Ally Bank review: Ally Bank accounts and features reviewed

Panna Kemenes

17.05.21 (updated more than 1 year ago)

5 minute read

Ally Bank was founded in 2009. It joined the scene some nine years or so after the first few online-only banks emerged.

Though it may be one of the newer options, Ally has proved itself to be a worthy choice for many customers and has a lot to offer.

This Ally Bank review will go over some of the online bank’s account options and touch upon the pros and cons of using Ally Bank.

You can also discover an online solution to send, spend and receive international currencies with Wise.

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📝Table of contents
Ally Bank review: Ally Bank accounts Is Ally a safe bank? Ally Bank customer experience Pros and cons of Ally Bank Ally Bank comparison Who is Ally Bank best for? Should I switch to Ally Bank? Choose Wise for international transfers

Ally Bank review: Ally Bank accounts

Ally Bank has several standard bank accounts to choose from, covering everything from the basic checking account to high-yield savings and money market accounts.

Every Ally Bank account comes with perks and can be accessed from a desktop computer or smartphone.

Ally Online Checking account

Ally’s Interest Checking account has no monthly fees and doesn’t require a minimum deposit to set up the account.

It offers customers a tiered interest rate, so you can stand to earn a lot, especially if you reach the minimum balance.¹

Here are some of the perks of Ally’s Online Checking account:

0.10% APY with less than $15,000 as a minimum daily balance
0.25% APY with $15,000 or more
Free standard checks, debit card, and bill pay service.

Fees	Best for
$25 fee for overdraft No Allpoint ATM fees (Ally will reimburse up to $10 for non-Allpoint ATMs) No monthly fees	Accruing tiered interest on your money

Ally Online Savings account

The Ally savings account offers 0.50% APY on all balances, which is higher than the national average.²

This APY rate is just one reason why Ally’s savings account could be a good choice for you.³

There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements, but you are limited to six transactions a statement cycle, after which Ally will charge $10 per transaction.

Fees	Best for
No monthly fees No minimum balance Six transactions a statement cycle, after which $10 per transaction	High APY rate on all balances

Ally Money Market account

The Ally Money Market account offers a competitive APY rate on all of its balance tiers, with no monthly fees or minimum balances required.

While Ally’s APY is lower than Axos Bank’s rate⁴ of 0.61%, it is still high and applies to all balance tiers. This means you have access to a decent interest rate from the beginning.

Here are the best aspects⁵ of this account:

0.50% APY across balance tiers
Unlimited deposits
Free ATM withdrawals

Fees	Best for
No monthly fees No minimum balance	A great APY rate from the start, and unlimited deposits

Ally High Yield CD

The Ally High Yield CD account offers a scaling APY which goes up to 0.85% depending on term length. This means you can earn more the longer your funds are in the account.

There’s also no minimum deposit required to set up this CD account.⁶

Here are the CD rates Ally offers with this account:

0.20% for 3 months
0.25% for 6 months
0.30% for 9 months
0.60% for 12 months
0.60% for 18 months
0.65% for 3 years
0.85% for 5 years

💡 You can read more about what a CD account is if you’re interested in this option.

Fees	Best for
No minimum deposit Early withdrawal fees: 24 months or less incurs 60 days of interest fee 25-36 months incurs 90-day interest fee 37-48 months incurs 120-day interest fee 49 months or more incurs 150-day interest fee	Securing a high APY if you plan on keeping your money in the account for a long time

Fees

Best for

No minimum deposit

Early withdrawal fees:

24 months or less incurs 60 days of interest fee

25-36 months incurs 90-day interest fee

37-48 months incurs 120-day interest fee

49 months or more incurs 150-day interest fee

Securing a high APY if you plan on keeping your money in the account for a long time

Ally Bank overdraft fees

Ally Bank charges a $25 fee if you enter overdraft on an item, but this caps out at a single fee a day.

As a result, you can only ever incur a $25 overdraft fee on any given day, even if you have gone over on several purchases.⁷

Is Ally a safe bank?

It’s easy to think that brick-and-mortar banks are much more secure than online-only banks, but this isn’t necessarily true.

Ally, for instance, offers a comprehensive array of security measures to ensure your finances and information are kept safe at all times.

Ally uses a 2-step authentication process to deter hackers from attempting to access your account, as well firewalls to block unauthorized access, and Transport Layer Security (TLS) Encryption which keeps your sensitive data secure.⁸

Ally Bank customer experience

Ally has several options when it comes to customer support⁹, especially compared to another online bank like WebBank which only has a contact page to get in touch.¹⁰

Not only can you call Ally Bank and chat online at any time, but you can also send a secure email or a letter to the company’s P.O. Box.

The 24/7 customer service can be reassuring to those who have not yet used online-only banks.

However, Ally Bank has a score of 2.1 out of five stars on Trustpilot (a consumer review website), where most negative reviews seem to be based around customer service.¹¹ This is quite a low score compared to Varo Bank, which scores 4.4 overall.¹²

In terms of accessibility, every Ally Bank account can be accessed from a desktop computer or smartphone for the customer’s convenience.

Pros and cons of Ally Bank

If you want a brief breakdown of the pros and cons of Ally, here’s a summary of the online-only bank:

Pros

Ally offers competitive rates across various accounts
There is 24/7 customer service
There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements

Cons

There are only a few accounts to choose from
There are overdraft fees

Ally Bank comparison

The banks here have been chosen for comparison as they are also online-only banks. Here is an overview of the savings accounts compared.

Bank	Fees and minimum balance	APY
Ally Bank	No monthly fees No minimum deposit¹³	0.50%
Axos Bank	No monthly fees $250 minimum balance to open an account¹⁴	0.61%
Varo Bank	No monthly feesNo minimum deposit¹⁵	0.20-3% APY starts low but can reach a higher-than-average 3% when certain criteria are met

Who is Ally Bank best for? Should I switch to Ally Bank?

Ally Bank is a great online-only bank if you want to have full control of your finances both online and through your mobile phone.

It’s a great choice for banking on the go with competitive rates and no minimum balance requirements to set up accounts.

If you prefer a brick-and-mortar bank that you can visit in person, then Ally Bank may not be the best choice for you. However, 24/7 customer service is available if you have any uncertainties.

🤓 Not the one for you? Here are some more reviews you’ll love
Axos bank reviews 2022: Is Axos the best bank for you? Varo Bank reviews: Is a Varo Bank account the best choice for you? Green Dot Bank reviews 2022: Is Green Dot Bank the best choice for you? WebBank reviews 2022: Is WebBank the best choice for you? Discover Bank reviews 2022: Overview of the top Discover Bank accounts

Choose Wise for international transfers

If you use your card internationally, Ally charges up to 1% for currency conversion. You won’t be able to send money abroad, as there is only a domestic option for outgoing wire transfers.¹⁶

Wise, on the other hand, offers the real mid-market rate for spending in over 50 currencies. You can convert to and from your local currency while you’re traveling with the Wise account.

You can also send and receive international transfers for a low, transparent fee.

Join Wise for free 🚀

Millions of happy customers already save money when they send money online with Wise.

Sources:

Sources checked 17 May 2021.

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