Fintech Chime has a secret.  

Tucked inside its IPO filing — the company, led by Chief Executive Chris Britt, plans to go public this month — is news of a proprietary technology platform called ChimeCore. 

ChimeCore, the fintech’s proprietary payment processor and ledger, was launched with little attention in 2024, and it allows Chime to develop, process and record financial transactions in-house, according to the S-1.  

ChimeCore allows Chime “greater control” and “flexibility”, according to the S-1. Chime lists the following as benefits of ChimeCore: 

• Build directly on the platform;

  

• Avoid development cycles with third-party vendor integration; 

• Boost innovation; and 

• Increase the velocity of products and features. 

“By operating our technology platform in-house, we are able to focus a greater portion of technology spend on product innovation, avoid costly maintenance of legacy systems and reduce or eliminate reliance of third-party vendors in areas such as transaction processing, financial ledgering, technology and product development and technical operations,” the S-1 states. 

While cost savings and reduced dependency on third parties are listed as pros of Chime’s strategy, the S-1 also breaks down the risks. 

While ChimeCore is being used to process all credit card transactions, Chime is still using banking platform Galileo to process debit card transactions, according to the S-1. 

“We have incurred costs in connection with the transition to ChimeCore and expect to continue to do so,” the S-1 states. In February, Chime entered into an amendment to modify the terms of the Galileo agreement. Modifications include: 

• Remove certain minimum monthly payments; and 

• A payment of an $18 million termination fee in March 2026. 

“Until the full migration to ChimeCore is complete, a portion of member transactions will still be processed by third-party processor,” according to the S-1. 

Owning the tech

With ChimeCore built in-house, Chime has also developed other proprietary platforms: 

• Data and AI platforms; 

• Machine learning platform; 

• Risk and decisioning platform; 

• Member support platform; and 

• Experimentation platform.  

“By building our technology platform in-house, we enable our software developers to design new proprietary products directly on our technology platform, rather than building on top of legacy, third-party technology providers,” the S-1 states. 

IPO roadmap

Last week, Chime announced the launch of its first roadshow for the IPO, according to a June 2 release.  

• The fintech is expected to offer 25,900,765 Class A common stock shares; and 

• 6,099,236 shares will be offered by certain existing shareholders. 

The IPO price is expected to be listed at between $24 and $26 per share, according to the release.  

“The timing is undoubtedly bold, but it is a strategic play that balances opportunity with calculated risk, Rudy Yang, senior analyst, emerging technology, Pitchbook, told Bank Automation News. 

Chime is supported by FDIC bank partners The Bancorp Bank and Stride Bank. 

Chime went public June 12. Shares of Chime (CHYM) were trading at $37.44, up 37.44% at market close.

Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect Chime’s stock price.