Chase

Chase is the UK retail bank of the J.P. Morgan group, launched as an app-only service with no branches. It offers a free current account, easy-access savings accounts, a credit card for existing current account customers, and a round-up feature that collects the spare change from your debit card spending. Everything is done through the Chase app: opening accounts, managing cards, contacting support and making complaints¹.

The account is free to hold, with no monthly fee and no charge from Chase for using your card at home or abroad². In return, the bank works differently from a high street name: you cannot pay in cash or cheques, there is no overdraft, you cannot make international payments from the current account, and there is no branch to visit³. This page sets out what Chase offers across its products, what the account does and does not do, how to switch to it, and how your money is protected.

What Chase offers: current account, savers and round-ups

When you sign up to Chase, it opens a current account you can use for making and receiving payments, and you can also hold additional accounts for setting money aside¹. The current account is free, and you can open extra current accounts in seconds at no cost, which some people use to separate spending into pots, for example one for bills and one for everyday spending¹.

Alongside the current account, Chase offers a saver account. The Chase Saver is an easy-access account you can read about in detail on its own page, and the general picture is covered in our guide to savings accounts. To hold a saver you need a Chase current account, and the same applies to a version of the saver with a boosted rate, which is also limited to UK residents aged 18 or over, with eligibility criteria applied⁷. Chase also runs occasional promotional offers tied to its saver, with their own terms⁹.

Round-ups are the third main feature. If you switch them on, Chase rounds each debit card payment up to the nearest pound and transfers the difference to a round-up account. You can switch round-ups on or off in the app at any time. The balance in the round-up account is transferred to your chosen Chase current or saver account on the anniversary of the account opening¹. Chase describes this as giving your spare change "a little lift"¹.

Chase also offers a credit card, but only to its own current account customers, and a link to J.P. Morgan Personal Investing, the group's investing service. Both are covered in their own sections below, and the wider context is in our guides to credit cards and investing.

How Chase's cashback and rewards work

Chase's headline reward is cashback on everyday debit and credit card spending. The offer has qualification criteria you must meet each month, and for every month you qualify, cashback is paid the following month on your card transactions¹⁰. The current rate and monthly cap are set out on Chase's own cashback pages, which also state when changes take effect for customers moving from an older version of the offer¹¹.

How the mechanics work:

• Cashback is credited to your rewards balance after the relevant debit or credit card payment has cleared, rounded to the nearest penny. From the rewards balance it is yours to spend or save¹¹.
• Eligible transactions of 50p and over qualify for cashback¹².
• Cashback is earned only on transactions made through supported digital wallets: Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal¹².
• New customers get a grace period covering the rest of their first calendar month and the following calendar month¹².
• To be eligible for the cashback offer you must be 18 or over, a UK resident, and hold both a Chase current account and a Chase saver account, with eligibility criteria applied¹³.

The saver account requirement is worth noting: the cashback offer is not available on the current account alone. If you are comparing Chase with other banks, our guide to current accounts explains how reward schemes generally work and what to weigh up, and free help on choosing an account is available from MoneyHelper¹⁴.

Fees and charges, and what the account does not do

Chase's terms are blunt on the main point: "You will not incur any fees or charges for holding a current account."⁴ There is no monthly fee and no cost for day-to-day use of the account. Chase also states it will not charge you for using your account at home or abroad², and its credit card comes with no transaction fees from Chase when used overseas¹⁵.

What the account does not do matters just as much as what it costs:

• No overdraft. You cannot take out an overdraft on a Chase current account³.
• No cash or cheque deposits. Money can only be paid in from another account you hold with Chase, or directly from another UK bank account in pounds sterling. Chase does not provide cheque books⁴.
• No international payments from the current account. You cannot make international payments from the Chase current account³.
• No branches. All banking is done through the app¹⁶.

The credit card has its own conditions. Payments to the Chase credit card must be made from your Chase current account¹⁷, so the two products are tied together. If you are late making the minimum payment in any month or go over your credit limit, you lose any introductory or promotional rate on the card¹⁷. If the card goes into credit, you can ask Chase to move the money to one of your Chase current accounts, or spend as normal to bring the balance back down¹⁵.

Chase also runs occasional promotional offers, such as a Chase Protect policy with an Amazon gift card offer, which has its own terms and conditions¹⁸. One condition worth knowing: if your current account closes, including if you switch it to another bank, the Chase Protect policy is cancelled immediately and you are no longer protected or eligible for that offer¹⁸.

Who can open a Chase account

The basic requirements are consistent across Chase's products: you must be 18 or over and a UK resident, and eligibility criteria apply¹. For the saver, the round-up account and the cashback offer, a Chase current account is required, and the cashback offer additionally requires a saver account¹.

The Chase credit card is only available to Chase UK current account holders, and you must keep the current account open while you hold the card¹⁷. Existing customers can check their eligibility for the credit card in the app, and Chase states this check has no impact on your credit score¹⁹.

There is also an investing link. You can link a J.P. Morgan Personal Investing account to your Chase account only if you are the account holder or, in the case of a Junior ISA, the registered contact for that account⁴. Through the link, Chase has access to your pot balances and pot performance information, and Chase receives a payment from J.P. Morgan Personal Investing for introducing new customers²⁰. Payments cannot be made directly into J.P. Morgan Personal Investing pension pots from within the Chase app⁴.

If you cannot get a standard account anywhere, because of your circumstances or immigration status, organisations such as Shelter and Citizens Advice explain the options that exist, including basic bank accounts¹⁶. Chase does not offer a basic bank account.

Banking with Chase: an app-only bank with no branches

Chase has no branches, and all banking is done through the app: you cannot walk into a branch to speak to someone¹⁶. Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by calling or messaging from within the app, where you will be put through to a real person⁵.

The app is also where you manage cards. You can freeze a card by tapping See card on Home, then Freeze card, and choosing what to freeze with the toggles; the same steps unfreeze it. To replace a card, you tap the card on Home, then Manage card, then Replace card or card details, and Chase will either send a new card or instantly generate new card details for you. If you cannot access the app, you can contact Chase directly²³.

One limitation worth planning for: if someone manages your money under a power of attorney, most banks give telephone and online access, but only a small number give access to the mobile app, according to independent guidance from Which?²⁴. An app-only bank is worth checking carefully in that situation before switching an account that a power of attorney arrangement relies on.

Using your Chase card at home and abroad

Chase states it will not charge you for using your account at home or abroad². The credit card runs on the MasterCard network, so it is accepted in most places that take MasterCard, and Chase says there are no fees from it when you use the card overseas¹⁵. The product page makes the same promise for the credit card: no transaction fees when you use it overseas¹⁹.

For everyday spending, the debit card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay, and the cashback offer counts transactions made through Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal as eligible¹². If your card is lost, stolen or faulty, the freeze and replacement process in the section above is the first step, and Chase can be contacted if you cannot get into the app²³.

If you are moving money rather than spending it, note the restriction from the fees section: no international payments can be made from the Chase current account³. For sending money abroad generally, see our guide to money transfers and money abroad.

Switching to Chase with the Current Account Switch Service

Chase uses the Current Account Switch Service (CASS), the free service that most banks have signed up to, which transfers your account in seven days²⁵. Money and payments are automatically moved from your old account to your new one, including redirecting any incoming payments, and the Current Account Switch Guarantee provides protection, including a refund of any interest or charges, if something goes wrong¹⁴.

Chase offers a full switch only. It does not offer a partial switch, where you would move some or all of your payments but keep the old account open³. The process, in order:

1. Open a Chase current account if you do not already have one, then apply to switch in the same way as a new customer⁵.
2. Choose a switch date, up to 30 days ahead³.
3. Chase moves your money and payments in 7 working days. Your old account remains usable during that window³.
4. Direct Debits, standing orders and scheduled payments are moved automatically. Card subscriptions are not moved, so you need to update those yourself³.
5. Chase asks your old bank to close your old account³.
6. For three years after the switch, any payments accidentally made to your old account are automatically redirected to your Chase account³.

A few details affect real switches. Incoming payments such as a salary are redirected to the new account as part of the switch, and your employer's records are one place where old details can linger, so it is worth confirming they hold the new account information³. An overdraft does not transfer: a switch can still go ahead, but the overdraft stays with the old bank, which will need to make arrangements with it³. Some banks have individual payment limits, so if your balance is greater than the limit, they will send your balance across in multiple payments³. If an application to switch is rejected, you will see an error in the app and receive a text or email explaining why and what to do next³. A power of attorney set up with your old bank is not set up with Chase as part of the switch; it must be arranged separately via Support in the app³.

Chase will not charge you for switching away, either: the terms commit it to a free transfer of your money and payment information to another UK bank, requested through the new bank, when you leave⁴.

How Chase reports to credit reference agencies

Chase shares details of your Chase current account with credit reference agencies (CRAs), and you will begin to see Chase on your credit file²⁸. The rollout across the agencies has been staggered: Chase started reporting to Equifax more recently, so your account may not appear on your Equifax credit report straight away, and it was not yet reporting to Experian, saying it would update its information when that starts²⁸.

This is normal across the market. Not all lenders report to credit reference agencies, and some may only report to one or two of the three main agencies²⁹. Independent guidance is to check your file with all of them so you do not miss anything, and each gives you access online³¹. Our guide to credit scores and credit reports explains how to do this.

What Chase shares is limited. It states it will not share things like your day-to-day spending, passcodes, login details, how you use your card, anything about your saver account, or details of calls or chats²⁸. On the effect on your score: Chase runs a soft credit check when you first apply, which it says leaves no visible footprint and does not affect your credit score, and the ongoing data sharing with CRAs after you open the account is not a credit check either. Chase also states it will not close your account because of a low credit score²⁸.

If something on your file is wrong, independent guidance is to contact each of the three credit reference agencies and ask for a notice of correction to be added to your credit report³².

Complaints and support at Chase

Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week²². To make a complaint, contact Chase via Support in the app, or write to Freepost Banking Operations, PO Box 17507, Edinburgh, EH12 1PX⁴.

Chase's complaint process has set timescales. If it can, Chase will resolve your complaint within the first 3 working days and send you a Summary Resolution Communication. If it needs more time, it will send an acknowledgement within 5 working days. For most complaints it could take up to 8 weeks. If your complaint is payment related, Chase aims to find a solution within 15 days, and in exceptional circumstances may extend that up to 35 days⁴.

If you are unhappy with Chase's final response, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into it, free of charge, but you must contact the ombudsman within 6 months of Chase's response⁴. The ombudsman publishes complaint data across the industry each quarter, which gives a sense of where complaints are concentrated in the market as a whole³⁴. How a firm handles a complaint when it goes wrong matters: in one published ombudsman case study, a complaint about account transfer delays causing a £30,000 loss was partially upheld³⁵.

Leaving Chase

To leave Chase, you close your accounts in the app: tap the Profile icon in the Home tab, then Settings, then Leave Chase²². Before you can leave, you need to close any other accounts you hold with Chase, so that only one current account remains open. This includes any other current accounts, any saver accounts, and your round-up account if you have one²².

If you switch to another bank using the Current Account Switch Service, your Chase account is closed as part of the switch rather than through this process. Remember that closing the current account also cancels a Chase Protect policy immediately, as noted in the fees section¹⁸.

Chase does not send paper statements, so before closing the app account it is worth downloading anything you need. After the relationship ends, you can ask Chase for copies of any documents that were uploaded to the app, and your transaction information for the previous six years⁴.

How your money is protected with Chase

Money held with Chase is protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The FSCS can pay compensation to depositors if a bank is unable to meet its financial obligations⁴. Chase is covered by the scheme, and deposits in its current, saver and round-up accounts are eligible for protection⁶. The firm behind Chase is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by both the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority, with Financial Services Register number 124579¹².

The protection limit is £120,000 per depositor per bank. If the bank behind Chase went out of business, your eligible deposits with Chase would be added together and the £120,000 applied to the total balance⁶. For joint accounts with two account holders, each is entitled to £120,000 of protection in total, so £240,000 for the account. Eligible deposits in business accounts are treated as if made by a single depositor, so they get the £120,000 limit. Temporary high balances, such as the proceeds of a house sale, may be entitled to more than £120,000 of protection for six months from when the amount was first deposited or legally transferred⁶.

Two further points from Chase's terms are worth knowing. First, if you have money in an account, Chase may set it off against any amount you owe it or any group company which is due for repayment, with written notice beforehand⁴. Second, FSCS protection covers the failure of the bank, not losses from scams: independent guidance from StepChange is clear that with push payment scams, your money is not protected unless you pay by credit card or Direct Debit³⁷. Our guides to scams and fraud and consumer protection set out the rules in full.