Chase Bank affords first-ever bank card to chose prospects

Popular digital bank Chase has launched its first-ever credit card, which will be rolled out to some of its customers from today. 

The new credit card will be available to a small group of 25,000 existing Chase customers after a period of testing with the bank’s employees. 

It will be made available to a wider group of existing Chase customers over the coming months, the bank said. 

This is the first credit card from JP Morgan-backed digital bank Chase and its first foray into lending. 

The card will come with 0 per cent interest on purchases, no foreign exchange fees, and no annual fee. 

The 0 per cent interest period for Chase’s testing pool will last for 18 months, providing customers meet their minimum monthly repayments. 

Giving credit: JP Morgan-backed chase will roll out its new card to existing customers first

For the pilot group the representative APR is 24.9 per cent. Chase will confirm to customers their purchase rate at the point of checking their eligibility.

But this may change for customers after the pilot group. Chase said it will decide any changes to rates for new customers ahead of the full launch. 

APR stands for Annual Percentage Rate. It is the total rate you’ll be charged for borrowing money over a year on a credit card.

APRs are calculated by adding the interest rate to the card fee. APRs do not include fees and charges for missed repayments or cash withdrawals

American Express’ Gold card has an APR of 88.3 per cent by comparison, that’s because the £195 annual fee is accounted for in this rate. 

From today, eligible customers in Chase’s testing panel will be able to apply for the credit card through the bank’s app. 

Customers who are approved for the credit card will be able to start using it immediately using their digital wallet without needing to wait for the physical card to arrive. 

Customers who are part of the testing panel can check their eligibility in the Chase app and get confirmation of their offer, rate and credit limit before applying without  impacting their credit score. 

Chase has also launched a feature in its app which will allow customers to check their credit score. 

Chase has attracted more than 2million customers and amassed more than £20billion in deposits since it launched three years ago, reeling in customers with cashback perks, interest on current account balances and and high easy-access rates. 

It’s current account comes with a 3.5 per cent linked easy-access account and 1 per cent cashback on current account spending. 

Last month the Government moved to raise the bank ring-fencing threshold to £35billion from £25billion in a boost to Chase. 

Chase along with its Goldman Sachs rival Marcus are not ring-fenced from the investment banks’ wider operations, so the £25billion limit was a barrier to their deposit-taking growth.  

Kuba Fast, Chase UK CEO, said: ‘We’re excited to be able to offer a small group of existing customers the opportunity to try our first credit card product. 

‘This is an important next step in expanding our offer to meet customer borrowing needs.