Products & Services April 10, 2025

Chime Introduces Financial Wellness Suite

The Chime Workplace platform allows employees to build emergency savings through a high-yield savings account, as well as build credit history through everyday purchases.

Reported by
Chime Financial Inc. launched Chime Workplace, a suite of financial wellness services aimed at helping employees manage their pay, grow savings and expand their credit.

The platform combines Chime’s financial tools with workforce financial health insights. The platform also allows employees to build emergency savings through a high-yield savings account, as well as build credit history through everyday purchases.

Chime Workplace includes capital management benefits for employers, such as allowing employees to get paid up to two days early, fee-free overdraft coverage with SpotMe, and on-demand pay access with MyPay, which launched to eligible consumers in 2024, allowing them to access their pay before payday.

For more stories like this, sign up for the PLANADVISERdash daily newsletter.

The launch also follows Chime’s acquisition of Salt Labs Inc., an employee rewards platform, last year.

In addition, Chime Workplace’s employee rewards and loyalty program recognizes employees’ work milestones and achievements, with the goal of enhancing engagement while supporting workers’ financial goals.

Through the platform, employers are able to gain aggregated insights into the financial health of their employee base—such as savings growth, credit health improvement and overall engagement—through a centralized data portal.

“Employers have told us their biggest frustration with existing financial wellness programs is that they don’t make an impact or empower employees to get to the next step in their journey,” said Jason Lee, Chime’s chief of enterprise who founded Salt Labs, in a statement. “Multiple vendors, logins, and endless apps only compound this problem and, ultimately, hinder effectiveness. Chime Workplace works with employers to solve these challenges by delivering one trusted app that meets employees where they are and gets them to where they want to be.”

According to Chime, there are no fees for employers to market the financial wellness suite, and employees may open a Chime account at no cost to the employee.

Compliance April 10, 2025

Senate Confirms Paul Atkins as SEC Chairman

The founder and chief executive of Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Patomak Global Partners was also an SEC commissioner under President George W. Bush from 2002 through 2008.

Reported by

In a 52 to 44 vote, the Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Paul Atkins as the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Atkins, founder and chief executive of Washington, D.C.-based consultancy Patomak Global Partners, was also an SEC commissioner under President George W. Bush from 2002 through 2008, focusing on the financial services industry and securities regulation. His nomination as SEC chair was announced in December 2024. Mark Uyeda had been the SEC’s acting chair since January after Gary Gensler, who held the role during the administration of former President Joe Biden, stepped down.

Never miss a story — sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters to keep up on the latest retirement plan adviser news.

Paul Atkins

After leaving the SEC, Atkins founded Patomak Global Partners, which provides consulting services to financial services firms on regulatory issues, new products, business strategy and corporate governance. One of Atkins’ focus areas has been supporting and developing best practices for the use of digital assets and trading platforms to expand the market for cryptocurrency.

Gensler was critical of digital assets and publicly skeptical of incorporating them more fully into markets. Appointed by Biden in April 2021, Gensler was known for both rigorous rulemaking and enforcement.

Industry Response

“ICI congratulates Paul Atkins on his confirmation as the next SEC Chairman. He is a champion for investors and the markets, possessing a deep understanding of the critical role regulated funds play in our financial ecosystem. We hope Chairman Atkins will take swift action on policies recommended by ICI in the interest of 120 million American investors,” said Investment Company Institute President and CEO Eric J. Pan in a statement. “These policies include actions that will allow funds to have both ETF and mutual fund share classes, improve access for retail fund investors to private markets strategies, and reform the fund proxy system.”

Dale Brown, president and CEO of the Financial Services Institute, said in a statement: “We congratulate Paul Atkins on his confirmation as SEC Chair. Now is a pivotal time in the history of the markets with rapid technological advancements, evolving investor expectations and the emergence of innovative financial products. We encourage Chair Atkins and the SEC staff to update regulations and guidance to align with these advancements, allowing the financial services industry to best serve clients in the modern marketplace while continuing to ensure investor protection. With the ongoing market volatility and economic uncertainty, the need for professional, objective financial advice has never been greater. The rules of the regulatory road must be clearly defined so financial eand firms can confidently and effectively serve Main Street American investors.” 

Wayne Chopus, president and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute, said in a statement: “IRI congratulates Chairman Atkins on his confirmation to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We look forward to working with him and the Commission to ensure continued, strong consumer protection within a regulatory framework that fosters innovation, strengthens market access, and supports a secure path to retirement for all Americans.”

According to Chopus, IRI will encourage the SEC to reconsider and ultimately withdraw the proposed rule on predictive data analytics and the proposed amendments to the registered investment adviser custody rule. The organization’s statement also said another key priority is for the SEC to adopt electronic delivery as the default method for required disclosures.

«