One of the biggest benefits presented by fintechs is their ability to serve customers big banks normally would ignore; with the onset of the coronavirus this could be the ideal scenario for fintechs to prove they can effectively bank the unbanked; companies like Chime and Current are allowing their customers to draw down on stimulus funds not yet received, an overdrafts of sorts; Chime initially started with a test of 1,000 customers but has since rolled out the feature to more than 100,000 customers; Current made funds available to 10,000 of its users who received stimulus checks immediately and they expected that number to more than double in a matter of days; helping customers avoid fees is something these challengers have made their name on and now is when that service is needed most; Getting more money as quickly as possible into people’s hands is important,” Current CEO Stuart Sopp said to Chedder. “There are lots of penalty fees, not just in financial services, but in things like telecoms and utilities. If you don’t pay your bills quickly, all of a sudden you have hundreds of dollars worth of fines and fees and late payments penalty notices. So that liquidity is really important.” Cheddar
