London - based start - up Chip has raised almost £ ##5 m ( $ 15 m ) in crowdfunding as part of a wider bid to apply for a banking licence . Currently , Chip 's savings app plugs into a customer 's bank and automatically sets deposits aside , but to offer a wider range of products , rather than resell what already exists , the user has to join the banks in order to beat them . The fund raise, which is part of a larger £2.4 million funding round, forms part of plans for the London-based startup to apply for a banking license so that it has more flexibility regarding the kinds of products it can offer in the future. Chip is beta - testing a product enabling it to lend out a portion of deposits to fund an overdraft .
London - based start - up Chip has raised almost £ ##5 m ( $ 15 m ) in crowdfunding as part of a wider bid to apply for a banking licence . Currently , Chip 's savings app plugs into a customer 's bank and automatically sets deposits aside , but to offer a wider range of products , rather than resell what already exists , the user has to join the banks in order to beat them . Chip is beta - testing a product enabling it to lend out a portion of deposits to fund an overdraft .