Digital banking startup Chime said on Monday it would be targeting a $9.5 billion U.S. IPO in the biggest listing in United States since the announcement of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. While Chime is offering 25.9 million shares in the offering, other shareholders like the venture capital firm Cathay Innovation are putting up 6.1 million shares.
Chime, which was founded 13 years ago, became popular by offering a free checking account and debit card where consumers could get access to their paycheck two days before other banks made it available. It has catered largely to younger Americans earning between $35,000 and $65,000.
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In its IPO filing, Chime disclosed that 67% of its 8.6 million monthly active customers use Chime as their primary bank. (Consumers must use Chime for at least 15 transactions in a month or have a direct deposit into their Chime account of at least $200 per month for Chime to consider them primary-bank customers.)
Chime has also said that its business will show resilience in the event of a recession. Though its average customer makes significantly less than $100,000, its IPO filing talks repeatedly about Americans “who earn up to $100,000” as its target market. The company also claims that its customers use Chime for their everyday needs, with 70% of the purchases it processes being for non-discretionary items like “food and groceries, gas, and utilities.”
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Chime mentioned tariffs as a potential risk factor to its business, saying that “changes in macroeconomic conditions due to actual or proposed tariff changes could increase consumer prices, unemployment rates, and inflation, each of which in turn could affect member activity on our platform.”
The U.S. IPO market has bounced back after a disappointing April as equities rebounded amid easing volatility. This has enabled companies to go public again following the tariff-driven chaos.
“Momentum is building after the tariff-related volatility. Right now, investors want to see fundamentally strong companies with attractive valuations,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, a provider of IPO-focused research and ETFs.
