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Chip App review: One of the most generous savings accounts

Are you looking to give your savings a bit of a kickstart? Or maybe, you want to enter the investing world but don’t know where to begin? Well, the Chip app could be ideal for you. Let’s take a look at how it works, the costs involved and an overview of Chip’s answer to Premium Bonds.

Chip review home


Chip summary

Chip is an easy-to-use app offering one of the most generous interest rates (4.84%) around for a savings account. There are also some limited options if you want to enter the world of investing. This is an account for any serious saver to consider.

– Pete Chatfield

Chip logo
Ease of use
Functionality
Features
Interest rates
Value for money

Pros and cons:

✅ Basic Chip account is free
✅ Generous interest rates
✅ A range of savings accounts to choose

❌ The AI features aren’t free
❌ ChipX isn’t great value for money
❌ The app is always adding and removing features

Chip

4.1


What is the Chip app?

The Chip app uses artificial intelligence to analyse your spending habits and automatically transfers small amounts of money from your current account to Chip. This process is designed to help users save money without actively thinking about it. Chip also offers savings and investment accounts so users can receive a return for their money.

Does it cost?

There are two versions of Chip available.

Chip – free to use. However, you will be charged for each autosave or every recurring save.

ChipX – this is charged at £5.99 per month. If you pay annually, you’ll receive a discount and it works out to £4.99 per month. ChipX means that you don’t pay for auto and recurring saves. Plus, you’ll get access to extra investment funds and won’t need to pay a platform fee.

Is Chip safe?

Chip is owned by Chip Financial Limited, a UK company based in London and incorporated in 2016. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The app uses bank-grade security and your data is protected by 256+ bit encryption.

Chip has developed a lot over the years and you’ll be pleased to know that your money is now covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). That means that if anything should happen to Chip, up to £85,000 of your money is protected by the government.

How does it work?

Once your Chip account is up and running, your first port of call is to connect it to your current account using an officially recognised system called open banking.

Chip will then monitor the money coming in and out of your linked current account. Using artificial intelligence, Chip determines how much you can save and automatically transfers small amounts (known as autosaves) by direct debit from your bank every four days. It gets used to your spending habits and knows when your bills are due.

Because these transfers are done in small amounts, you’ll hardly notice it leaving. However, if you find the app is taking too much or too little, you can adjust the autosave level to something more comfortable.

Away from autosaves, you can set up recurring saves. These are set amounts moved over on a date of your choosing. You’re also free to top-up your Chip account whenever you like.

When your money enters the Chip app, you’ll need to decide where it goes. There are various savings and investment accounts where you can place your money.

With autosaves, you can let Chip know where you want the money to be allocated automatically. If you’re making a direct transfer, you choose which account the deposit goes into.


Also worth reading

If investing is your thing, why not check out these great investment apps for beginners?


What types of accounts are available?

If you’re looking at low-risk returns, then you’ll be interested in a regular savings account. There are currently four types on offer.

Chip Instant Access

This is a simple, easy-access account. Transfer your money in and start earning interest instantly. you can withdraw your money at any time without penalty.

90 Days’ Notice Account

Money in this account can only be withdrawn once you give 90 days’ notice.

Chip Cash ISA

A cash ISA allows you to save up to £20k per year and any interest you earn is not liable for tax. The Chip ISA is quite unique as it’s linked directly to the Bank of England base rate – set at 0.51% below.

Prize Savings Account

This is Chip’s alternative to Premium Bonds. Now, you won’t be paid any interest from this account but you don’t get a chance to win prizes. Every £10 you invest gives you one entry into the prize draw (although you need to keep an aggregated amount of £100 in there). There are £30,000 worth of prizes each month and the big prize is £10,000. Chip says your chances of winning are 1 in 6,056.

Depositing into Chip


Chip investment account

You may want to invest if you prefer your money to work a little harder. But don’t worry, you don’t need to know much about stocks and shares. Your money will be placed into a fund and managed for you. All you need to do is choose the level of risk you’re comfortable with.

Your investments will be placed into a General Investment Account (GIA). Money earned from this could be liable for tax, depending on your income.

If you upgrade to ChipX, you can open a stocks and shares ISA, reducing your tax liability. It will also give you access to more investment funds, including ethical investments.

It’s important to remember when it comes to investing that the value of your investment could go down as well as up. The riskier the investment you choose, the bigger the potential for returns. But that also means a higher risk that your investment could lose money.

Any other features of note?

  • Goals – this can be anything you want to save up for and you can have a maximum of 3. Then, when your money is saved into your Chip account, it can be split towards each goal. Then, just set an end date, and you will be given updates on your progress.
  • Recurring Saves – instead of just relying on autosaves, Chip will regularly take a certain amount from your bank, depending on your preferences.
  • Minimum bank balance limit – If you never want to fall below a certain level, then let Chip know and they won’t transfer any money if it means your current account falls below this limit.
  • Alternative assets – for a short while, Chip did offer investment opportunities in valuable items like a 1989 Ferrari Testarossa. However, these seem to be very limited and I haven’t seen any for a while.

Chip features at a glance

ChipChipX
Monthly fee£0£5.99 (or £4.99 if you pay annually)
FSCS Protected savings
Savings account interest4.84%4.84%
Automatic savings costs£0.45 for Autosave
£0.25 for Recurring Save
Free
Choice of investment fundsRestricted to 3Full choice of funds
Platform fee0.5% per annumFree
Stocks and shares ISA


Is ChipX worth it?

This really depends on what you want to use Chip for. If you need it as a savings account where you send money on an ad-hoc basis, you might as well stick with the free version.

If you want to make use of the AI and autosaves, it makes sense to upgrade to X. Those fees for each transfer, although small, will soon add up.

Plus, you’ll get access to a wider range of funds if you decide you want to make use of Chip’s investing side more.

When it initially came to market, I didn’t see many advantages of ChipX over the free version.

My experience with the app

I have been a member of Chip for over five years and have seen the app constantly change and evolve.

Initially, I used it to help me build up my savings and as a cheap Direct Debit for bank account switching. But the Direct Debit facility was scrapped and Chip moved away from being a savings app and focused more on investments.

Then, Chip changed direction again and is now aimed towards those who want to keep their money in cash savings. And since then, because of the generous interest rates, I’ve been using it regularly.

I did try the Prize Savings account for a short while and won £20. But in all honesty, I’m not a fan of the Premium Bonds, so these kinds of accounts don’t tickle my fancy. I prefer a more reliable return.

Chip prize savings


What other people say

Trustpilot is always a place I recommend taking a look at to get a general idea of what others think. It currently has a rating of 3.5 out of 5 from over 1,000 reviews. Over on the Apple Store, it scores a more impressive 4.6 from over 25,000 reviews.

Chip referral

Chip sometimes runs a refer-a-friend program where you and a friend can earn £20 each if your friend joins using your referral link. However, to qualify, your friend usually needs to deposit at least £5,500 into the Chip savings account and leave it there for 180 days.

My Chip app review conclusion

I really like Chip. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve been a longtime user and at points, the app offered so much that it all became a little overwhelming. But in its current form, it’s little more than a simple savings app. Which is a good thing. And 4.84% is not to be sniffed at.

It’s a shame that the autosaves feature isn’t free for all users, but it’s a feature I can live without.

As for the Prize Savings account, it’s a bit of fun. I wouldn’t put a lot of money in there, but I prefer it to Premium Bonds.

Download Chip today by clicking the button below.


Chip


Chip alternatives

There are plenty of finance apps available to users, all offering different features. But the app closest to Chip is Plum, which also offers investments, instant access savings and an autosaving feature. Take a look at my Chip vs Plum review to see how they compare directly.

FAQs

Why has Chip stopped taking money?

Two possible reasons. The link to your bank account may need renewing. Just visit the app to refresh it. Otherwise, have you received a new debit card recently? If so, Chip will need to reset your banking details. Just visit the app and send them a message.

How do I delete my account?

If you no longer want to be a member, open the Chip app and select ‘profile’. Scroll to the bottom and click on the delete account button.

How do I contact Chip?

Either send a message through the app or send an email to hello@getchip.uk

Is the Chip app free?

The basic plan is. If you upgrade to ChipX, you’ll be charged £3 per month.

How often does Chip take money?

On average, Chip will take money from your bank account every four days.

How long does it take to withdraw money?

It’s all very well saving this money, but what if you need access to it? According to Chip, withdrawals should happen on the same day as long as they’re made before 5 pm. At weekends, you have to wait until the next working day. In my experience, these estimates are pretty spot-on.

How do you change accounts?

Linking to a new bank account isn’t as easy as other apps. You will need to contact Chip first to let them know you want to swap, and they will remove your original account. You can then add your new bank.

Kathryn Tseung

Tuesday 27th of September 2022

You might want to adjust your review of Chip as they are going to charge for every autosave that they make into the Chip accounts, and given this is automated by their own algorithms which determine the time and AMOUNT of autosave, they are effectively printing their own money! (Other autosave apps like Plum do not charge for autosaves). Also going to charge for withdrawals if customers want to withdraw more than once in 28 days. Reading reviews it's hard enough to withdraw money out of Chip once it's in there, so charging for that inconvenience is just an insult. Interest rates of their products are dire too, well behind the market. Only one way that this company is heading I'm afraid, I'm worried as I am one of their Crowdfund investors and don't want them to fail.

Money Saver Pete

Wednesday 28th of September 2022

Thanks Kathryn. I had seen that it will soon be changing and I will update the post when it kicks in. I too am a little worried about where they're taking the app and I'm not keen on the proposed changes.

Mark Pitfield

Tuesday 28th of August 2018

I've been really impressed with Chip. If you're looking to max savings like me it allows over £600 a month in combination of manual and auto saves at up to 5%, and so beats any major bank offering for current accounts and regular savers. Cheers!