Chase Bank UK review
Updated: May 11
You might be familiar with Chase Bank if you watch TV. They’ve been ploughing a lot of money into advertising recently.
Let’s look at what Chase Bank offers customers in the U.K.
Chase is an American digital bank owned by J.P. Morgan – a big player in US banking. It came to the United Kingdom in 2021 with some great introductory offers including a popular £20 referral scheme for recommending friends to open an account. The £20 offer has now ended, however a Chase UK bank account comes with some great features.
Top Chase Bank UK Account Features
1% Cashback on spending for the first 12 months.
Ongoing 1% cashback after 12 months when you pay in £500 a month.
5% interest on ‘round ups’ – rounding up spare change to the nearest £1.
3.3% AER (3.25% Gross) interest on a linked savings account.
A budget-helpful option to open multiple savings accounts for different savings goals.
Instant notifications on incoming payments.
24/7 messaging and phone support.
Debit card details including pin number stored in the Chase App.
Options to disable/block/restrict payments easily.
Here’s a bit more detail on some of these features.
Chase UK is a digital bank – no high street branches.
If you prefer the option of a physical bank branch, then Chase might not be for you. Chase is a digital-only UK bank. The only way to access your account is through the Chase app.
Cashback is a major benefit of Chase.
1% cashback is a really easy way of earning a bit of extra cash on your everyday spending.
New customers automatically get cashback for 12 months. To get cashback beyond the first 12 months, you need to pay in £500 a month to your Chase current account from an external source.
Once you’ve made a purchase, cashback is usually available to pay back into your account within a few days.
Note that it doesn’t include things like bank transfers, paying for rent, medical services or legal fees.
Here’s a full list of exclusions:
Account and prepaid card funding
Antique shops, including repairs and restoration
Art dealers and galleries
Bail and bond payments
Bank fees such as product fees, promotional merchandise, financial consultations and loan fees
Boat dealers
Car and van dealers - new and used sales, services, repairs, parts and leasing
Cash withdrawals
Cheques
College and university fees
Cryptocurrencies
Debt repayments
Deposits
Gambling transactions
Government services not classified elsewhere
Hospital fees
Insurance sales, underwriting and premiums
Intra-government purchases
Money orders
Money transfers
MoneySend transactions
Motor home, camper and trailer dealers
Motorcycle shops and dealers
Nursing and personal care facilities
Pawnbrokers
Precious metals
Professional and financial services
Real estate agent and management fees
Savings bonds
Securities — stocks, bonds, commodities and mutual funds
Stamp and coin stores
Tax payments
Timeshares
Travellers Cheques and foreign currency
The interest rate on a Chase Savings account is not market leading.
As of May 22nd 2023, Chase UK pays 3.3% interest on money held in savings account. To get a savings account, you need to first have a Chase current account. In fact, you can open up to 20 savings accounts linked to your current account and they’ll all pay interest.
Make sure to open a savings account in the app once your current is open. Otherwise, you won’t get the interest rate.
There are other bank accounts and cash ISAs paying higher interest rates than Chase.
Additional savings accounts can make budgeting easier.
Given you can open multiple savings accounts, it can be a useful way of managing budgets and putting savings towards certain goals. For instance, you might want savings just for holidays, or a new car or a wedding. You can easily split money into different accounts to keep track of your progress.
24/7 support
Customer service includes a call centre and app messaging service. This is better than some other digital-only UK banks that fail to provide a call centre.
Digital Debit Card
You’ll get a physical debit card to use in shops, but it won’t contain any details on it like the long card number or expiry date.
Instead, the Chase app contains all your card details and pin number. If you like having a card with the numbers on it – for things like paying over the phone or online – a numberless card can be a bit of a faff.
Instant notifications of payments
A reassuring feature is that you can get instant notifications of money landing in your account plus a secure system that requests you approving outgoing payments in the app before they are made.
Additional things to know about Chase Bank UK.
Can I use my Chase card abroad?
Yes, you can use your Chase card abroad.
No fees to use your card abroad.
Benefit from 1% cashback as per the terms for UK spending.
With cashback, this makes the Chase debit card the best card for spending abroad in terms of value for money.
If you’re making large purchases abroad, you may want to use a credit card instead to get additional Section 75 protection.
Can I pay cash into my Chase account?
As Chase has no high street branches in the UK, you can't pay cash into your account.
Are there any fees to open a Chase Bank UK account?
There are no fees to open a Chase bank account.
Is Chase UK FSCS Protected?
Yes, Chase Bank has FSCS protection in the U.K. up to £85,000 per customer. That’s in total across all current and savings accounts you have with Chase.
Does Chase offer a joint account?
Unfortunately Chase UK does not currently offer joint accounts.
Limitations with Chase Bank UK
No business account options.
No overdraft facility.
No website banking – app only.
No cheque book facility
Is Chase Bank UK safe?
Chase UK comes with the reputation of an American banking giant and is regulated by the FCA – the organisation responsible for overseeing UK banks.
Security encryption ensures your online account is protected.
Bear in mind that your Chase bank account is effectively managed through your smart phone. If you lost your phone, accessing your account could be difficult.
Keep their phone number saved separately on another device - 0800 376 3333. So if you lose your phone, you can reach customer support.
Summary
This review of Chase Bank UK has gone through the key features of a Chase bank account, as well as some of the technical limitations.
If you’re happy to do all your banking on an app, Chase UK offers some attractive benefits. It’s regulated and protected just like the well-known high street banks.
You may even want to consider have this account alongside another bank account. Opening one won’t cost you anything.
