Ally Bank, a DepositAccounts.com advertiser, is a Utah-based Internet bank that focuses primarily on offering consumer savings products, including savings, checking, money market, certificate of deposit (CD), and IRA accounts. The bank also provides credit cards and auto financing services and tools on its lending side and helps customers determine whether to lease or buy a vehicle.
Ally Bank’s online savings account regularly offers one of the highest interest rates in the country as far as savings accounts go. It comes with no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum deposit to open. Deposits and withdrawals can be performed through Ally’s fast online ACH transfer service, and up to six withdrawals per month are allowed without a fee. Customers can also write cashier’s checks out of the account for free.
Ally’s Interest checking account also offers a highly competitive compounding interest rate for balances of $15,000 or more. It comes with a free MasterCard debit card, free checks, unlimited check writing, and free ATM fee reimbursements from any ATM nationwide. This checking account has no minimum initial deposit and no monthly maintenance fees.
The Money Market account offered by Ally is very similar to its online savings account, but with the added flexibility of several checking account functions like a debit card, free checks, and ATM fee reimbursements. The Money Market’s interest rate is typically quite competitive, and no minimum deposit or monthly balance requirements makes it a very attractive hybrid account.
CDs and IRA CDs are also available and come in term lengths ranging from 3 months to 5 years. Ally features a Raise Your Rate CD that affords one bump-up allowance if there is a rate increase during the life of the CD. Its No Penalty usually offers a rate similar to the savings account, and DepositAccounts.com has discussed the strategies behind opening one or the other.
Ally Bank online banking provides a sophisticated and secure platform on which its deposit accounts are managed. Ally eCheck Deposit offers an easy way to deposit checks via a smartphone camera, computer scanner, or free paid-postage envelopes. Ally also makes it easy to transfer funds between Ally accounts or between Ally and non-Ally accounts for free, and that includes transfers associated with paying bills as well. Mobile banking apps make it easy and convenient to accomplish all of the aforementioned tasks while on the go. Ally Bank has no physical branches, and therefore offers free ATM fee reimbursements for all of its accounts.
Ally Bank was originally established as GMAC Automotive Bank in 2004. In 2008, the bank suffered significant losses as a result of the bankruptcy of automakers GM and Chrysler. The bank has grown stronger in recent years, having repaid over $6 billion of its government debt as of May of 2013. Ally is headquartered in Midvale, Utah and services over 1 million opened deposit accounts through its online banking platform.
Gosh after seeing so many negative reviews maybe I've just been lucky and something bad is around the corner........... But so far they have been easy to use and I've had an account with them for a few years. It's simple to link other banks for quick transfers, never had an issue. When I've had to wire money it's a simple process, changing or adding POD's super easy and your beneficiaries show under account info so you don't have to wonder if they actually recorded and filed what you requested. Amazing how many banks don't show that info. Anyway, I know things can always change, but so far I don't have anything to complain about.....
Received snail mail from Ally today dated 10 days ago. Friendly advice that “they hadn’t heard from me in a while”, cited five ways to stay in touch, including logging into ally.com, which I already do at least monthly. No mention of rendering my account dormant or otherwise locking it. I haven’t moved money into or out of the account in probably over a year. I immediately called Ally per the number listed as another of the 5 friendly ways. Call was quickly answered by a knowledgeable young lady, sounded like the call hadn’t departed the continent for a foreign call center. Ran through ID confirmation protocol, then discovered a couple of frustrating contradictions to the contents of the snail mail. Ally’s computer is set up to dormant the account if money doesn’t move in and out of the account at intervals, the length of which the agent could not discover. Logging into the website isn’t adequate contact, unlike all of my other financial institutions. And by the time their snail mail reached my mailbox, the account was dormant and locked. I can log in, see my balance and confirm my linked account is still linked, but no commands are allowed. Message center: nothing, no warning, no notification of status change. So, from my standpoint, Ally has frozen my account, without warning, for nothing. They email me promos all the time, didn’t email their actual criteria to keep account active. The agent predicts two to three business days for the back office to free the dollars. Not happy in the meantime.
Addendum: Account reactivated after one business day, controls seem to work. Received a thoughtful-toned on-website message apologizing and explaining that intended protocols didn't happen, surprise dormancy was unintended. Apology accepted.
I only use Ally Bank in conjunction with my investment accounts there, as this allows for transactions to and from.
The good: it's convenient if you have an investment account(s) there.
The okay: their interest rate is better than the big commercial banks.
The could be better: the knowledge and skills of their customer service reps is hit-and-miss.
The bad: their interest rate trails many, many other better choices.
Banking 101
Law of Banking Inertia
First, create goodwill with prompt, professional customer service and highly competitive rates on deposits.
Once you are regarded as a leader for rates and service, let the rates and service decline below that of your competitors, and focus on executive salaries instead.
For several years, most people will simply keep their accounts and will not move to the competition.
Law of Banking Momemtum
Eventually, depositers will move their funds to the competition.
When they do, this can happen very quickly, as many depositers will quickly follow outspoken depositers.
You once were a great bank and you blew it.
Overall | |
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FDIC Certificate # | 57803 |
Year Established | 2004 |
Employees | 10412 |
Primary Regulator | FED |
Profit Margin | |
---|---|
Return on Assets - YTD | 1.08% |
Return on Equity - YTD | 14.65% |
Annual Interest Income | $2.94B |
Assets and Liabilities | ||
---|---|---|
Assets | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $186.4B$174.5B |
Loans | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $132.8B$122.1B |
Deposits | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $158.5B$145.2B |
Equity Capital | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $13.84B$15.57B |
Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $3.78B$3.33B |
Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $1.37B$1.35B |
Real Estate Owned | Q1 2023vs Q1 2022 | $2.0MM$0 |
Always verify rates and promotions with the bank or credit union. We are not Ally Bank; we are a rate comparison website and cannot provide official rates or promotions.
* The APY shown varies based on the deposit amount. Expand the listing to see APYs for other deposit amounts.
Ally Bank's online savings account has no minimum balance requirement and no monthly service charges. Withdrawals are limited to six per month which is based on federal regulations. Deposits and withdrawals can be made via Ally's online funds transfer service which provides for fast ACH transfers to and from your other banks. The online funds transfer service allows you to link to an unlimited number of external bank accounts.
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS |
---|---|---|---|---|
4.25% | - | - | IRA Savings | |
4.25% | - | - | Savings Account |
Ally Bank's Money Market account has no minimum balance requirement and no monthly service charges. Notable features include check writing (first 50 checks are free) and a check card. Withdrawals are limited to six per month which is based on federal regulations. Deposits and withdrawals can be made via Ally's online funds transfer service which provides for fast ACH transfers to and from your other banks. The online funds transfer service allows you to link to an unlimited number of external bank accounts.
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS |
---|---|---|---|---|
4.40% | - | - | Money Market Account |
Ally Bank's Interest Checking account has no minimum balance requirement and no monthly service charges. It's a tiered rate account with the highest interest paid on balances of at least $15,000. Notable features include free checks with unlimited check writing and no ATM fees at any ATM. Ally will even automatically refund ATM fees charged by other banks. Other features include free online bill pay and a free debit card. Deposits and withdrawals can be made via Ally's online funds transfer service which provides for fast ACH transfers to and from your other banks. The online funds transfer service allows you to link to an unlimited number of external bank accounts.
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
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0.25%* | $15k* | - | Spending Account | ||
OTHER TIERS: 0.10% → Up to $15k |
Ally Bank's certificates of deposit have three variations. The first is the traditional type of CD with a fixed interest rate until maturity. Terms from 3 months to 5 years are available. The second type is a no-penalty CD. You are allowed a penalty-free early withdrawal any time during the term after 6 days from when the CD is funded. The third type is a bump-up CD called Raise Your Rate CD. It's a fixed rate CD that gives you the option to raise the rate one time during the term to the current CD rate for that same term. All CDs have no minimum balance requirement, although interest rates may vary depending on the amount deposited. The early withdrawal penalties for each of the CDs are shown in the detailed tables below for each product. The grace period at maturity when you can close the CD without penalty is 10 days after the maturity date. With Ally's Ten Day Best Rate Guarantee, when you fund your CD within ten days of opening or when your Ally CD renews, you automatically get the best rate Ally offers during those ten days.
Ally Bank is an Internet only bank and does not have branch locations. Its headquarters is located at 200 West Civic Center Dr - Sandy, UT 84070