused on members throughout. 

Meet SpotMe on Credit Builder

The reality is that a huge portion of our current and prospective members are living paycheck to paycheck while trying to achieve their financial goals. SpotMe and Credit Builder are two of Chime’s key tools to support members, but they have historically had to decide, in the moment, which is more important to them. 

“They’ve had to choose between using SpotMe on their Chime debit card and building credit for the future with Credit Builder—a choice we didn’t want them to have to make anymore,” Melissa says. “We want people to unlock financial progress, not have to choose between features, so we started thinking about how to make it easier for them without impacting their credit score.” 

As always, the team started by understanding our members and digging into how different financial products feel for them. They gleaned key insights, such as the idea that credit can feel unsafe and SpotMe can help them feel safe and supported. “Adding SpotMe to Chime’s Credit Builder card removes that fear and gives members confidence instead,” Melissa explains. 

“We’re removing stigma, giving our members new tools, and providing them with clarity on how to achieve their goals by meeting them where they are.” - Melissa Hamilton

With Chime’s Credit Builder card, Chime members can:

• Start building credit with no annual fee No annual fees, no interest, and no minimum security deposit. No credit check to apply.
• Start building credit safelyChime members can instantly disable their card to prevent fraudulent activities. They also build credit using their money to help avoid debt and missing payments.
• Start building credit on everyday purchasesStart building credit with everyday purchases and on-time payments everywhere Visa credit cards are accepted.
• Start building credit for a better futureChime reports to all three credit bureaus to help members build credit over time. Members see an increase of 30 points on average over time.
• Using SpotMe will not hurt their credit

Chime members can access up to $200 without impacting their credit score. 

A focus on core principles and a simple member experience

There were many steps involved in bringing SpotMe to Credit Builder, but it all started with ironing out core principles and the elements of the products the team wanted to preserve, as well as working with Legal to figure out what this financial product would be. 

“We wanted to ensure that using SpotMe on Credit Builder would not hurt a member’s credit,” Melissa says. “There were a lot of legal and regulatory guardrails we had to become familiar with and navigate.”

As a PM who hadn’t worked in fintech before, partnering so closely with Legal on the product development process was new to Melissa—yet also very satisfying. “Together, we focused on what kind of member experience we want to provide, how to navigate regulations, and how to best partner with our bank partners to deliver a great product for our members.”

Next, they teamed up with Chime’s bank partners to ensure alignment on the product, positioning, terms, and regulations. Then, they worked with engineering, ensuring they built the most scalable and robust product with a solid technical path forward. The team innovated and even filed a patent. “SpotMe on Credit Builder takes two bold products and puts them together in a way that hasn’t been done before,” Melissa says. “We did something new and fundamentally changed how SpotMe works on the backend—while keeping the member experience intuitive and consistent with the SpotMe they already know and love.” 

“In fintech, you need a lot more hands-on collaboration between Legal and Compliance when building and designing a feature—there are many regulations to adhere to, which is why one of our Chime values is to ‘Respect the Rules.’” 

- Melissa Hamilton

Jon and the marketing team were in the mix from the beginning but eventually diverged when the product started to be built. “At that point, we went into how we’d tell the story of using SpotMe on Credit Builder,” Jon says. “We wanted to boil it down to one insight that sums up the member problem we’re solving for.” 

The team looked at competitors, their audience, and messaging—matching a beautiful and functional product with an end-to-end member experience that does it justice. “Our success marketing SpotMe on Credit Builder boils down to our members knowing that Credit Builder is the best place for them to spend, and now they can build their credit and feel covered with SpotMe,” Jon adds.

Lessons learned along the way

Throughout the months-long process of building and launching SpotMe on Credit Builder, the team learned several lessons:

1. Consistency is key for a cross-functional project to be delivered well, scalably, and on time. 
2. Architecture decisions are really important, especially in a cross-functional project. It’s critical to socialize architecture plans, take feedback, respond, and communicate changes you’re making so everyone has a clear execution path.
3. Delivering the ideal member experience requires staying focused on their needs above all. 
4. When you want to innovate on a complex project that involves partners, it will require education about why you want to do things differently. Stay the course and stick to your core principles.
5. Overdraft is so historically connected to a debit account that it took a lot of effort to help people understand that SpotMe applies to a credit product and can deliver value for them.

“We’re proud of the member experience we delivered—they can now swipe any of their Chime cards and access the safety net of SpotMe if needed,” Melissa says. “Being committed to that daily helped drive prioritization along the way.”

Reflecting with pride—on the product and team

With many lessons learned, the team is looking back on this launch with a lot of pride for the product and the team and how much SpotMe on Credit Builder does to move Chime’s mission forward. 

“I’m really proud of our launched product,” Melissa explains. “We’re giving access to liquidity while providing and safeguarding our members’ credit. Credit is so important, but many don’t consider building or using it until they need it the most. This product helps them do that earlier—and more often—while maintaining the liquidity they know and love from SpotMe.”

For Jon, SpotMe on Credit Builder is another example of how committed we all are to Chime’s mission to help everyday people unlock financial progress. “It’s a clear example of how we add value for members and another proof point that we do things for the right reasons—with our members central to the process,” he says. 

Congratulations to the team! Learn more about SpotMe on Credit Builder here.