Chip App Review
Can the Chip app help you take control of your finances in a way that will make saving enjoyable? Let's find out.
As you can probably imagine, saving money has never been easy, which is why a quarter of British adults have no savings whatsoever. The latest technology lets us store extra money without even trying, which is why the possibility of using mobile apps to do this is so interesting.
Our Chip app review explores whether Chip is a smart choice for you, taking a look at this popular tool for saving money passively.
Chip was founded by Nick Ustinov and Simon Rabin in 2016 and are registered and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
It’s not just Chip, though, as competitors Plum and Moneybox have also built automated savings apps, with an ever-growing list of options across the world. Nevertheless, its success and apparent quarter-million users make it worth taking a look at.
Until now, you may not have used an open banking app such as this, so you will probably be totally surprised at how easy it is to download the chip app and set it up.
To access your bank’s site, you simply need to enter your name and debit card details. Once you’ve done that, you can approve Chip.
Take some time after that to organize everything the way you want it. Have a think about your personal savings goals and note how much money you are looking to save each month.
You can go about your daily life with Chip analyzing your transactions to see if you can save more than you expected.
Following that, you will receive recommendations about what to save, and you can decide whether you want to follow them or not. Saving money will become a habit without any effort on your part.
In essence, Chip gives you simple ways to save money. Understanding the mechanism of how it works is important.
The app can be connected to your bank. The process takes only a minute, and using an open banking connection, you can securely transfer money. The system allows links between accounts at many of the major British banks. Some banks, however, aren’t included.
The app automatically saves as much as possible based on AI, which determines how much you can safely store away. Ideally, you want the service to save as much as possible every month without negatively affecting your life.
By analyzing your spending habits, the service determines how much you can afford to save that month. You can override the auto-save if you don’t agree.
Setting yourself clear goals you can achieve what you want to with your savings. If you can identify the things you are most excited about saving for, then you can work on making them happen.
By saving every month without fail, you are able to earn interest on your savings, as well as see what kind of saving streak you have developed.
It is not surprising that there are quite a few opinions about the Chip app. Currently, it appears to be being well received by most users. Many people who normally have a hard time saving have genuinely appreciated the program.
There are many reasons why a lot of people drift along without making a point to invest their money. It mainly targets people like this. You can make your life a little easier if you are a regular saver anyway, but it is unlikely that you will experience any major advantages from it.
Money withdrawals from savings accounts can take a relatively long time, which is a concern for some savers. There seems to be a technical issue behind this, so it will likely be fixed sooner or later. The point to consider before signing up is however that if you expect to need the money quickly, you may want to keep this in mind.
Initially, this service is free to download and use. In the first 28 days if you save £100, it starts charging at a rate of £1.50 per month. There is also the option to downgrade to the free ChipLite plan, which does not contain everything that a paid plan does.
Interest rates are low at the time of writing this Chip review, so they have an enticing 1.25% rate right now.
It is a shame that not enough people take the habit of saving money seriously. It is the best habit we can get into. A recent appearance of apps like Chip* that automate savings should encourage more people to start putting money aside.
Trying to withdraw cash can be problematic for some people due to the issues mentioned so far as a number of people have expressed concern over the amount of time it takes to withdraw to their bank account. If it helps you to save more than before, £1.50 a month seems reasonable.
As a starter savings plan, Chip might be a good choice, although its lack of investment options probably makes it less suitable to more seasoned savers. For seasoned savers, we’d recommend looking more to a platform like Wealthify or even a self-invest app like Freetrade.
