| 5 star: | (323) | |
| 4 star: | (228) | |
| 3 star: | (53) | |
| 2 star: | (37) | |
| 1 star: | (228) |
Back when the small banks were collapsing in 2023 this one was mentioned as a possibility of doing likewise. A while ago mailed in a large check to fund premium account and the check just vanished, in USPS which does not fail to deliver.
PLEASE, don't ignore the negative reviews all over the web, and I highly advise against using them based of the small percentage of folks who say they had a good experience, especially those telling you to ignore the negative reviews. This company is bad energy and it's not worth the risk. They stressed me beyond belief by essentially holding $1#,### dollars of mine (life savings) hostage shortly after opening a new account. Forced me to jump on a call and it took hours of my life away, and they asked me bizarre questions and made me feel like I was be interrogated by police officers. Was hard to reach someone who I felt somewhat comfortable talking with too, as I kept getting a call center in India (no disrespect to those hard working people obviously). This bank is not your ally. Many other banks who will not cause your blood pressure to boil over. I signed up before reading reviews (big mistake I made). After reading reviews, this practice of freezing your account access is more common than imagined. And the sheer number of complaints of them essentially stealing people's money, are not uncommon. That's scary. Luckily I was able to pull 99.9% of my money back to the original bank via ACH, but not without stress. As soon as my receiving bank saw the money, I get an email from Ally saying my account on their end was closed. I stressed for another week thinking that maybe the ACH would get messed up and the money would bounce back to a now nonexistent account. Thankfully, after one week, it seems to be safely back into my bank. I check daily now just to make sure (literal PTSD from this experience). All in all, this bank is bad energy all around. Run the other way. They still owe me about $110 (initial deposit), but I'm done with this entity. Hopefully they do me right and send that $110 as a check to my house. If not, I will just walk away and let that sit in the ether forever. I just want to move on from this experience. Ugh. Worst experience in my entire life.
Just a heads up. My rating is for the investment account only. I love my Ally bank account. I use it as a checking account and hub for all of my other financial institutions.
After reading on here that you can buy Vanguard Money Market Funds through an Ally investment account, I opened one on Thursday. I was also going to purchase stock in the account. First of all the website is very clunky. For example, I had to go to Vanguard to get the fund symbol and then use it in the Ally account. But most importantly, I went to buy a stock on Friday, and the investment account website was not available. And it is still not available Saturday morning. I didn't try to call the number, so I don't know if there would be a wait, but not a good sign when an online brokerage account is unavailable for two days.
I only have a online spending (checking) account with Ally and so far it has been good. I wish the apy rates were higher like maybe at least 1.00% apy on the spending account but at least they are playing something.
They give you a free checkbook, they reimburse on $10 atm fees per statement period with 43,000 atm's nationwide and I think they are fee-free, though I'm not entirely sure.
I was a victim of fraud and instead of ally bank helping me get my money back. they closed my account for being a victim.
I was a victim of identity theft, and I am currently “squatting” in (what was) my own house for which I’ve been paying for 14 years because of Ally’s refusal to assist me. Every party involved, including the government of The United States of America from whom I receive my benefits as a disabled veteran, and the company that the fraudsters were impersonating were fully aware of the scam, agreed with my findings and were eager to get my money back.
Ally closed my accounts and (verbatim) called ME “The fraudster”. Ok, that was hurtful, but oh well. At least they said on June 2nd 2023 that they would retain my deposits from the government of The USA through August of 2023. Come July 3rd, no deposit. I called veterans affairs; “That’s strange, we deposited it to the correct Ally account on July 3rd 2023 at 0100 hr.” So, I called Ally for the second time that day, 07/05/2023 (take notice of the dates) because the very friendly customer service representative had no idea what I was talking about. Their extremely surly and rude loss prevention representative told me they had returned the check. I explained to her that I was told by Ally they would close my account so as to stop further fraudulent actions and retain my checks and ensured me that they would keep all deposits through 08/03/2023 so I could transfer the funds to my new bank account. I asked her “You do record these calls, as said, correct?” -“Yes. I don’t have access to that.” - “So… where is my check?” - “That’s between you and the Issuer.”.
In summary, to Ally bank, who would not help me through the Fourth of July I say: You’re welcome for my service”.
I opened a bank account and added money. Well then about three days later I get told my account has been locked due to suspicious activity. There was a phone number trying to be added that wasn't mine. Okay, that's reasonable. Well here we are almost a week later, daily phone calls, the same crap being said, and my money still not accessable!! I tried to do a wire/transfer since my debit card had not come in yet, and I needed this money. They told me the phone number situation has been settled, my wire I tried to do had been cancelled, and the money returned to my account. The investigation team had to see it has been returned and then my account could be unlocked. I need my money and I do not see how a bank can hold your funds and keep them!!! I wouldn't recommend this bank to anyone and would give it 0 stars if I could!
If you have money with Ally, I would highly recommend you withdraw it quickly. I don't want anyone to suffer the way I have with them. Last month I did a large transfer from Ally to Chase, I'd done this before so expected no issue. But this time, the transfer didn't make it to Chase. Initially, Ally kept telling me to contact Chase, but eventually a manager at Chase explained the process and it was clear, Ally was responsible. Called Ally back and they admitted they have to locate the money. After about a week, no response so I called Ally back. After passing their phone verification, I was told (on the phone) that my account would be locked until an investigation was complete. There's no reason to lock my account, I suspect this was to prevent me looking to see what's going on. I've now been locked out of my account for over 2 weeks, I call them every other day, talk to their reps for almost an hour every time and always get told there's nothing they can do until the "Investigation" is complete. So here's the summary. Ally lost the transfer about 25 days ago and I've been locked out of my account for 2 weeks now. No one has any answers, no one attempts to figure out what's going on. Ally had never reached out to me. I really don't know where else to turn. Is a bank really allowed to lose your money like this? If anyone has any ideas on what to do here, I’d really appreciate it.
Ally Bank sent me another email informing that the savings rate has increased. I sent a reply stating that their offer was not good enough since I'm getting 4.91% from my Money Market (FZDXX) positon at Fidelity. Plus I don't have the inconvience of locking up money in one of their CD's. They must think we're stupid. Speaking of stupid, does anyone here want to buy a gold IRA? LOL I didn't think so.
Good internet bank. But their rate fluctuations, mostly decreasing, are driving me crazy. If their high savings yield was in 4%'s I would probably transfer back. I stick with them for other reasons
I was financially unstable, because my store got robbed; I went bankrupt. I tried getting my business back in shape through business loans; but all my applications were declined due to my poor credit score. I was looking for help online; then I came across positive reviews of 760Plus Credit Score on different credit forums. I looked them up and discovered they were highly rated, I contacted them. I was marveled when I pulled my report after 11days: All my negative collections were cleared and my credit score changed from 590s to 780s. Thanks to you guys and I really appreciate. If you have similar issues and need fix, reach out to them via 760PLUSCREDITSCORE
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I was drawn to them because of the low fees and products. However, the way they deal with everyday banking issues does not send the message that my money is safe. Though customer service is usually quick to respond, it sometimes multiple calls for them to actually answer your questions.
As has been well documented here, Ally Bank recently disallowed email 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) in favor of SMS 2FA when detecting access via an unrecognized device.
Also well documented here, it is disallowing any type of VOIP 2FA like Google Voice, whether via SMS (all cases) or via phone call (mixed experiences).
For those reasons, in order to avoid potential lack of account access, extended overseas travelers and expats alike have been looking for banking alternatives,
In practice, unless you have other issues with Ally, you may want to think again. Let me explain.
After a system upgrade on my laptop, Ally did not recognize my device, and requested a security code. As I could not access it, via either SMS 2FA or phone call 2FA, I phoned into customer service.
Two (pleasant) surprises. First, for those who have not needed to call Ally in awhile, their wait times are now back to a few minutes, versus a few hours last year. Second, when explaining the situation with an agent, being fully transparent about my overseas location (I don't use any type of VPN, which apparently wouldn't work anyway with Ally or many other financial institutions), I asked whether she could authenticate me so that I could not only regain immediate access, but also reset the system so that it would recognize my device going forward.
After responding to a series of very detailed identifying questions, she reset access so that the system recognized the device going forward.
My net takeaway is that Ally does not abandon, on the contrary it will work with overseas travelers and expats. This is very diferent from my experience with another bank, Capital One, which made absolutely no effort at any type of workaround and made international online access virtually impossible.
(Note: Long-time site member here. A related review was posted a few months ago but for some reason could not locate and may be relevant for frequent travellers/expats)
Ally Bank has thee worst customer service. You can never get a rep that speaks proper English. You can never get simply questions answered you are placed on long holds and still issue is not handled. Getting my loan here was pretty simple but it’s not worth the hassle when needing simple answers. Save yourself the headache don’t get loans from this banking institution.
Overall, I am very happy with Ally Bank. I’ve been with them for over 10 years and can say that I really haven’t had any major issues. I hope it stays that way. In the future. This is a great place for me to keep my money.
Been with Ally for 5 years now. I really like the website and app. Easy to navigate and make transfers. The support agents have been friendly and knowledgeable in my experience. But now (2023) Ally seems to be lagging on their rate competition and customer care.
An incident I had re: checks I ordered - a month later I realized I never received the checks. I called to put a stop payment on them (charged me $15.00 which I had them reverse), then re-ordered checks. Again, I did not receive them. This happened 4 times! It literally took 3.5 months to finally receive a book of checks.
Also, I have a co-signer on my account. For some reason, my co-signer received deposit slips in the mail for MY account. And when she ordered checks for her own personal acct, she did not receive them either. Something is severely lacking at Ally these days.
I have been customer since late 2016.
Rates are great, even though with respect to the past there are some products that they promote and incentive more than other.
Great customer service, even though there has been a period during the pandemic (shortage of personnel) where it had gotten significantly worse, but now they have gotten better again.
I have been an Ally customer for years. They've had good customer service, a good web experience, and low fees. Perhaps the only drawback is that their rates are not quite as competitive as they were several years ago.
Opening and funding an account has been a nightmare. After applying online, it took two additional days to open the account. Then I tried to link to an account at my pre-existing bank. They refused the link saying that the foreign account was closed. It wasn't Geiko pulled money from that account on the same day. They recommended that I write a check from my pre-existing account at the foreign bank to my new account. Later, I got a call from their service department explaining that my account would be locked until the cheque cleared because making both the link request and cheque deposit was suspicious. Now, I have to wait five days before I can get into my account. They won't even let me close my account with them so I can be done with this and use a better bank.
I do not feel like this bank was ever my Ally.
They would promise to do things and then not do them, or they’d promise not to do something and then do exactly that. And they’d back track on these assurances/problems without notifying me. I’d be waiting and after nothing happening by the time they said it would happen, have to waste time calling in to find out they changed their mind.
They couldn’t even treat me with the basic level of respect and professionalism. For almost two years, I tried to get them to change my name in their systems to my correct name, which they kept messing up repeatedly. Numerous times, I provided them with identification documents to prove what my correct name is and dozens of times I was promise they had fixed my name in their systems, but almost two years later, they still don’t have the correct name.
Let me give you an example from the last month that perfectly encapsulates my experiences with Ally for years:
On January 26th, I received an e-mail saying my 1099-Int was ready. I spent about 20 minutes trying to find it on their website, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I then wasted about 2 hours on the phone because it wasn’t where they said it should be in on their website. Eventually, a guy told me the 1099s wouldn’t be ready until Feb 1. That begs the question: why did they send me an e-mail on Jan 26th saying it was ready if it wouldn’t be ready until Feb 1.
On Feb 1 it also wasn’t where they said it would be, leading to more wasted hours on the phone. Then they agreed to send me it via a secured e-mail message. Several days later they did, only the name was wrong. I called them and was told they would fix it and send me an updated one. Several weeks, several secured e-mail messages that didn’t work, and many wasted hours on the phone, I was told they were going to send me the corrected 1099 via normal e-mail later that day.
Nothing came that day. Nothing came the next day. So two days later I called in. After spending about half an hour on the phone, I was informed they wouldn’t be correcting the form. They said since they never had the name right in 2022, they weren’t going to change it on the form for 2022.
Since they repeatedly made mistakes in 2022, they decided they weren’t going to fix the problem now in 2023. To get to this decision, they wasted almost a full, 24-hour day’s worth of time. Does that sound like an institution that is my ally?
I've been with Ally Bank for several years and have never had issues with them until the last few months.
On February 9/23 I wanted to close a high balance, no penalty cd and transfer the money into a hgher paying no interest cd. I was told that I couldn't do that because it was a high balance and that the money would be held for 3-5 days as it needed to go through their internal back office. On February 15/23 they finally funded the new no interest cd and then told me I had to wait for 6 days before I could access my money per legal requirement. February 23, came and I called to transfer my money to these new higher interest cds. where I was told that it will take another 3-5 days to process before I can access my money. It will be the beginning of March before I can access MY MONEY. THIS IS ILLEGAL. THEY ARE HOLDIING THIS MONEY SO THAT THEY CAN COLLECT HIGH INTEREST ON MY MONEY, BUT I AM UNABLE TO ACCESS IT and receive the higher interest rate. I am angry and frustrated at their lack of supervisory staff and their lack of knowledge.
Recently the bank has notified customers of its rate increases in increments of .10 % ( yes, negligible .10 basis points ) . I find it insulting and deceiving ! It announces its petty increases with great fanfare ! As of 2/24/23 it increased to 3.50% APY its deposit rates from 3.40% , recently done on 2/1/23 . Briodirect , a subsidiary of Webster Bank and also an online bank has returned 4.10%since 1/10/23 .
Quite obviously , where one should park their money!
I had a very frustrating experience when opening a CD account with Ally Bank. Initially, once I submitted my application, I received an automatic message stating that the transfer from my other bank account could not be made and that I needed to contact the customer service line. Upon calling, my new account was inexplicably blocked, and the representative I spoke with told me that I could not make any changes to the account at that time. She ensured me I won't be charged any fees later for any changes since I just opened an account. She also reassured me that the block would be lifted in a few days. However, the transfer proceeded anyway and now I have to pay a $2000 fee for making changes to my CD.
When I tried to contact the customer service line several times, I was forced to wait on hold for extended periods every time, and it took several attempts before I received confirmation that the transaction would be reversed with no fees because of their system fault. Unfortunately, it's now been three weeks, and the issue is still not resolved.
Overall, I was extremely disappointed with the lack of transparency and poor customer service from Ally Bank. I would not recommend this bank to anyone based on my experience.
I just opened my Ally checking account two weeks ago. Since then I’ve done regular ach bank transfers from my chase account to my ally account. No issues, I’ve even done Zelle from my chase to my Ally. This evening when I attempted to actually Zelle FROM my ally account TO my chase account, everything went wrong. It said my Zelle was on hold. I call customer service and they ask to verify my number, they then say that the number isn’t registered to me (it is). Then they say my account is locked while being investigated, why was there no investigation when my money was going IN the account. So now they have over 1k of my money and I have no clue when I will have access to it again. RIDICULOUS!!!
We had an account with Ally after we sold our home to hold the money until we bought another home. A year later we were ready to buy a home and because they have so many restrictions on how much you can transfer, we wrote a check from our Ally account to our checking account to then complete the home purchase. We went on the Ally web site and sent a secure message to give them notice. And what do they then do after my bank received and credited my account, they pull it back. Needless to say it caused us a lot of work and delayed our closing. With Ally they are happy to get your money, but they don't want to return it.
They used to be good when we first got with them. They did a big update that shut down our cards because the system changed our card info so our physical cards stopped working....(mind you this was while I was just finishing my tires getting changed on my car) caused serious problems cuz I basically had to pull 400 dollars out my behind on the spot) had to wait weeks to have access to our money again because we couldn't even zelle it anymore because the account was locked during that time to,and they couldn't unlock it for us..... Many people had the same problems..customer service got very slow..zelle stopped being instant permanently and I constantly have so many pending charges on my account ..and some immediately deduct while saying pending and others don't so I never know my true account balance which caused me alot of issues before I realized it wasn't actually deducting all the pending charges. And money doesn't deposit direct anymore either ...even if u pay for an instant deposit..all they have is a descent savings in my opinion...but go anywhere else. Good luck ??
After being contacted by Ally Bank to get me to open an Ally Invest account, I finally made the time to sit with them (via several phone and Zoom meetings). From the get go, the discussion was about opening an investment account and how Ally Bank was the right bank for me. In all, I spent about 10 hours over several meetings total with their rep. What's worse, in some of our meetings I divulged personal information for my wife and myself, and they even had me go as far as to open an investment account with them to begin to implement their "plan". Just as I was about to fund the account, I received an email (and later a letter) stating "Based on a review of my account with Ally Invest, we have decided to terminate our relationship with you and close your account... " When I called them the rep stated they can not divulge the reasons for the termination! WHAT A JOKE!!!
(Edit 02-11-23) Consider your brokerage core account. Sure, some bonds pay a higher rate of return but the point of this exersize is safety where money market funds are fixed at $1.00. Even in times of negative rates, all brokerages will shore up the dollar. This is an account where you can write checks, pay bills electronically, buy & sell investments, get a 2% back credit card, get a debit card for ATM cash, and have just one pool of money (core account) rather than checking & savings. I've set my core account at Fidelity Investments to SPAXX (money market) because since the last Fed action, the 7-day yield is 4.17%. This means you will receive the average yield over 7-days (same as APY) on idle money you've set aside for bill payments, savings, or whatever. I for one have stopped chasing risky high-rates advertised all over the internet. Often, they won't let go of your money, have ACH transfer limits, don't compound daily, or have deplorable customer service. A brokerage core account has none of these negative issues.
Edit 03-17-23 - The 7-day yields for SPAXX (4.23%) and FZDXX (4.46%) have remained constant during this period of bank failures.
I checked with Ally about the "promotional term available through" claim. Ally said "Currently the Annual Percentage Yield on our 13 Month Select CD is 4.60%. Please be advised that all rates quoted are variable and subject to change at any time." So regardless of the website claim, the offer could disappear anytime. There might still be a 13 month term CD, but rates not guaranteed. Sneaky, IMO.
If you want the offer, maybe not wait.
If you have a kid in a custodial account for them with Ally, don’t let the kid use that account through your app they’ll close all your accounts. Also, don’t send money anywhere to buy bitcoin because they’re close your accounts for that too. They used to be a really good bank, but this is just wrong. Don’t trust them.
They were good company had no promblems for 6 years and now they messed up my accounts made my payments on time took one of my payments put it on the other account making my other account late went through hell trying to get them to fix it and now I went to make another payment and the web site told me that i have an account issue so I called again to figure it out and they tell me that i have to due a certified payment and I was like what so I looked at my credit to just curious and they had marked my accounts 30 days past due they have never been 30 days past due
I have been a customer with Ally since it started. I use it as a hub. Just a heads up. The ACH transfer time from their money market account is longer than from checking or savings. It shows right on the timeline when you set up the transfer. I needed to move some money to NASA FCU for a CD, and I was up against the Ally transfer limits. The money market account transfer was 2 days, but checking and savings were next day. As in, over the weekend I initiated a transfer from my money market fund. According to Ally it will go tomorrow. Yesterday I moved funds from money market to checking. Initiated from my checking account, and the funds are there today.
I've had a checking, online savings, and money market savings account with Ally for almost 10 years, and never had an issue.
The app is great, the website is functional. I like the "bucket" feature in online savings to keep certain balances allocated separately. Mobile check deposit works perfectly. Deposits go through quickly and they are transparent about the availability of funds — some right away, and the remainder after a couple days for larger deposits. Internal transfers happen instantly. Unlike many banks, checks are free, and you can get them as many times as you need. I moved and requested new checks so that my address would be correct, and received them with no problem. They had an easy and straightforward process for updating a legal name change, as well. If you need to call, the wait time is displayed at the top of the website and is usually 1-2 minutes.
The interest rates for online savings and money market savings are adjusted frequently without having to monitor it and call to get the better rate (unlike Capital One). Ally is not usually the absolute best interest rate available, but usually near the top for large banks.
The one real downside is that Ally continues to restrict withdrawals from savings accounts to 6 per month, even since the federal rule was suspended. It's not the end of the world, but it is a bit annoying when other banks have lifted this restriction and Ally maintains it, even though they don't have to.
Have opened several accounts over the past year with Ally; it's painless and effortless. With great customer service to boot.
In comparison, tried to diversify and open additional accounts with Live Oak Bank (LOB). Big mistake. I couldn't even make it past the application process, despite financial credentials.
Don't waste your time, seriously. Ally much more user-friendly than LOB; or as I refer to them, as Dead Oak Bank (DOB).
Back in 2020, I disputed a charge on my debit card for $1680. The bank gave me that same amount of money to compensate me for my loss. Quite a while later, the merchant finally corrected the issue with the debit card transaction. I sent the bank a message telling them that the original debit card transaction was resolved and that they should withdraw $1680 from my account. They told me it was too late and they had no way of taking the money back. They just let me keep the $1680 for free.
Be careful to do business with Ally Bank.
I have been trying to close a jumbo CD (close to 300K with 2.5%) with penalty. Ally rep now says it need 5 business days for back office to close an account. Agents do not have a clue and secure messages are getting ignored. Any suggestions what to do if they are not willing to help even after 7 days?
You lowered rates when the Fed just raised them
A real dumpster fire bank.
Ally Bank frauds attempted to prevent me from cashing an Ally bank check written to my mother's estate, even though I had a court order from a judge. I'm filing a complaint with the Federal Reserve Board. Do not recommend Ally bank at all whatsoever.
Spent an entire day starting at 8am trying to get a wire transfer completed. In the end I'm told it will not be completed until Tuesday 2 Jan 2023. due to their errors (not getting it entered until my 4th phone call to them) this will cost me $1000. I know it is the end of the year but they are open for business)
I banked with Ally for almost 3 years & could never quite get used to the time it took to get funds credited to my account after a deposit. And it didn't matter what type of deposit, instant transfers took around two business days, direct deposits would go thru Monday if they were scheduled for Saturday or Sunday. Which was always hard knowing that other banks would deposit my co-workers checks on the Friday before. Ally has NEVER paid my direct deposit two days early but I dealt with it. Then on the 19th of December at 10pm my direct deposit went into my bank account. I tried to make a $6 purchase with my ATM card but it was declined. I looked on the app & nothing was out of the ordinary. After two more attempts I used another card. I called Ally customer service to resolve the issue but the rep told me he was unable to help me & hung up on me. Frustrated, I called back & went thru a series of questions to prove my identity. I passed & the problem was resolved, I was told. I tried to use my card but again it was denied. I called back the next day at noon & went over everything again. Finally got answers. The fraud department locked my account & froze my card. All was fixed except a new card had to be issued. On the 23rd I finally got my expedited card. I was excited to finally have use of my money again but my excitement ended when I tried to activate the new card. It was EXACTLY the same as my old one! I called Ally again, this time crying. It is already the 23rd of December. Ordering a new card is the only option I was given to fix this issue. I have zero access to my money at this moment. I cannot transfer or wire from it due to some restrictions places on my account. Zelle won't even recognize I have an account anymore & out of sheer desperation I attempted to open a second account in order to move the money to have more control or some control over it but I am blocked from that too. I tried to write myself a check but upon cashing it, I was denied. I'm still waiting on a transfer to go thru to PayPal. Every customer service person I spoke to, except the first one has said the issue has been corrected but only seems to make it worse or does nothing. My holiday plans are ruined since I cannot travel without money. I cannot finish my Christmas shopping & blame Ally 100%. Their fraud department called me 3 times prior to them freezing my account. I authorized the charges everytime. They ignored me & canceled my card anyway. The last rep told me I could transfer via wire transfer for a $20.00 fee, which I was blocked from doing but why should I have to pay that? I've already paid fees on transfers that have yet to go thru & all my Christmas plans are ruined! Plus, my bills are not getting paid either. I have had it with this bank, their incompetent customer service & their policies or procedures with "fraud protection". After numerous calls I still have restrictions, red flags & limitations on this account as I am still unable to move money out, however strangely has no issues being put in! As of Friday morning this bank will no longer be handling my paychecks. I plan to empty the account soon after receiving a card that I can actually use & then taking what ever steps necessary to close it for food. Ally checking is free for a reason! You get what you pay for!!! Free isn't worth this nightmare & lost Christmas memories.
I am starting to feel like some people here that wrote the other reviews. "Look elsewhere"! I am starting to feel that I should look elsewhere too to invest my money. I have wasted too many hours with this bank just to speak with someone only to get no resolution to have my money put back in my account. Each call is normally at least over an hour-long wait. I have an account that was closed by accident because they misunderstood my instruction. It has been over a month and my money has not been deposited back into my account. I have called so many times, 1 time when I was put on hold for a total of over 4 hours long, and the problem was not resolved. To this day, the issue has not been resolved. I have called a couple of times and was told someone will call me back, but no one did. Maybe Ally is growing too big too fast. I sent close to 10 messages that did not get responses. When I finally got responses recently, they don't mean what they say in the messages or on the phone.
Attempted to log in today only to discover the phone number I recently added was taken away. I had to add a phone number because my email addresses were taken away last week. My other options won't work becaue those phones have an internal battery and will no longer take on a charge. On the same page, there is a Feedback link. So I click Feedback and a blank box appears. Typing does nothing --the blank box stays blank and no characters appear. It's like "don't bother us, we don't want to hear it". Call by telephone? Yeah, right.
Per a few calls with Ally, I am really starting to question as to whether Ally is completely overwhelmed or is not training their CSR thoroughly.
One call was in order to rescind a CD prior to its maturity date. I was well aware of the EWP amount and Ally even states the amount online however the CSR (using obvious calculations from Mars) inefficiently and incorrectly was giving me an EWP much higher than the actual amount. She even started arguing with me so in recognizing what I was dealing with I just told her I did not want to cancel the CD and instead I just did it online. Shockingly...the EWP amounts were exactly what I thought they were. Beware of some of their mathematical 'geniuses' there.
On Nov 4, I received an email from Ally, which states in part:
"We need you to add a phone number to your security preferences
As part of our continual efforts to keep your account safe and secure, we're making changes to the security code delivery settings for your Ally account. In short, we'll need you to update your preferences.
In order to log in moving forward, you'll only be able to receive an authenticated security code through a text message or **phone call**, not email.
What this means for you
You'll need to add a preferred phone number to your Security Code Delivery settings. Follow these quick steps:
• Log in to your Ally account
• Select Profile and Settings
• Select Security Code Delivery
• Add a phone number as security code delivery option
Yet, when I followed their instructions, the website only permitted adding a phone number for text, no option for phone call.
When I contacted them by secure chat, due to extensive wait times for phone call inquiries, I received, several days later, the following response
“I am sorry. Security code delivery preference only showing the option to for text SMS message and no phone call option. Our Tech teams are aware of an issue. We are working to resolve the issue. I am sorry but we cannot help with online access through this channel. Please give us a call and we are happy to help. Online Security is a top priority for us, and we are happy to help.”
I am not waiting around to see if they eliminate email authentication before they fix their botched phone options. Given their extensive wait times for phone customer service, I don’t want to deal with that just to gain online access.
I do not want text authentication as I find it inconvenient and there was an extensive discussion of SIM card theft and other text shortcomings on this site when Live Oak went to text only authentication, so there is no need to reopen that discussion here.
The past few months I been having issues logging in on there phone app, a couple times even the web app, for my checking and savings. I found a bug where when I added my debit card to apple pay, it wants to send me a security code to a old email, that I already updated in my security code preferences. I Instant messaged Ally, they confirmed the bug and told me to call to fix it, but from reading from others the hold time is long. I also noticed some of the bill pay I was going to send was going to be a physical check, instead of electronic. I recently leaned that Ally was hacked last year (I was not affected), but there response and timing was not that good, the YouTube Lon.TV has a good video about it.
So I switched to Capital One and everything is working out better than expected.
I have been a customer of Ally for 10 years with the FDIC limit including my IRA. They are accessible 24/7 with representatives across the country. Have there been any glitches? Of course, every bank has them. My main criticism is the serious lag time reaching a rep, often 2-3 hours when they are swamped. Otherwise five minutes or thereabouts. The second criticism is their refusal to be competitive in this current rate-changing environment. 2.5% APY on a large deposit will not receive a standing ovation. Transfer speeds and limits are reasonable. My only rationale for leaving are the rates. That said, when you compare to local banks still living in a 0.01% APY world and read the nightmare stories about Bask, DollarSavingsDirect, NASB, LendingClub, savebetter, Brilliant and other rate leaders, it is probably a good choice for those not trying to squeeze the last penny from their deposits. They are not perfect, none are, but after a decade with them, haven't had any major horror stories.
Well first of all I've had a hard time getting financed. For the fact that they were able to finance my vehicle made a huge difference to me ( Aprroved after credit clean up ) . Anytime I've had a question or an issue about anything whatsoever all I had to do was to Simply pick up the telephone and place a phone call to the customer service line where an actual human being and not a robot directed me exactly what to do and what steps I should take to solve the issue that I would be having at that particular Moment In Time. That says a lot to me.
Another vote for reliability and speed. Customer of several years. So far, for me the best website of all the online banks I have tried, even though there are better looking interfaces. Everything I need is accessible online: Beneficiaries and changes, breaking a CD, detailed process log of transfers, cancellation of transfers without having to call in, etc, I haven't had to call in for anything in years. ACH transfers for me always within 24 hours (business days) with immediate (!) availability of funds as soon as they hit the account, i.e., within 24 hours. I haven't had hold times even for six figure transfers. Rates have fallen behind for now, so I moved out my funds, but at identical rates, my money always goes back to Ally. I'm just waiting for them to hit the 3% threshold to pull everything back. After trying another online bank because of a much better rate but with an online presence that leaves much to be desired, I can appreciate Ally's online presence, speed and, at least for me, seemingly non-existing hold times. Now increase your rates already!
Note: This review refers only to savings accounts/CDs. If you are looking for a checking account with debit card, be warned, look at the ample reviews referencing a serious security issue with Ally debit cards, and consider going somewhere else.
Recent events have beckoned me to join your camp of 1 and 2 star reviews. So, I join you in solidarity. Blame it on Covid, Trump, Putin, O'Biden, inflation, high crime, or paying people to not work, recent conditions have been less than stellar. I have therefore practiced what I preach and using the thrust of mighty foot power, made a speedy exit. My balances are Zero opting to rejoin Fidelity Bill Pay using SPAXX as my core account. (As of Oct 31, 7-day yield is 2.65%) However, I have to retain my Ally account since Social Security direct deposit is very slow and won't reflect my changes until Jan 2023.
For the last several months, scheduled deposits have been placed on hold with no explanation. I am not able to transfer or withdraw the money I have in my account. Holds are placed on Zelle and my debit card with zero justification. When I started with this bank, it was great but as time passed, it has only gotten worse and dealing with this bank is an absolute nightmare. I am currently on hold after waiting for over an hour to speak with someone regarding yet another hold on my account. I will be getting all my money moved and closing my accounts. I HATE THIS BANK!!!!
Used to have an auto loan with this shitty bank. They reported false information on my credit file when I asked for help during a brief period of unemployment...did they care? Nope. Filed late payment after late payment after another even though they said they would put on loan on forbearance. 4 years later I'm still waiting for this banks trash to fall off my credit report so I can move on with my life.
Stay clear of this shitty bank. They're not in the business to help people whatsoever so if life happens don't expect them to be there.
Have been trying to reach Customer Service for three days by phone and internal messaging. Have tried at different times of the day and the phone wait time now has gone up to 76 minutes. It did not use to be this bad because this is my second time with Ally.
Ally bank will you deny you access to your money!
I had been using an Ally bank account as a savings account. Apparently there is some requirement that you access your account on a regular basis. I had set up my account on their online app, which does not work well, it is very glitchy, difficult to login, often in countering sign in errors, that require you call them and experience a very long whole time. I had elected to have my statements and correspondence done electronically. I did receive my statements and promotional materials from them online, but apparently they do not send notices about your account electronically, and failed to inform me that my account had gone dormant . If your account remains dormant for too long, they will disperse your funds to the state government as unclaimed funds in the state in which you live. I discovered my account had been closed when I logged in to check my balance, I called LA bank to Find out where my funds were, they indicated they had sent them to the state, but could offer no advice on who I should call to reclaim my money, telling me that I could Google it and figure it out. I did finally figure out who to contact, only to be informed that there is a rigorous process I must go through to verify the funds are mine, and that I could expect to wait about a year and a half to get this issue resolved. Oh my bank has essentially cut me off from accessing my nearly $30,000 of savings for the next year and a half, of course at no interest. Shame on Ally Bank! Their customer service is very poor! Their app is terrible! As well as their communication with their customers! I would be very wary of depositing any money with them!
Have been with them for many years. Was single account holder. Filled in the form to add my wife as joint holder to get 500k FDIC insurance. Got more money now by the grace of God.
Got a curt letter that my application is rejected! No explanation at all.
Will be closing my account.
Whoever is in charge of their IT should be fired
Sure- I can log in and see my balances
But I can't DO anything more often than not
And there is at least a 45-minute wait for a phone rep
And no chat
I can't really expect much as I only have pennies with them and I do get Webroot which I appreciate
But how hard is it to make your entire website function?
If it was only occasionally down that would be fine
The last 4 times I tried- i can't use it as a hub when their website is not working for transfers
I recently moved to Japan for a year. I spoke with a representative and informed them that I would be on an extended stay in Japan. They assured me everything was in the system. I also told her that my phone number would be ported to google voice while I am gone. She told me I could have most security issues handled through my email and I also gave her my Japanese number just in case. My card was blocked and would not work. I messaged for help on the app and they sent me to the fraud department. I called them, which costs money since I am overseas, and they took 30 minutes to answer. Then the fraud department told me there was no fraud case on my account and there was a mistake. They then sent me to another department that took 40 minutes to go through. More long-distance charges. Then when I finally got on with someone they said they couldn't verify my identity as the texts wouldn't work with an international number or google voice. She then asked me a bunch of questions but that still didn't work even though I answered them all correctly. They have now totally locked my account and I can't even get into it to transfer the money out. Before I called them I could at least log in and now I can't do that. They have a disgustingly long wait time to call in. I just attempted to call back and this time I was disconnected. Each time I am charged! I am now stuck in a foreign country where I can not get access to my money and they won't pick up the phone. Also, I find it very coincidental how every time they say there will be a survey after the call they hang up and I never got a survey. I also tried to review on their own website but it wouldn't let me because it locked me out of the account. I am stuck without access to my money in a foreign country! This is not ok!!!
Ally works as a great hub account due to their plentiful external connections (I have yet to encounter a limit unlike other bank's ridiculous 2 or 4). Additionally you get "upgraded" to same day ACH after transferring a couple hundred between external accounts.
Their web software is good and only hampered by their own inability to prioritize better features. You can do almost anything you'd need day-to-day online like open accounts, set CD instructions including early withdrawals for NPCDs, and paying billers or people via eCheck. They've added more features than are necessary like customizing your dashboard at the expense of making their eBilling actually usable/useful. All this without nonsense fees or minimum balances as we all know there is literally no marginal cost for each account in the computer age.
Where they fall short is competitive rates. There was a shining moment in the past where Ally was the rate leader. Now they're content to pump/waste that money on TV advertising and are content w/ below average rates for internet banks (that are still good in the aggregate, but I'd rather bank all in one place if I could vs. chasing rates).
Where they're straight up awful is customer service. Don't expect a response unless you send it twice and wait a week. Thankfully I've not needed to deal with them on the phone but I'm sure they use your standard outsourced call center with awful scripts and a general inability to do things quickly w/o a run around.
Ally is slow to raise interest rates and fast to lower them. They are as bad or worse than the Fed about dragging their feet on interest rates! I have moved most of my money to another bank that pays 2.75% on an online savings account. 0.65% more than Ally. I plan on closing all my accounts at Ally by the end of this year. The one thing these people understand is the flight of capital to other banks that pay more. That gets their attention! Unfortunately, they have access to taxpayer dollars from the Federal Reserve which is one reason why these banks don’t compete for depositors as they used to 30 years ago. I think that is a very bad practice because it takes the competition out of banking!
I would also like to say that their customer service is the worst! Hold times of 30 minutes or more to talk with a representative! Rude representatives! I had a representative lock me out of my account because she was incompetent and I asked her if she knew what he was doing. After I spoke with her I tried logging into my account and my password was not valid. I had to call and speak with a supervisor to get access to my account. I do not recommend this bank!
I have been attempting to transfer my IRA to another bank. Since July 29, 2022 they have made up reasons why they can't do it, Stay away from Ally.
Ally sent me an email saying that my account is restricted and to call the fraud department. I called and they could not tell me why my account was restricted. I was told that I will get a call in 1-2 business days, I did not find this acceptable and called back. This time I was told that they did a review of my account and will no longer be working with me. I explained I had 2 deposits that will be going into my account today around 5 that I need in order to pay my rent. They basically gave me the big middle finger and told me that funds can come into my account but not out and once they actually close my account they will send me a check with those funds. I asked could they just close it now so that those deposits would kick back to the sender and was told sorry there is a process it has to go through.
As a single mom this has really put me in a bad place, the money that was coming into my account today is all the money I had.
Enrolled my Ally Checking in their “Overdraft Transfer Service” many years ago but I had never taken advantage of it. Two days ago, an overlooked credit card payment caused my Checking to be overdrawn by $995. Ally automatically transferred $1,000 from my Savings account to cover the negative balance. I am pleased it worked out exactly how it’s supposed to.
Have had Ally for about 4 years and use it as my main account for direct deposit and paying bills. Everything was great; the ease of use, ATM fee reimbursement, Zelle access, higher interest rates, etc. But, this year I have had fraudulent activity on my debit card, two of which were in the last 3 weeks. A quick google or twitter search show I’m not alone; there are thousands of Ally customers currently experiencing the same problem. It’s so bad getting through to Ally on the phone (which is required to report) is nearly impossible; took me two days of calling multiple times to finally get help for the incident a few weeks ago. Quickly received a new debit card & hoped that would be the end of it but, it’s not-another fraudulent charge was attempted yesterday on the brand new card. Luckily, I “locked” the card immediately after activating it because all of the reported issues, so the charge was declined. I received no notification this happened-only by manually checking my debit card transaction activity did I see the attempt; my settings have always been to notify me via text & app notification of all transactions, including declined. I’m confident the recent massive influx of fraud targeting Ally customers is a result of an internal hack or compromised security of their system; I literally have had my new debit card for only a couple weeks & not even used it once, so seems nearly impossible to be compromised on my end. The whole thing is very concerning, but absolute worst part of all is Ally refuses to acknowledge the obvious major problem (see tweet replies to people reporting the problem, they generally respond with something like “sorry this happened, lots of banks across the country are experiencing a higher number of fraudulent activity” basically saying “no big deal, nothing wrong here”… they also have not made any effort to communicate or notify their customers regarding the issue, even though it’s overwhelmingly clear Ally accounts are specifically compromised.
This, coupled with the inability to get through on the phone, has resulted in losing my confidence & trust in Ally. Until a few weeks ago, I was a very satisfied account holder and expected to be with their bank longterm, but that has all changed and I will be closing my account.
Lagging behind, they are taking it for granted that people are going to stay with them while not earning the competitive rate. Sorry Ally, consumers also want to make money while you are making money from their money. I took a large dough out as I am getting much better rate in other banks. Help yourself switch out.
I have quite a bit of money in Ally and have been with them for years. I currently use a PO Box for my address, as I do with all my banks, and they decided they do not like this and closed my account. Not only that, but instead of simply transferring the funds to my linked Bank of America account, they are sending me a check for this large amount of money in the mail.
I am now terrified that I will not get the check with USPS the way that it is. So for 2 weeks I will just stress out over this.
For 2 years, I have recommended them highly to everyone that I know. No longer! I will be filing complaints with entity that I can file a complaint with.
Unbelievable!!
Over the course of more than a year, I have experienced multiple errors, extreme lengths of time waiting for corrections, incorrect information and various system malfunctions.
For the last 4 days, Ally Bank has not been accepting my Zelle, Venmo or Paypal transfers in. Being an online bank, there is no other method of depositing funds that will clear immediately other than transfers. Now my account is overdrawn and there is no way for me to add funds, other than send them a check, which will take at least a weeks to deliver and clear. I have about 10 automatic withdrawals coming up since it’s the beginning of the month, and I am told they will all be rejected
due to Insufficient funds. If you value the ability to make deposits in a timely manner I suggest you stay well clear of this bank.
I have a joint checking account through Ally Bank with my son who is in college. In April, two charges for $407.00 (total $814.00) were deducted from the account from a Western Union in San Francisco (we are in Florida). We reported the fraud to Ally Bank immediately. In June, we received a letter from Ally that they conducted an investigation and determined the transactions were authorized and not fraudulent, so they would not refund the $814.00. I asked them how they determined the charges were authorized, because they were certainly not authorized by my son or myself. They said they could not share that information with me. I contacted my local sheriff to report the fraud, and they said in order to open a case I needed to get a fraud affidavit from Ally Bank. Ally Bank will not provide a fraud affidavit because they are stating we authorized the charges. I have no idea what to do next to prove these are fraudulent charges and get our money back. If Ally Bank will not help, who can I turn to?
My mom recently passed away and we've been trying to transfer her IRA to my dad (her beneficiary) and have had an awful experience with Ally Bank. We've spent extremely long time on phone hold (hour+) often getting transferred back and forth from one ill-informed and often rude representative to the next. Last time, we complying with their email request, we call a specific supplied number providing a given reference # and were again transferred twice (each time holding for more than 1/2 hour) to incompetent, discourteous representatives that, needless to say, were totally useless. We’re heartbroken and very disappointed with Ally Bank.
Ally Bank has very competitive rates and I am overall satisfied but I will list my only concerns:
1. The wait time for phone and chat support is very long. When you finally reach a real person, they are professional, knowledgeable and friendly.
2. I have ordered three debit cards for my Money Market account. The first two were “lost in the mail”. Hopefully the third one will arrive this week. This was sent via priority mail.
3. The transfer process from other financial institutions is too lengthy. It usually takes three business days for an electronic deposit to post. My expectations are one to two business day, Mobile check deposits should be instant, especially if your account balance exceeds the amount of the check.
Thank you
I submitted information for an Ally online bank account application. I was denied an account, citing their inability to verify my identity.
Strange that I was born here in the US many years ago, have a 6-figure income with a stable career in healthcare, established mortgage with a major bank, paid off auto loans (early), constant credit card offers, great credit rating with all the major credit bureaus, etc... Just not sure who can actually qualify for these accounts.
I attempted to call and speak directly to a representative, and the computer on the phone said that my wait time was estimated at 42 minutes.
THE GOOD:
I've been an Ally Customer for years - via acquisition first - and then became a "double customer" when they acquired my brokerage. For basically-free, interest-earning checking and savings accounts, they are the best I have found.
THE BAD:
Their website and (especially) their app has bugs and aren't nearly as easy to use as they should be. When I've reported the bugs, they've politely blown me off. Also, the brokerage's clearing firm, Apex, makes mistakes when reporting your taxable activity to the government. I mean, taxes are complicated, but not THAT complicated that their accounting bugs cannot be fixed over the years. I've never understood why they can't get it right.
Ally doesn't know how to convert the custodial account to a stand-alone account when your minor is no longer a minor. Two different reps gave me VERY different instructions. I've spent hours on it and gotten nowhere. My 18-year-old can open a bank account at any bank on the planet EXCEPT Ally.
THE UGLY:
When I needed to withdraw funds to buy a house, Ally let me down badly. I started trying to wire the money to the title company on Monday morning. Ally Invest won't allow "third-party transfers," so I had to wire it to my Ally Bank account. It took entirely two days to achieve that step. And from when I requested the wire from Ally Bank to the title company, it took well over 24 hours, even though I had told them of my closing time and asked for anything they could do to help me meet it. They didn't even call to verify the wire until 24 hours after my request. I looked like an idiot at the Thursday closing because the funds weren't there. I was embarrassed and am now looking for a new bank.
And finally, I was trying to pay off a loan. Set up a bill payment on the Wells Fargo loan for $50,000 (yes, fifty thousand). Didn't show up for weeks. I called Ally. That's when I learned that they MAILED the payment - seriously - Ally didn't do an electronic transfer TO ANOTHER U.S. BANK; they mailed a fifty thousand dollar check. So I asked them to stop payment on the lost check. They said they had. I sent a new payment. THEN THE "STOPPED" PAYMENT WENT THROUGH, and I had written a FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR HOT CHECK because of it. I talked to Ally again, and a "typo" had been made that allowed the supposedly-stopped check to go through. Inexcusable.
Best case, Ally is incompetent. Worst, they're evil.
Savings rates simply not competitive as Ally's used to be.
Ally invest closes accounts without reason and notification to clients. I was one of these clients. Tuesday morning 06/21/22 when the indices down premarket 2 percent or so they randomly closed my account and froze my funds. Its now the 27th and I still haven't seen my funds and have to buy my investments back between 15 and 25 percent higher depending on the stock. I was not maxed out on margin, had not been warned about anything, had not violated any day trade rules. Many staff were rude and just said, we can close any account any time without notification. Although the reality of this may be true, it greatly affected my family's personal finances, it cost me nearly 25 percent of my entire savings without me having done anything. Their current BBB profile has dropped to a 1.13 rating and even that's too high. Do yourself a favor and stay far away from this company.
I've been a customer with Ally for nearly 10 years and they froze my account because I initiated a wire transfer. I never had problems sending wire transfers before. It's been several days that I can't login to my account or access my money. When I try to use my debit card to do something like make a purchase or pump gas it automatically gets declined.
I called their "fraud" department and answered the security questions but they keep saying they are looking into it and never get back to me in a timely manner. Luckily I have funds in an external account that I can use to allow me to live. I don't know how long more this is going to go on for but it's unacceptable. I will be moving my money elsewhere.
Before the recent interest rate increases, I sent a message to Ally suggesting they keep abreast of said changes and follow suit else risk the loss of their customer base. So what are they paying on savings on June 20, 2022? 0.9 percent vs 1.25 or more at other institutions. Well as the old saying goes "you snooze, you lose". The majority of my money at Ally as well as monies of several other accounts have departed for greener pastures. When you move your money in search of a favorable rate, be sure to see if your funds are compounded daily and what the daily withdraw limits are. Especially if you trade stocks and at times, need to move large amounts.
I don’t know if it’s just me or it happens to other as well. My problem with Ally bank is transfer the money; it takes 3-4 days. If I start the transfer on Monday then it’d take the cash out on Tuesday and then deposit on Thursday while other online banks like LendingClub, Bread, Marcus would take only 1 day to transfer the money.
Ally used to be an excellent hub with good online features and nice customer service. I have been with them since the GMAC era (6% APY:)). No more. Other than an ok interest rate, it lost both (and all the nice) attributes over the years. Sad!!
They limited the number of linked external FIs, with a mysterious maximum (10-15 links? and the 20 links for life-silly!!). For those who have more than 20 links before the limit was set, it is an unending torture, I cannot have even nine links due to system glitch that it "remembers" my previous deleted links.
Their customer service has worsened to "NO CUSTOMER SERVICE AT ALL" since many CSRs/managers are only there for their monthly checks. One CSR simply hung up on me rudely. My ACH link issue took them two months now and nobody is working on my ticket!! Their Executive Customer Relations phone number (888-318-4622) is fake without response at all. Remember: If there is any issue, Ally is there to mess you up and ignore/drop you like old shoes.
Customers/New Applicants Beware!!! Hint: Alliant CU, with a smaller asset size, is much more customer-friendly and reasonable!!
P.S., Ally's timely response to comments in this thread is a first-step, but it tends to be very superficial as well:)
I am trying to purchase a house. I sent in my wire request over a week ago and the wire still hasn't been sent. Every time you call, it takes 45 minutes on hold before you get to speak to a person. That person will tell you your issue is handled--but it is not. I am about to loose this deal because this bank will not send my money
I did research on which bank would be best for joint account with my husband. Ally was rated one of the best with great customer service. I’ve been banking with chase for 20 years but they recently changed their accounts and we’re going to start charging monthly fees. I haven’t paid monthly fees ever and if I can avoid it I plan on it. So my husband & I opened a joint account at Ally. We did our 2019 taxes late so we just got the check in February of 2022 and we used that to open the account. Ally called and asked questions about the check. Why? I don’t know. They told us it looks suspicious so it’s going to be on hold for 7-10 days till it clears. Ok, we’re new customers, we understand. In the meantime, we’re processing our 2021 taxes as well and we figure we might as well use this account to have direct deposit since we closed our other joint account at chase.
10 days go by and our account is still on hold. I call and they say it’s taking another 1-3 days. 3 more days go by, I call and they say they a picture of me & my husband holding our ID cards along with other documents. Ooookkk…. This is weird. Fine, we submitted what they asked for. I call another week later & they still don’t unlock it they don’t give me any reasons except we look suspicious. So I ask for a manager. They can’t get me to a manager because they’re not available. What??? When are managers not available? So I call every week for the next 6 weeks and leave messages and talk to different reps and no one has answers. I never get a call back from any managers after I leave multiple messages.
What kind of customer service is this? I ask to close my account and they deny me that right because it’s still on hold…. So now they are just holding my money for what reason? I can’t do to the branch because it’s an online bank. Yeah, as soon as they release my funds I’m running so fast and far from Ally, I will never do business with them again!
Agree w previous post - started off well and now a fail.
Was great customer service, now long waits and nice but unhelpful staffing.
A supervisor told me today that they were hacked a few months ago and now are super strict about withdrawal limits $1000 or $2000 after 50 minutes on the phone w supervisor after asking me why I needed MY OWN MONEY - not helpful trying to pay our home contractors in cash. And I was still declined at the bank trying to make a withdrawal. Also App crashes, website says my Debit Card "not active" at times.
I keep seeing 1 Star complaints about Ally. I am not advocating for them, and have had my own problems. But, I have other banks where it has been worse MUCH WORSE. Other Businesses besides banking have problems. We see it in the Media all the time - People Quit. New People don't get hired. I suggest using Ally Chat instead of calling
I have been a savings and investment customer with Ally for a couple of years now. 3 weeks ago I tried to get a check from my investment account. The request "didn't go through" . I spent an hour on the hold with customer service who said they were getting it fixed and would have a check issued in a week. Nothing happened, this is after I have already waited a week. I called again and was put on hold for an unmanageable amount of time so I went to "my dash board" on my account and pressed chat. I ended up chatting with a supervisor for literally 2 hours she asked me my account number and my address along with several other things. At the end of the 2 hour chat she told me that I was speaking with ally bank and that she could not help me that I needed to contact investment. This was an hour or more after I gave her my investment account number. I also gave her my "case number" which she admitted over an hour later she could not find. I told her that I wanted to talk to her supervisor and she said I could not but she would put in a request for a customer relations person to call me. She told me that would take up to 10 days because mine was low priority and gave me another case number. Three weeks out and I still do not have the money from my account that I requested. I asked via email for a status request and I get an auto reply that somebody will get back with me in 3 days. I am 60 years old and have been involved with banks since I was 15. This is the worst experience I have ever had. Do yourself a favor and stay far away Ally they are not customer service oriented they just want to sell you a car loan or a mortgage loan and once they got ya, they're gone and you are garbage to them.
Mailed in a check for several zeros to temporarily park sale of house money. No record of it, had to stop payment with the payor which is never easy. Customer service said it could have gone to either of two different locations from mailroom even though the site had just 1 place.
Before posting this review, I have given enough time and opportunity to Ally to get their act together and I have also notified [email protected] but it seems that Ally dont care anymore.
I have been with Ally for many years, the amount of funds that I have maintaining in investment, checking, savings etc. - I could easily have a dedicated account manager with any other bank (which I will do now)
Ally bank is OK until you run into issues. I knew Ally services gone terrible but did not knew until I called.
Here is some serious feedback about multiple issues - hope this will help others.
1-If you deposit a bulk amount check (I deposited Bank of America check), Ally will put a long hold, break the bulk amount, deposit bulk amount in parts (bits and pieces) on separate dates, you will never be able to track the actual amount,
good luck asking Ally representative - they have standard answers?
2-Ally does not like and could not verify external recognized Citibank back accounts. Received Email after two days? Here is one line description. "We couldn't verify your Citibank, checking account with the account information you entered"
3-Zero customer service, cookie cutter answers for basic issues, they dont have skilled resources
4-Long hold times
5-No supervisors - false promises supervisors will call you, it has been 5 days no one called?
6-Open case with Ally NO FOLLOW UP, NO TRACKING, and you figure out case status when you call them and then they will move it forward?
7-Rude Customer service, seems they have been getting lot of negative callers
8-No Accountability, no responsibility, no leadership no supervisors, no management
I've been a customer for several years now, and never ran into any issues. If you only need to do basic stuff, like depositing money, transferring between internal/external accounts, Ally makes it very easy and convenient, and I never ran into any limits/restrictions doing that.
I opened a bank account with Ally in 2016 as they were recommmended as having some of the best rates as well as great customer service. And they have been great to me this whole time.
However, I have had such a terrible experience with them over the last 9 days that I will be contacting a lawyer about if they continue to be unpleasant with me.
It started out as a wire transfer. It was delayed for "review" for an undetermined amount of time. I was on the phone with their customer service, a supervisor and the back office for about 7 hours over the last 9 days. They locked me out of my bank account for "Suspicious activity". Not once did they try to call or email or in anyway verify I was the right person. Supposedly my account was all handled today and again they locked me out of my account! This is the account that I get my DD at and pay bills. And they did not give a time when it will be unlocked, just "we will review it then we will take it from there". They are acting like it's not MY money. I'm not sure what changed at this bank but I would recommend Capital One, local credit unions, etc.
Disgusting service now.
I have reported it to the appropriate regulators to ensure I get my money from them eventually
Has anyone else noticed that lately Ally's online banking website is unavailable frequently?
Happened to me a few minutes ago (tried to access twice) and again last week
I have been an Ally customer using 11 month no penalty CDs for years. I decided to buy a home and needed to close the CDs and transfer money from Ally to the title company for closing.
Ally froze my account for "suspicious" activity (closing large dollar CDs) and was I was totally restricted to access anything in my account by phone or internet login. The real estate transaction could not proceed and my wife was so stressed out she was hospitalized.
In desperation, I tried to transfer funds out of Ally through the Fidelity Investments website (I had created a link at Fidelity with my Ally account when I opened the Ally account) This strategy worked. We lost out on the real estate purchase but at least we got our life savings and did not need to hire an attorney.
Ally is by far the worst bank and worst customer service I have ever experienced. They will flag your account.apparently for withdrawing too much and restrict all access to your funds, even if you answer all of the security questions correctly. There is no supervisor or anyone with knowledge or power to override the account flag. Beware. Like Russian banks, they will restrict withdrawal. Ally is awful.
Good luck if you try to connect Ally Bank from another bank or financial institution. Your first red flag is that the other bank or financial institution i.e., Robinhood doesn't list Ally Bank. Have to dig for Ally Bank. But if you are lucky enough to find it, it will error out saying not allowed. Ally Bank is an old General Motors bank. Stay away.
I was reading about the discontinuation of overdraft fees and the new overdraft protection policy. In the text found online, they are still talking about a limit of 6 transfers per cycle. Regulation D was discontinued back in April 2020 --TWO YEARS AGO! As for linking savings to checking with overdraft protection in $100 increments, there is no place on the website to sign up for said protection. Calling for help on the phone is worthless as all you hear is extremely garbled and annoying music while on hold. Very ridiculous and not very becoming of a financial institution. It makes one feel like you are trying to communicate with a back alley pawn shop rather than the professed "Ally".
With the Fed claiming they have "tools" to control inflation, expect to see several rate hikes in 2022-23. In anticipation of this, I've written to Ally Bank advising them to consider keeping abreast of the changes ahead to retain customers. In response, I got a series of pre-written paragraphs that convey little useful information. There was one item though that I found rather troubling where they stated that they would NOT match competitors savings rates. So, it looks like it's back to the races. Whoever offers the best return will be getting the cash portion of my portfolio. Just a pittance mind you for covering bill payments and emergencies. Of late, the Automated Clearing House (ACH) has drastically improved speed.
Twice now (the only two times I have ever tried in my 4 years as a customer) Ally has taken TWO business days to process my request to send an outgoing wire transfer. Both times I used their web site to put in my outgoing wire transfer request BEFORE they even opened for business that day and BOTH times the wire was NOT sent out until the following business day. And you have to keep your cell phone with you the ENTIRE day whie you patiently wait for them (the wire department) to personally call you to confirm the details of your outgoing wire. Both times when I tried to get my funds wired out of Ally that day, I called into their customer service line after waiting 6 full business hours and not yet hearing anything from their wire department. Both times I was told that "they had an unusually high number of outgoing wires right now and that they would get to my request as soon as possible". But that they couldn't guarantee that the funds would be wired out that same business day because it was getting close to the outgoing wire cut-off time. And the customer service rep would not tell me how many other wires were ahead of me in their queue.
Sadly, both times when I have requested an outgoing wire, they didn't contact me until the following business day to confirm the details. This is so very frustrating!! The reason I specifically use a wire transfer is when I must transfer a large sum of money quickly and securely with no hold on the incoming funds by the receiving financial institution. A wire is unlike an ACH transaction with may take several days for the receiving institution to decide that the incoming funds are legit and that they are now available for use (ie to roll into a CD).
Other than their two day outgoing wire dis-service, I have been very satisfied with Ally in all other respects as a good choice for a hub account as well as a good (fairly competitive) place to stash funds (in their savings account and/or no penalty CDs) that have earned fairly high and pretty competitive interest rates over the 4 years that I've been a customer.
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An awful experience all around. I've been trying to establish an estate account with Ally Bank after the sudden and tragic death of my mother who had an account there. Their Estate Department has done nothing but lie about "elevating my case" or just hung up on me when I've called. They have all of the paperwork from me to establish the estate account and nothing has been done. I just got off the phone with an associate who was extremely rude, asking curtly if "and does (name) have last name by any chance?" after having been hung up on by another associate. They've claimed to have elevated my case twice. One of the associates said the previous associate had not actually elevated my case.
If a company allows its customer service representatives to treat grieving family members like this, how do you think they treat their normal, everyday customers?
I will never have any business with Ally Bank after this experience. As soon as the money has been dispersed, I will close the estate account and never open another one. Nor will I ever suggest for anyone else to open an account at Ally Bank given my experience.
Tried to refinance auto-loan with existing credit union - Ally denied the refinance and neglected to contact me or my CU to inform us, and made it impossible to find out the reasons why.
After spending 5 hours on the phone with customer service, someone finally informed me that it was because it was made out to the wrong address. After spending 2 more hours on the phone with them, they provided me with another address, which also ended up being wrong. I'll be waiting a full month and a half for my loan to transfer, now - because they posted the wrong information (first time), and provided me with incorrect information (second time).
To top it all off, they've threatened to send my account to collections, while double-charging me for the month of February - stating that it was for a previous month that was unpaid (the month stated occurred prior to my auto-loan - meaning, they want me to pay them for a month that I didn't even own the car). I've offered to pay them the amount that was owed for the month of February (being that my refinance hasn't taken yet), and they told me that my "account is locked", and that the only way for me to make a payment, would be to go to Wal-Mart to have it sent "certified".
I have fought tooth and claw to find out why this is happening, and I've yet to speak to a single person who can provide me with the same consistent information.
I'm hoping that there is a predatory lending lawyer, who can help me move forward - because my Credit Union is unable to help me, and I certainly don't expect Ally to do anything helpful about it.
In summary, Ally is good, until problems arise and you suddenly can't access or transfer (IN/OUT) your funds. I could best explain Ally bank as amateurish, start-up company with good potential but ignorance and lack of knowledge about few aspects of banking. On one occasion, I wired money into Ally Bank account, only to find out that Ally doesn't support that activity (even though they state they do!). It got ridiculous to the point where I did 3-way conference with Ally and my other bank, and the Ally representative simply didn't know how to process wire-transfer of money. Instead, Ally treats it as regular, bank-to-bank transfer, which takes 2-3 business days (wiring money takes about 15 minutes to transfer money). Second problem, arose when Ally blocked my access to account due to "suspicious" activity - multiple calls to Ally to verify and unblock account went unsuccessful, and it took over 4 MONTHS (!) for my account to be unblocked and for me to access my funds. This is all due to limited case review workers on Ally's side. My options were (1) wait, (2) hire a lawyer, and (3) contact state attorney. I was hours away from pursuing option (3), before I accidentally found out through self-login that my account was deblocked (Ally didn't send any email/text notification to notify me I can access my funds.)
I gave 1 stars but in the reality they deserve Zero (0). The bank is not competitive at all, with so high grade of confusion, rudeness and high incompetece. I am holding an auto loan which was never reported by them to the ctedit bureau. O am paying on time and sending exyra money to shoryen the loa. The reps are umprofessionally trained and act as oncompetent, supervisots ate grasping straws telling no slutions. They cannot even find my social security numbet asdociated with the account. Do they spund professional?
Stay away from them as i xee the stock rates are plunging to the abyss.
Been with them for years. It's savings, so mostly the money just sits. Hard to have a problem with that. But last week I needed to transfer some funds to my external checking account. I made a mistake doing the transfer -- my error -- so that instead of going from savings to checking, the order was to move savings from checking. As soon as I realized the error, I called to notify them. The girl wouldn't believe me, just kept saying that the transfer went through fine. I explained repeatedly that it COULDN'T go through fine, because there weren't enough funds in the checking account to cover it. But she did nothing. So I initiated a new transfer, done correctly. Sure enough, the next day I received a message saying the initial transfer had been terminated for lack of funds, and that a hold was being placed on my account. Could no longer move funds to or from my checking account. So clearly the rep never noted anything in my account. I sent an email explaining the situation and asking them to remove the hold. They replied saying they would review it in 1-2 business days. Whatever. But then they went on to say this:
"Please be advised, any additional failed transfers within 6 months will result in a suspension that must be enforced for at least 3 months. If this occurs, you will not be able to initiate transfers via Ally Bank and will need to initiate all transfers to/from your Ally accounts via the external institution?s transfer system. If after 3 months you have successfully initiated a transfer into your Ally Bank account, you may request the suspension be removed." Seriously, if I accidentally transpose the "to" and "from" in a transfer one more time, they're going to keep me from accessing my own money? This is SO a deal breaker for me!!!!!
I have had a very active account at Ally since its inception. I opened an account with zero balance at a credit union and was going to fund it from Ally. I initiated the process to link the account. When I went to check the trial amounts, my account had a negative balance of $34.67. The rep speculated that Ally had withdrawn the trial amounts before sending them, which caused my account to be charged with an overdraft. No apology. When I asked if they would credit me the amount for the overdraft if his speculation was correct, he said they "could look into doing that". Again, no apologies. Really??
I made a recent deposit to my bank account well under the daily limit, from a check I received for trading in my old car. It said the check was approved. A day later my account is locked, so I call to find out why, and they tell me I have to call the "back office". I have to wait though because their hours are Eastern and I'm Pacific. So I call the next day and wait 30 minutes to be told "we have to clear the check with the dealership" to which, I ask, "but the check has already been cleared?" And I get a roundabout answer that the funds have to be authorized. I have never in my life deposited a check under the daily limit and had my whole account FROZEN. And now it's been 4 days, I'm without funds, and I have no indication of when it will be fixed. "We don't have a time window we just have to wait for them to call us." Who is they? Why are we waiting so long for this? As soon as my account is unlocked I am moving banks. I have bills to pay and this is unacceptable.
Ally bank has horrendous customer service and grossly under-trained representatives. They constantly block my account for “suspicious activity” that is not even remotely suspicious. They do not work well with Zelle and cannot properly explain their own guidelines to customers. The first time I lost my debit card, I tried to activate the new one and it kept saying I was entering the wrong information over and over. Customer service could not help me. They finally escalated the call to a supervisor who told me there was a glitch in the system and I had to enter my birthday backwards (the year first and then the month). I lost my debit card again last month (which was about year later) and it took 5 weeks to receive the debit card because the first one never arrived. The debit card wasn’t working properly because Ally kept saying the zip code was incorrect. Since the bank has no physical locations, I had no way to withdraw money and had to frequently Zelle friends and family to get cash out or transfer money to cash app/Apple Pay. Ally then proceeded to block my account for fraudulent activity even though I confirmed all the activity and explained it. I hadn’t been able to access my account for 4-5 weeks because it took that long to get a new debit card in the mail. Now that I have the card. It doesn’t work properly and I still can’t access my funds because my account is now blocked. To add insult to injury, the fraud representative who advised that my account is blocked was rude and antagonizing rather than trying to de-escalate the situation. I’m obviously upset. It’s the holidays, all my money is in this account and this woman simply tells me to wait for an investigator to call me? I strongly advise looking elsewhere for your banking needs
I use Ally bank for my personal and business use, and everything's been fantastic. Highly recommended!
They froze my account for no reason. Now, I cannot make payments. I've already made about 11 calls to find out what is going on. Everything they do is transfer me to different departments.
Ally sent email saying my email was change from yahoo to hushmail. I called saying that I did not make the change and told to wait for security to call, well that been 5 days and still no call. I had to pay my credit card bill with my other bank
After going round and round with various reps for Ally on a simple question of interest payments and reporting to the IRS, I find that their representatives are very uninformed. This includes supervisors.
You will have to decide whether a few basis points is worth the wasted time and aggravation.
Me, I'm switching banks!
Customer service from Ally bank really is crap. I had an issue with a check of mine (wasn't signed properly) and it showed up as fraudulent in my account. Tried contacting customer service and it was nearly impossible. Once I got ahold of customer service, it took them so long to fix my issue. Eventually it was fixed, since it was an honest mistake, but the process just took so long. This is literally with me being apart of this bank only for a month, I immediately made the switch. Just a bad time
Ally has been by FAR the worst experience I have ever had.
I deposited a check into a new checking account which came directly from my job's payroll. Ally labeled the check as fraudulent, closed my account, charged me for a "fraudulent" check, and their customer service will not help when we call them.
They have told me that the fraud is now associated with my social security number, despite there being NO FRAUD.
SAVE YOURSELF LEGAL TROUBLE AND GO TO ANOTHER BANK.
Bank to Bank transfers take 5 days
Check deposits take 10 days to clear.
Support is non-existent.
Eager to take you money, not so much to allow you to take it out. Avoid at all cost!!
I scheduled a wire transfer on 8-4 early morning to a gardener contractor for some backyard work. The wire never got approved on 8-4 and still shows a review status on 8-5. I was about to call ally and see what’s going and only found out they locked my account without any notification. I called their support on 8-6 and got transferred to their back office and answered several security questions. After the agent finally has assess to my account , she later found out she didn’t have the authority to do anything and advised me to continue to wait. At the mean time I may end up having to cash out some of my funds in brokerage account just to pay for the home remodeling.
I used these guys years ago to get a car. Thye told me I could refinance and gave me a date when I could. When the day came they wouldn't let me. Don't believe anything they tell you.
As unfortunate as some of these bad reviews are I am actually a little bit relieved to see other people go through what I'm going through. Not because I wish these situations on anybody but because I am so confused and appalled at allies response to my situation. A few weeks ago I opened an Ally account. I didn't have the time to get to it but I finally funded my account for $500 from one of my other bank accounts, two days later I got pulled over and had a small warrant that I had to go to jail for I ended up in jail for about 5 days. When I got out of jail it was late and I didn't have time to pick up my personal property I.e my cell phone laptop or backpack. All my money was in evidence so I had to frantically try to retrieve some of my Ally money. After I funded my account my debit cards were supposed to be sent out but it could still be 2 to 3 days away I was told by the teller which makes sense. But she did walk me through trying to zelle somebody and then they could pay me a friend an associate somebody I know. I called back a couple times going through the motions trying to figure it out I had to change my password and device that recognizes the account because my phone was in police evidence. The Ally associates were very friendly and very helpful it wasn't complicated at all but when I tried to use zelle for some reason it wouldn't send the money the system was down and kept saying. I tried about four or five times all typing in the correct password never doing anything wrong. It didn't work so I waited a few hours and tried one more time this time I was locked out of my account for security reasons. Now I could easily see that they see overuse of the account and logging in many times as suspicious so I said no problem I'll call them in the morning or the account might be unlocked by then. And here's where the problem start I called the next day and was told that due to suspicious activity my account is frozen and it's probably going to be closed I explained to them the whole situation and not only that I explained to look at my notes because every time I logged in with the exception of once or twice I was on the phone with a teller I was told that it looked that way and this should be an easy fix and that they would call me back. Over the last 4 days I have not received one call from them but every time I call I hear the same thing we're investigating and once we're done investigating we will close your account and send you a check I told them that I've worked for banks like this before and I know that they are allowed to unlock my account while I'm at the ATM so I can at least pull my money out if they're going to close my account they already closed my savings account because there was no money in it ( go figure ). as to my checking account I was going to have to wait until it was closed before they would send me out a check I told them that there was nothing to investigate because there wasn't, I didn't do anything wrong my account shouldn't be closed let alone still not have access to my money, but if they want to close my account fine close it send me my check or give me one time access to get my money I can't sit here waiting to get my money it's mine it came from another account in good standing there is no reason other than them seeing me login a bunch of times which has already been explained to them nothing else was wrong with my account. I got a little frustrated after the 8th call but I stayed respectful and I kept asking them what were they investigating what was the investigation about nothing happened and this teller had the nerve to tell me or ask me do I even know what the meaning of investigation is and that we're getting nowhere with this she has no time and hung up on me she hung up on me! I'm telling these people that I can't even pay my rent and she hung up on me. She didn't even have the empathy enough to understand where I was coming from even if she had no ability to give me my money or release the funds and the crazy part was she was in the loss prevention she was in the only department that did have the ability to help me in a way that if they decided suitable could actually make something happen. Although money is my biggest concern and I will be getting my money back this is going way past that I've been insulted and lied to by different tellers with different information maybe they were ignorant of the rules or really just lying to me, but either way I will be involving my mom's lawyer. Luckily for me he's a family friend and he won't be charging me anything I don't know how much help he can provide but it's going to be more than me he used to work at a bank. To everyone out there that has been screwed over I feel your pain what hurt me the most though wasn't the money it was the fact that they knew I had $0 and I had just used all my money to fund an ally account and start a new relationship with another bank and because of a few logins the algorithm kicked me off no person would have done that. Oh and the last person that really mean loss prevention lady really to get me in the end she said just because it usually takes two to three weeks it can even take up to 60 days to get everything taken care of she said that very spitefully so I know that was to get me below the belt. Thanks Ally I usually have about 3,000 in my bank account I'm just at a little broke spell right now so I'm glad this happened earlier when I didn't have all my money in there. Imagine having money but not having it because someone said no he doesn't need it right now!! It is stealing. Please someone tell me otherwise so I'm not losing my mind.
I received a letter on June 21 dated June 11, 2021 from Ally Bank. "During a routine update to our website, a programming code error occurred that inadvertently resulted in your username and password being exposed to third parties with whom we have business relationships. We immediately locked your account and password, so that an updated password created by you would be required to access your account."
This may be true for others. It wasn't for me. I had used the account frequently and had not any trouble logging in.
"Upon detectingg the error on April 12, 2021, we immediately udated the program code to ensure it no longer included username and password information." As I said earlier the letter was date April 11, 2021!
"All third parties with whom we have business relationships have agreed to delete the information inadvertently provided to them." I wonder how MANY third parties received my personal information! I've had good service from Ally in the past, but this has left me with little confidence.
I was drawn to Ally because of their rates. Customer service has been passable. The ease of getting checks and ATM cards not so great. My direct deposits are taking longer to be credited to my account than at previous institutions.
But Bill Pay really should be avoided. While the agreement spends paragraphs talking about what you are responsible for they skim right over the part where your money is removed from you account and given to a 3rd party - whether the check was received let alone cashed. And while the agreement says you should monitor your transactions it doesn't tell you the transaction will NEVER give you any information about when the check was sent, when it was cashed, etc. You will only have the transaction where the 3rd party removed the money from your account. Ally's best offerings - I could call them for each transaction and they would give me the transaction number and then I could call the payee for them to ask their bank about the transaction number - this of course is useless since a paper check was in theory sent to the payee. Their bank is not involved at all. Ally says it is all up to the 3rd party like they have no responsibility. The third party gets to decide on their own how the payment will be sent and when the money is removed from your account. Shifting my banking back to someone else.
The worse of the worse, I wish I can give zero stars. Chat support is never available. Takes one hour minimum to call 800 number. They will give you a hard time to withdraw your money. I feel sorry for anyone that ends up using this company. Worst company ever!!!!!
Paying late payment penalties & interest on income tax due to Ally's incompetence & negligence. Simplest issue - supposedly failed security questiornaire. Sent wire online. Got e-mail later casually asking me to call the bank (I bank with Wells Fargo & they immediately call me themselves even on non-urgent issues). I call, answer security Qs, they input it into computer without double checking answers with me first. Apparently 1 of the 3 answers wrong, so "specialist will call back in 48 hours max". It's been more than 48 hrs & the whole point of paying fee to send wire is it's sent urgently. Agent on the same call refused to check spelling of answers when I offered. Called back multiple times & still wire not sent. What kind of failed bank cannot resolve a simple security questionaire issue
I paid off a title to buy a car. Ally held the title and when it came to mailing the title, I asked if they could ship it UPS Next Day Air, and I would pay, they said no. Then I was told it would ship with a tracking number, it DID NOT!!!!!!!!! It has now been a week since they alleged they mailed it, but it has no tracking number, so who knows!!!! I still have not received it and it is time sensitive. What happens if it is lost in the mail? I have never dealt with such disregard for customer service or gross incompetence in my life. I will never finance through this bank, and if you do, beware of the negligence!
if you want headaches, use this bank. PLacing holds on federal tax return checks, limiting debit card amount to under $500 for 90 days (car payment keot getting declined) SLOOOOOOOOOOOOOW electronic wire transfers, and SLOOOOOOOOOW debit card mailing. This bank is pure CRAP, i only switched because I filed for BR and was afraid my other bank account might be frozen thank goodness it didn't!!
I've been a customer of ally bank for about 3 years, and am now switching to a new bank. Everything was great until there was an unauthorized transaction to my account. Someone made a POS purchase at a Home Depot, but I never went to that Home Depot and I had my card with me the whole time (never stolen). I reported the fraudulent transaction as soon as I saw it and requested a new card. Ally deposited the disputed amount 10 days later, but a few months later, they withdrew it claiming the amount was authorized and that their decision is final. No way I can appeal it. I don't know how someone used my debit card for a POS purchase at Home Depot, but it wasn't me. I can't believe there is no way to appeal. I didn't authorize it! Very disappointed that there is apparently nothing more I can do. So instead, I'm warning you. Find another online bank that actually cares about their customers.
Ally does many things well but some quite poorly. Ally customer service needs significant improvement and soon
The most common phrase with Ally is --- "DO YOU MIND HOLDING FOR 3-5 MINUTES". Unfortunately this "hold" happens multiple x during each call. Ally needs to allow their employees to resolve issues which isn't the case currently.
I recently did a mobile deposit from a large domestic insurance carrier for just over $200 that was rejected 2x. Let's be clear:
Spoke to multiple Ally representatives including a supervisor
After multiple calls (over 1.5 hours spent on the phone- mainly on 3-5 minute holds).
Check was clearly payable to me
Check is/was a reoccurring payment from a "stretch IRA from a deceased family member.
Initial Ally representative did not know what a stretch IRA was
Ally repeatedly and incorrectly stated check was two payee payable -- IT WAS NOT.
Ally had accepted this same check, with same wording on multiple prior occasions.
Ally repeatedly stated it was a "automated check scan issue", stating to resubmit, only to have it rejected again.
Ally although admitting this rejection should never have occurred (twice) seemed POWERLESS to resolve asking me for dates of previous submitted checks from this US insurance carrier. After supervisor involvement I protested it was not my responsibility to research prior submission dates on checks that Ally had accepted.
FINALLY Ally reconfirmed their records that prior checks had been accepted and the deposit was honored.
Ally from initial call KNEW and ADMITTED the problem was with THEIR mechanized scanning system. ?Instead of immediately correcting they wasted my time and their resources.
THIS IS SO VERY UNACCEPTABLE
My team at ALLY while getting my mortage where SPOT ON!
Emailed and called to perfection. All the ONLINE task were daily and well done to make it easy.
MY TEAM
KHALIFA
JO
MICHAEL
Made it a very simple process. SO HAPPY WITH ALLY HOME LOANS!
Why is Ally Financial management allowing all this negativity to be posted against their bank that they represent. Consistent negative reviews against Ally Financial is a strong oversight from corporate leaders and very bad press for Ally Financial and its future attraction to new customers.
Maybe it is time to weed out some bad employees and to reinstate stronger work ethics and customer relations training so that customers can return to having a more confident and consistent working relationship once again and having peace of mind that our finances are safe and secure. Thank you.
Strongly Supporting Ally Financial !
Personally speaking my family and I have had no major problems with any of the Ally bank staff for the past 10 years including making transfers . Any problems that may have occurred were addressed in a timely and professional manner. As a business owner myself I know how hard it is to please everyone and I am no where close to being on a national level as Ally Financial. Just looking out for my bank who looks out for me and my family, God bless !
These people are horribly dishonest scum, the services are non-existent. Customer service is honestly the worst, not just for banks, but across all industries. Save yourself the misery and Bank with literally any one else!!
If you have a VoIP telephone, code numbers can not be received. Why I don't know. But, you will need to use a non-voIp cell phone for 2-step authentication.
Overall, Ally has been a great online bank and a better option than some of the bank chains in my area. I've been a customer for about 8 years. They offer great interest rates and have great service overall. I have had very few unpleasant surprises with them, and they seem to be making their web experience better and better. If you ever need to get a hold of someone there to talk, it's fairly easy.
The only drawback I've had is perhaps using the mobile app for submitting checks on rare occasions, where there has been a hiccup, but I have never lost money, maybe just had to wait a little longer than I had hoped. Also, if you ever need a same-day banker's check, you can't really do it, but they can express checks in a few days.
Overall, I can't complain. I pay my bills and do bank transfers effortlessly and without worry, which has not happened with other online banks for me. I highly recommend them.
I switched to Ally because I am moving and need a bank that can be accessed across the country. I used their mobile app to deposit a check and the check was originally held for two days and then without notification, I noticed the account still did not have anything in it and was being held for an additional 5 days.
I reached out to customer service for an explanation and have not received any communication back.
Luckily I was just testing it out first so the majority of my money is still accessible at my old bank, but now in light of this hassle, and lack of customer service I feel I have to find another solution.
This bank has the most astonishingly incompetent customer service. They are not even able to change a PIN number for a bank card without transferring you to an automated line that never works. And then they try to explain it is because expiration dates have to be entered yy/mm, as opposed to the normal mm/yy. Stay away from this bank. STAY AWAY. This is the worst experience I have ever had with a bank. Save your pain for something worth it and go use an actual bank because this isn't one. They're a complete and awful joke.
I'm compelled to provide a poor rating due to Ally's lack of dealing with a problem when establishing external transfers. Ally has the practice to make a withdrawal of the microdeposit amounts prior to actually making the microdeposits. As it is typically the case with new external accounts, these have zero balance, hence a preceding withdrawal cause an overdraft fee on the external account. Ally has refused to resolve this real problem and blames the external institution (whereas they know the other institution has nothing to do with this). Although I did offer them a simple solution they still refuse to see the problem. This is unfortunate as otherwise the online features of the bank, Ally, are fine. This is my honest and fair assessment.
Just did a transfer out and it will be 3 business days....and I am not a "trouble" customer. Thought they were a one or two day transfer bank.
Ally could not provide me with my 1099INT statement until 19 Feb despite my making three (3) separate phone calls requesting it. They could not provide me with a hardcopy by US Mail, they could not provide it for downloading from their website, and they could not provide it to me by email. This held up filing of my income tax returns (and my refund) by three weeks. This is unsat. I'm going to close my accounts there because they can't seem to handle the most basic requirements of banking business.
I have been an Ally customer since they first started. I have deposited many, many checks using their online deposit process. Suddenly, the system will not accept any of my check images. I am using the same equipment I have always used. Photo library, no. Take image, no. I tried for 3 days, 2 different checks, both issued by institutions (typed). So I called, and after much holding, I was told the images were fuzzy. I was able to deposit the checks successfully at Barclays and GTE, using their online deposit processes, so I believe this is an Ally upload problem, but they insisted it is my fault.
I have noticed lots of fake reviews on sites about Ally giving it a 4.5 stars etc. I have been fighting with them for over two weeks on a bank check that I mailed back to them I ended up not needed. Now they cant find it. Despite them acknowledging their mistake on the address they gave me. Now they want to hold me hostage while they figure out what to do. In the mean time I have thousands of dollars sitting out there in limbo. I have no less than 5 calls to these people and about 8 emails. Continue to get the run around. Have filed a complaint with the OCC.
My mortgage was recently sold to Ally Bank and the first month, I have had issues. I have always paid my mortgage in two payments in online bill pay. One for the monthly bill and one with additional principal. They took my additional principal, clearly noted as such on the check, and applied part of it to a future bill and the rest to principal. When I called to get that corrected, they reversed the payment and said the only way to guarantee the payment is applied correctly is to pay through their app. Two days later, I have to call back because they didn’t apply the principal back to the policy. They get that corrected, but somehow pulled another payment from my checking account, applied it to a future bill, and caused my checking account to be overdrawn. After speaking with a supervisor, she was absolutely zero help and said I must have made an additional payment, and all I can do is submit a bank statement for them to look into. Now I’m having to play middle man between my checking account bank and Ally trying to get the payments corrected, figure out how an additional payment was taken from my checking account, and get overdraft fees refunded.
Ally only cares about how much money they can take from customers no difference than any other bank. Why does it take them 5 days to do a Zelle transfer when other banks do it right away. They say you have to be registered. Have other accounts at Banks been registers with Zelle for years now but it still takes 5 days every time. Customer service is the worse if you can talk to someone all they tell you is go to task or look at the FAQs that will tell you what you need to know. Done with this can’t get my money transferred when I need it like they promised they could do.
I am in the process of closing my savings and checking accounts with Ally Bank and moving to another bank. I had the worst customer experience immaginable with my mortgage.
My mortgage was approved and ready to close. 1 business hour before my scheduled closing my real estate agent called and told me I couldn't close (not my bank). I then called Ally every hour for 3 days giving them suggestions on how to solve the problem. They gave up at one point until I continued to push them. Finally they listened to me and came up with a solution to satisfy the title company and mortgage company. Along the whole process my idenity was no not verrified multiple times.
I highly suggest you take your banking business elsewhere.
I have never used a bank that made it seem like your money was actually theres. Let me explain.
I was looking for a spending account separate from my main household finances. Ally Bank has been around for a while and even though they at first failed in opening brick and mortar locations, and even closed their West Covina, CA location, I was willing to give them a try. There were many reviews saying it was a good low fee bank.
So I setup a portion of my paycheck to be direct deposited into my Ally checking account. I was in the market for a new monitor and it cost under $1000. I went to check out and I was declined by my bank.
It turns out Ally has an arbitrary spending limit for new accounts that limits transactions to $500. This includes ATM withdrawals! So I had to come up with imaginative ways to pay for the monitor at a HUGE INCONVIENCE. I even called customer service and no there is empowered to help customers. That was strike 1.
The next one is that Ally again telling me how I should spend my money, is DECLINING ALL EBAY TRANSACTIONS. I would like to buy something on Ebay yet it keeps getting declined. Strike 2.
Furtherrmore their online app does a horrible job of keeping yuou updated on your balance. I overdrew the account a couple times. Then they chided me saying again, YOUR MONEY IS OURS AND WE WILL NOW HOLD ALL NEW DEPOSITS BECAUSE YOU SUCK AS A CUSTOMER. Yeah I exagerated some elements there but the humour was not lost on me.
Sure we are all suppose to dilligently keep check registers to track our balance, however seriously who does that? Bank of America which is my main account has giving me NO SUCH GRIEF. I guess I shall have to open my own BofA spending account instead.
Their fees are preferable to a bank who is an obstacle to me using my own money. Stay away from this horrible bank unless you purely want a savings account.
Ally Bank has met all my expectations and commitments. Bonus was paid as promised and funds transferred have been timely. Yes, interest rates have dropped but in line with other banks.
I am disappointed by their customer service and the features they advertise for their savings account.
First of all, within a month of opening my account, their APY was lowered from 0.6% to 0.5%
Second, they advertise transparency and no fees for receiving international wires, which is one major reason why I opened an account with them. But from a recent transfer, I notice a $50 discrepancy from the amount that was sent to me. I contacted customer service and they sent me so much unnecessary prescripted information that was not helpful at all. For all international wires, they use Chase Bank as an intermediary. Ally was unable or unwilling to even let me know if it is Chase, their partner, who charged a fee to explain the amount discrepancy. I usually receive international wires to my BOA account and the amount always matches what was sent to me minus a fee that BOA discloses, so it is most likely that Chase charged a fee that is twice my BOA fee! And this is from Ally who praises themselves for transparency and lack of fees. Their promises are faulty and unstable. They have hidden fees. And the worse of all is that they either have no knowledge of them or purposefully unwilling to investigate.
Third, since they use Chase as an intermediary bank for international wires, it makes the process of sending wires so difficult and a hassle.
Do not fall into their claims and overwhelming positive reviews on their website!
Gave me all kinds of misinformation and said they couldn't wire transfer my money to another bank for 5 days. I needed to get it wired asap or I couldn't complete a business deal. Called three days after requesting transfer and found out the person who I originally talked to had not set the transfer up yet so I have to wait another five days. Very frustrating and time consuming.
Added security can be had using 2-step authentication that must be requested. Strange because other financial institutions are using this security method by default. You have the option of either the code number being sent to your cell or your email address. The safest way is to use your email address because scammers have been porting phone numbers to a new phone they purchase, intercepting your code number, and then cleaning out your account. You can enter up to six different phone numbers or email addresses. 2-step authentication is ideal because they are blocking VPN's. That is the good, now the bad. Customer service is difficult "due to high call volume . . . and "your hold time is 20 minutes". Often, secured emails on the website go unanswered. Apparently they are running on a skeleton crew.
We have had the most unreasonably horrible time with Ally. There is a $500 spending limit (that we have learned about through experience and online forums NOT Ally’s website or any of their representatives) They are very dishonest about this and will give you no answers when asking about these limits. We called and spoke with three different agents and none of them could provide the simple answer of “there is an $XXX daily hold on your account” when we simply called to ask why we were unable to use the card one day after unknowingly hitting the limit. Why do they not want us to know this information? If we know we can plan our spending accordingly. During this process we were hung up on many times and “disconnected” the employees are unenthused and will not help you resolve any problems. The second problem is making a payment with Zelle using this bank. Any other bank has zelle payments and they are instantaneous. With Ally it did not pull from the account until the next day and when it did it took $500 and did NOT deposit it into the receiving bank (Chase). So now the $500 is just gone and we will have to jump through hoops to get our money. We would not be sending $500 away from the account if we could simply just pay bills with this card but it is impossible to do so. Joining this bank has caused us so many problems and in this pandemic with people suffering it is horrible to cause this many problems while we need bills to pay. Now we may be getting late charges for their own negligence and incompetence. Given this company’s treatment of new customers we would NEVER trust them to perform things like autopay for bills. They take your money and play games with it. There is nothing good about them, please RUN from this bank. We used to have Chime the corniest smallest bank and thought we would upgrade to Ally. Hugest mistake of our lives.
I was referred to Ally bank by my landlord. He had said they were a good and quick bank to put transfers through with. I had put more than 2,000 dollars in for rent, and I had set it up to take that amount out of my original bank account to be put into the ally checking. They withdrew the amount twice, then proceeded to hang up on me mid call numerous times. At this point my bank balance was -2300. Horrible experience, the customer service was next to nothing, no one seemed to know how to resolve any kind of issues, called to shut the account down, said they had, come to find out nothing had been closed and the money was just sitting there after all the money issues had been resolved
I’ve been with ally since 2013. I was an early adopter of this bank. They have turned into an absolutely terrible bank. They’re fine until you need them in a crisis. They don’t fight for their customers’ money nor do they care. They keep telling me some fraudulent charges are not fraud but they are. No matter how many times I call and explain they just don’t care. In fact, they made fun of me when they thought they were on mute. Absolutely would NOT recommend this bank to anyone. FYI capital one has the same or better rates than ally and they have actual monitoring on your account unlike ally.
I've been an Ally customer since before they were branded Ally, with multiple CDs and a savings account. Overall I've been happy with them. The online experience is top-notch. The site design is good and they have fun and useful features like savings categories that help you plan for specific expenses. Transfers are easy to set up and they go through reasonably fast. The few times I've had to contact customer service, I've gotten the help I needed.
I do have to take off a star because they're no longer in the top tier of interest rates. For years they were among the best in the industry but now they've slid to the middle of the pack. I can no longer trust that I'm getting the best return on my money by leaving it with Ally. Regretfully I'm going to be moving a lot of my savings to another bank, although I'll keep some funds with Ally in case they become competitive again.
Ally Mobile is a joke. I'm betting half these reviews are fake. They cancel your card without notice. Then they charge you a fee to send you a new one. I was told by an employee when I made a dispute and got charged twice that it was not unauthorized, it was not fraud, and to not cancel my card like they did the previous time this happened a month ago. Well, he assured me they wouldn't but they did anyway without notice. Now im wondering how im supposed to put gas in my car tomorrow without my card as I dont carry cash - ever, and I dont have credit cards. Thanks Ally for being the worst bank and for lying just like everyone else. Will be closing my accounts immediately.
I bank at Ally and now Wells Fargo. I use Ally for Checking and Savings, rates arent too bad, not the highest, and use them for everyday bills. No Fees, and ATM fee is reimbursed right away. Transfers take about 2 to 3 business days between Ally and WF, but i am okay with that. I feel my money is safe and website is wonderful and app is great. Very easy and intuitive. I stopped chasing high rates. Ally gives me everything i need. I keep plenty in my checking/savings as i manage my $$$ to the penny.
tried to open an account for 6 weeks! Communication during which time was appalling. At the end received the only physical communication ever, and it contained lies about their customer service attempts. Can not move forward with a bank that I can not trust. They have horrible difficulties communicating, but will say they have reached out numerous times which is flat out false.
Ally bank has been my primary online bank for Savings and CD's for the last two years. I have or have had money with eight other online banks during this period and even though Ally doesn't always have the highest rates, I feel my money is safest with them. I don't fear that they'll charge me fees or hold my money captive like other banks have. Their website is great and I can easily do everything I need to on it. I can't comment on their customer service because I haven't had to contact them. I learned my lesson chasing the highest rates and then discovering the tricks other banks play to hold on to your money or pay you less than promised because of hidden fees and penalties. I am migrating my money to Ally because trust and peace of mind is worth more then a nominally higher interest rate you may never get anyway. Ally is the best online bank for savings and CDs! Be safe or be sorry.
Ally just sent us a letter in the mail on a Tuesday that they were closing all of our accounts on that coming Monday. SIX calendar day notice that they are closing all of our accounts!!! We never had a negative account balance, always had nice sized balance in our savings and then this is what they do to us. We are an older couple, we are good with our money. Horrendous customer service. You can tell they really don’t care about customers.
Poor communication, low rates.Their promises to call back, and send letters never happen. It is aBig waste of time with rude untrained reps, while corporate hides somewhere.
I have two CD's maturing in a couple weeks and I could not figure out online how to get the interest paid to my savings account and the principal moved into a different term CD. Called customer service, they were professional, and set it up in very short order. As good as anyone I have called. I have been using Ally for maybe 4 years and never a problem.
I had to contact customer service multiple times at each time they were rude and even even interested in any way to service me as a customer.
deposit availability is ridiculous, and any attempt to talk to anyone would make wish you never started.
look elsewhere.
I don't understand why there are so few reviews.
I've been a customer of Ally Bank since 2012. That's 8 years of complete satisfaction. The staff is fantastic. The customer service is second best to none. And there is always someone there to assist you. Their rates may not always be the highest but they are extremely competitive and rational. Don't be fooled by those other banks that offer unreasonably high initial rates, I've had enough experience with these banks, some in Utah and many in Florida, where the rates drop precipitously immediately after set up, and to get you, they don't tell you that there is a penalty fee if you close that account with 6 months.
I have Money Market, Savings, CD's and IRA's with Ally. And the no minimum external linked accounts makes Ally my primary conduit account. And the ACH transfers are faster than any other banks I do business with. If I had any recommendations I would suggest that the IRA Department process Trustee to Trustee transfers of IRA amounts quicker. Otherwise I'm staying with Ally Bank.
Gary Russell
When I found better rates elsewhere, I tried to close my account. When I called customer service to do so, instead of closing my account, they locked me out of it so I could no longer log into my account to access my money or close it! Long wait time on hold and incompetent representatives.
I've been reading about Ally for a long time now. It is hard to find a website dedicated to online banking which doesn't rate Ally highly. After finally opening an account at Ally, the only apparent reason for the high ratings is Ally pays for positive reviews.
Let's be clear: there are some really bad banks out there. Ally isn't one of them, but is also doesn't rise above the level of mediocrity.
My first warning sign was that Ally can't even give customers statement cycles which run from the first of the month to the last of the month. I was given a choice of five days on which a statement cycle could end. That was after calling in. The default date I was assigned was the 13th, which seemed like a really bad omen.
Not willing to give up easily, I pressed on. I set up my first external account link on Ally, choosing micro deposits as I always do, and everything went smoothly on a Friday afternoon.
I logged on Monday morning to actually do the eternal transfer, and the site was just completely bogged down, with every click on a link taking at least 10 seconds to respond, but I was determined to get that first transfer done. (Ally treats new accounts as second rate customers, giving them 3 day ACH transfers instead of the overnight transfers which everyone should be getting in 2020. The only way to get one day transfers is to build up a transfer history and then wait for a couple of months.)
I finally clicked my way through the all the links, and was able to submit the transfer request. It failed, with the error message saying to call customer service. The CSR explained to me that Ally did a software update over the weekend. Apparently, Ally only tests its software updates on live systems.
Several days later, I decided to try once again. I set up another external account link, using micro deposits, to a second bank. It all went great. (Ally mostly knows how to do micro deposits.) I decided to quit while I was ahead, and signed off.
Several days later, I came back to actually do a transfer with the newly created external link, only to find that it was now suspended. I called customer service again. (At this point, I already have enough history with Ally customer service to at least say the CSRs are reasonably good.) A problem report was opened, I was given the number identifying the report, and told to call back in 2 business days.
I called back in 2 business days, and was told there was no updated status. It was told to call back again. (The CSRs are OK people, but I don't really want to talk to them this often.)
I waited 2 days, called back again (call #5 if you are counting) and was told Ally's attempt to reclaim the 85 cents which Ally had sent to my other bank in the form of micro deposits had been rejected by my other bank (which made me feel sad for Ally's loss) and that is why Ally had suspended my external account link.
If that wasn't bad enough, Ally told me that instead of putting on its Big Boy pants and working out its 85 cent dispute with the other bank, Ally was expecting me to get the other bank to write up a letter providing a long list of information as to what happened to Ally's 85 cents. After I received the letter from the other bank, I could either forward the letter to Ally using the US mail or fax. (Do people still fax in 2020?) I told the CSR she was wasting my time, and I was not amused.
In the average year, I never call customer service for my primary online bank. If I continue to bank with Ally, I am going to feel the need to start exchanging holiday cards with the Ally CSRs.
A 3 star rating is probably too high based upon what I have seen so far.
Ally rates aren't competitive so wouldn't recommend as a sole savings account. However as a supplemental checking account it's a pretty good option. I find the website easy to navigate and transfers post quickly. You can stash cash in their higher interest savings account for overdrafts and whatnot and keep minimal funds in checking for bill pay. Transfers back and forth are instant. I haven't had to deal with their live reps so can't comment on them but the fact that I haven't had to call is a plus over other banks I've checked with.
Bank allowed 13 transaction from my account every 3 min until account have became negative. All suspicious transaction done from unknown overseas company.
Ally POOR SECURITY SYSTEM does not recognize what is RED FLAG.
I kept my savings open with checking so I can have access to check writing and a free ATM card. But about 95 % of my overall money will be transfered out to another bank as my Christmas present to them at the start of next week. They are actually now lower than a local brick and mortar. That's pathetic. I'm not a CD guy, perhaps I should be, but regardless, I'm 95% done.
Be advised Ally Bank does not accept any money orders, including US post office money orders for online deposit. They must be mailed to Philadelphia, PA. Very time consuming and inconvenient.
Zelle payment - payments placed on hold, required 40 minute phone call, repetitive security questions to multiple employees, no clarification of why the arbitrary hold was placed or how often it would keep happening.
I've been a customer for MANY years, with never a problem. However, lately I've been noticing that it takes longer and longer for transfers to clear, even internally.
I'm not sure why, if Ally has received a transfer from your external checking account into your Ally savings account, and applied their 6 day hold, that if you want to transfer it internally, like from an Ally savings account to a money market account, or to AllyInvest, they impose another 6 day hold.
Between that and the no-longer-great interest rates, they're no longer one of my favorite banks.
tl;dr: Ally is still probably the best "hub" account out there but they've really deteriorated in recent years.
My opinion is that they've sacrificed good for good-enough-for-scale. Maybe it's the industry, the business model, or the margins but it's clear that Ally feels it's in their best interest to have a large number of "meh" accounts than a decent number of good accounts.
I've reached this conclusion by assuming the funding for their needless advertising blitz is coming from their lower, no longer competitive rates. Furthermore, their service has truly suffered from their expanded customer base.
In the end, I'm still with them and still actively using them but I'm no longer advocating or singing their praises as they've just shown us long term customers that we're not as valuable as rapid soulless expansion.
Every single transaction I have attempted at Ally for the last two years, has been an enormous challenge. I call and ask (usually after 20 minutes on hold) which form(s) to complete, for whatever transaction I want. I have never been given the same answer twice. I called Oct 10 to request which form(s) to use for them to internally convert $ from my existing Ally Traditional IRA to my existing Ally ROTH IRA and withhold 12K. I then uploaded said form to them via internal email on 11th. On 16th, they called requesting additional form. I completed and uploaded. Then, inexplicably, they called on 22nd to discuss the $12K withholding (which I confirmed was correct). It is now the 24th, and NO conversion has occurred!!! All internal, and they still can’t handle it. This transaction is minor when compared to the direct transfer from old bank to them.
Customer service people are nice, but very incompetent. They could seriously use much better training.
Plus, I have never talked to the same person twice!
Do not deal with their IRA department. I moved my IRA Sep to Ally in June. It was time consuming and difficult to go through their Process. No one seemed to be able to explain their process and I was inundated with an enormous amount of paper work, which upon calling they said no need to fill out. When I would call them, the wait on the phone was always at least an average of 15-20 minutes; only to find out I needed to be transferred and start over. Today it was 17 min. I am IRA knowledgeable and been moving and taking distributions for some time. I was with Ameritrade and moved my Sep to invest in higher paying CD's. This month, I took an RMD - distribution - on the 9th, they recorded it on the 11th and emailed an acknowledgment on the 11th, they deducted it from my account 11th. It has not arrived today the 21, so I called -17 min for them to answer. They explained they have 5 "business" days to process the distribution, thereafter usually 10 "business" days to get it to you (could be longer) For $15.00 I could have it expedited. At TD Ameritrade - with no expedition fees - the distribution arrives in a few days. Same with Scottrade and Vanguard. They also answer phone calls within a few minutes; TD Ameritrade. immediately. The inconveniences with this bank are too great to continue to deal with. So, I am closing 4 accounts at Ally after only 6 months with them.
Been with ally 7 plus years. Have had at least 12 different CD and a reg saving acct. I've been able to transfer each CD when it's up for renewal with no problems
Only neg is in last 9-12 months they haven't been as competitive as other online banks. I have now 3 other banks because of that but still have 5 CD with ally
When each on comes due will see rates.
And 98% if time I call, wait time under 5 minutes
Yes one time when they offered a GREAT 14 month CD, everyone wanted that and wait time was 15 minutes. No big deal
Here's a chronology when I ordered checks for my existing checking account:
9/13 - Logged on and placed Order #1 for more checks---supposed to receive in 2 weeks from order date per Ally info.
9/30 - More than 2 weeks later and no checks received on Order #1. Called Ally and spoke to "Melissa". She said Order #1 had shipped 9/20...but I still had not received by 9/30. She offered to place Order #2 for a box of 100 checks instead of the usual 20. I agreed and she did this....or so I thought.
10/4 - Order #1 still not received. I called Ally and spoke to "Brandon" who said I should have received Order #1 by 9/27 (2 weeks from 9/13). I was concerned that someone else had received these checks and could use them, so I asked him to stop payment on those check numbers 1021 to 1040. Scary Note - He almost accidently stopped payment on the checks I already had received when I initially opened the account more than a year ago!....but he did correct this....I hope.
10/10 - Order #1 received---4 weeks after order placed online 9/13!! These checks useless now since I had stop payment placed on 10/4. Brandon did say on 10/4 that I could call and remove stop payment, but in my mind, what if they don't do this right and I bounce checks!? I think I will be receiving a box of 100 that Melissa ordered on 9/30 as Order #2, so I'm willing to let the stop payment stay on Order #1 checks.
10/11 - Order #2 received ---what the___? Only 20 checks received....not the box of 100 Melissa supposedly ordered!!?
Ally, Don't bother offering checking accounts if you can't handle simple check orders!! What a mess.....and I end up with 20 checks after all this hassle for a month. And also, no acknowledgement record when I log on or by email that I even placed these orders....only by calling in....but this is supposed to be an online bank!!? What a farce!
Been banking with Ally for many years and up until now couldn't fault them. Something has changed and not for the better.
over the course of the last 5 weeks I have had truly abominable service from multiple people:
1 - sent 3 secure messages to the IRA department - all ignored - I had to make multiple calls from Europe to tell them what I needed and demand it get actioned
2 - they didn't process my wire transfer for a week -called again from Europe to be told that they were undertaking more checks because my signatures were not identical on the distribution request - I asked why no-one had informed me of this fact or the fact there was going to be a delay. NO explanation was forthcoming. I had to email them a copy of my driver license to confirm ID - whose signature is ever identical if it's a real signature!?
3 - when they did process it, they didn't do it according to my instructions and so took out the wrong amount of taxes so then had to reverse the wire and re-do it
4 - as part of the contract for the sale of my home I had to refund my tenant a large sum of money. So I processed a bill pay request. Check was sent to my tenant and I followed-up with him a week later because he hadn't cashed it. He thought it had gone missing in the email so I called the bank and put a hold on the check and they advised me that I could always call back if the check appeared, and remove the hold so my tenant could cash the check. Check turned up so I called the bank and was assured that they had removed the hold so he would be able to pay it into his account or cash it. One week later he tried to pay it into his bank and his bank tells him there is a hold on it. Of course he is mad at me so I make another call from Europe - lasting 70 minutes only to be told that because I have a non-US mailing address (even though my account shows a physical US address) I am no able to use bill pay - now think about that - 3 weeks have gone by since I requested bill pay - they even cut the check and sent it to my tenant - put a hold on it - removed the hold from it - and this is the first time being told this 3 weeks later! I am now in breach of my contract to refund my tenant. Customer Service person says never mind you can use Zelle to pay him as long as you have his email or phone number although I would need to do 2 transactions over 2 days because the payment amount is over $5000. No problem I said I will do that. I mentioned i was going to make a formal complaint to their Legal Counsel about my experience the last 5 weeks, and she says let me put you through to a supervisor who can help. Supervisor says he can escalate to their Executive Resolutions Department who will contact me. (I get the feeling they dont want me to contact Legal counsel) Then he says you know you can't use Zelle either because you have a non-US mailing address - at this point I about lost the will to live, and recounted almost word for word what the customer service agent had told me = that I could use Zelle is I had his phone number or email address! I ask him why, if I have an actual physical US address on my account, does having a non-US mailing address even matter. SO I suggest if we change my mailing address to match my physical address that should remove the problem. Yes he says - he assures me that the hold is now taken off the check and my tenant can pay it into his account - I ask him, if I don't have the ability to make bill pay requests because of my non-US mailing address, why did the bank cut the check and mail it to my tenant, and then have multiple conversations with me about the check.
I am so mad about both these issues - I will wait and see what Executive Resolutions say before deciding whether to contact their legal counsel directly and escalate the the regulatory bodies too.
I have had to make about 6 calls from Europe all between 40-70 minutes and still havent got definite resolution until I know my tenant has paid the check into his account.
I used to recommend Ally Bank to everyone but am looking to move all my money out as soon as I can.
Attempted to open a simple checking account. It's been pending for 2 weeks. I finally gave up. I guess they just don't want business. Also, customer service over the phone takes about 30 minutes to get a hold of anyone.
I asked for one of my CDs to be moved to an 18 month from a 12 month...no a big request....well now I see that they had responded saying I needed to confirm my same phone number in their response and held off making the change until I did so...instead they simply reinvested in the same 12 month...so now the grace period expired by a few days and plus the rates dropped so they screwed me! Simple request and it wasn't done...
I think I will pull all my CDs out when they expire and move to another bank since this is the second time they created an issue. Not worth the headaches of having to double or triple check every thing to verify what they are supposed to do!
I had been Customer with this bank for 4-5 Yrs. Six months ago I received through TXT message that my e-mail address was "updated", Also another message show that my passcode also was "updated". When I check my account, effectively, my profile was changed internally with another email and passcode. Ally did not have explanations for the event, rather indicate that the account has been compromise and for "my security" the account should be close rather that just correct the Anonymous updates. Six month later when I try to log-on into the account, the page reloads itself. After unsuccessful tries, I call them to know the status of the account. They ask the usual questions, then the request to hold up to verify the account 2-3 minutes, those minutes extended to 54 minutes of verifying, they started to ask about: Which state my parents got my Social Security, which is my height, where I am now, which id my ISP and which is my driver license number, I did complain since in no place those questions were made. (Also they already check a code to sent to my phone to verify the current information.) For all this they say that they have the right to ask all this questions and offer No explanation whatsoever of the status of my account. As soon I clear up their mess. I move my business elsewhere.
I have been with Ally for over 6 years. Their customer service used to be really good. Now, when I call, I sit on hold waiting for at least twenty minutes. I am currently sitting on hold and it has been 20 minutes; the recording keeps saying a representative will be with me in 10-15 minutes more. Twice in the last month I have requested withdrawals. One took six weeks for them to get it right. The other one took a month and 4 phone calls (sitting on extended hold each time.) Not to mention each time I spoke with a representative I was given different information. I am currently working on another transfer and it's going on three weeks and still no transfer. They also have an issue with their beneficiary page on the website. It doesn't save the information right away. Once a change is made on the beneficiary page each time the page is subsequently opened, the system arbitrarily changes the beneficiaries. Credit Unions have just as good or better rates than Ally; I may be making a move soon. Still on hold...…..
They advertise 2.5% CDs, but will never allow you to transfer money there. The CS reps reps lie and tell you they see the money going there, but it never does. Take your money and move anywhere but this sham scam.
I'm a very long term customer of Ally Bank. They recently didn't follow interest rates up, it concerned me, but they were too eager to follow them down.
Six figures out of three savings accounts today. Too bad, I liked them.
THE GOOD:
I've been an Ally Customer for years - via acquisition first - and then became a "double customer" when they acquired my brokerage. For basically-free, interest-earning checking and savings accounts, they are the best I have found.
THE BAD:
Their website and (especially) their app have bugs and aren't nearly as easy to use as they should be. When I've reported the bugs, they've politely blown me off. Also, the brokerage's clearing firm, Apex, makes mistakes when reporting your taxable activity to to government. I mean, taxes are complicated, but not THAT complicated that their accounting bugs cannot be fixed over a period of years. I've never understood why they can't get it right.
When your minor is no longer a minor, Ally literally doesn't know how to convert the custodial account to a stand-alone account. Two different reps gave me VERY different instructions. I've spent hours on it and gotten nowhere. Apparently, my 18-year-old can open a bank account at any bank on the planet EXCEPT Ally.
THE UGLY:
When I needed to withdraw funds to buy a house, Ally let me down badly. I started trying to wire the money to the title company on Monday morning. Ally Invest won't allow "third party transfers", so I had to wire it to my Ally Bank account. It took fully two days to achieve that step. And from when I requested the wire from Ally Bank to the title company, it took well over 24 hours, even though I had told them of my closing time and asked for anything they could do to help me meet it. They didn't even call to verify the wire until 24 hours after my request. I looked like an idiot at the Thursday closing, because the funds weren't there. I was really embarrassed and am now looking for a new bank.
Another time, I was trying to pay off a loan. Set up a bill payment on the Wells Fargo loan for $50,000 (yes, fifty thousand). Didn't show up for weeks. I called Ally. That's when I learned that they MAILED the payment - seriously - Ally didn't do an electronic transfer TO ANOTHER U.S. BANK; they mailed a fifty thousand dollar check. So I asked them to stop payment on the lost check. They said they had. I sent a new payment. THEN THE "STOPPED" PAYMENT WENT THROUGH, and I had written a FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLAR HOT CHECK because of it. Talked to Ally again, and a "typo" had been made that allowed the supposedly-stopped check to go through. Inexcusable.
Most recently, I bought an auto part - a transmission seal - for my daughter. I went to pay myself back from her savings account. Put in the notes for the transfer, "Advance Auto Parts - rear tranny seal". When I submitted it, Ally threw up an error message: "We've flagged one of the words you used in your response as abusive language. Try again without that word." OMG - I've been offensive toward transmissions without even knowing!
Best case, Ally is incompetent. Worst, they're evil.
As another post said I have chased rates online all over for years and had a mixture of experiences most good and some not so good.
Started banking with Ally several years ago and it seems to get better over time. We use checking, savings, and certificates. I bought several certificates today which was a pretty easy process. Had a question and got it answered quickly by phone.
Have used Sallie Mae in the past and their rate was tempting but after reading some of the reviews here decided to stick with Ally.
Good websites and customer service are in short supply these days and it only seems to get worse. Hope Ally maintains its level of quality.
I’ve been with Ally bank since October, 2019. So far, I am really impressed with how they function and their services. Large ACH transfer limits ($250K per day, maybe more - check their disclosures), options for multiple beneficiaries and trust accounts are probably the best from available on-line banks and CUs. I started with their Savings Account special, but decided to give their CDs a try. While they are not the leader in rates and have dropped their rates on all products over the last several months (similar to the majority of other on-line banks and CUs), their customer service and easy on-line account management really stands out compared to just about all other on-line banks and institutions. For me, top rates are as important as making sure I can trust a financial institution and feel comfortable with their processes. What good is a top rate on a product, if you cannot have easy access to your money or cannot rely on getting your funds out. One of their best options is the ability to easily open and manage your CDs on-line, including changing the CD Maturity instructions. It literally takes one click and you are done – no silly e-mail messages or snail mail instructions. They actually send you an e-mail letting you know 1 year in advance (of the CD maturity) when you are able to change the maturity instructions. I also recently had a direct experience with their customer service when they dropped a rate on a CD I opened within several days (of opening the CD). Before transferring the money into CD, I called them and a CSR told me that my rate will stay as advertised (when I opened the CD). However, after I transferred the funds before the weekend, next Monday the rate on my CD dropped (they have dropped the rates for all of their products during that week). I called Customer Service and spoke with a supervisor, explaining the situation and requesting an originally advertised rate. After several days, they honored the original rate automatically in my on-line account and followed-up with a call (actually called me several times) and an updated mailed CD Certificate. The next test/experience will be when one of my CD matures – which is about 10 months from now. I am giving them 4 stars for not being a rate leader and a slip-up on the first CSR incorrect verification.
I had a CD with Ally Bank and got good return but when I tried to get my money back they stalled my in every way possible and just said "that's not our policy" when I asked why they could not get me my money. I notified them in advance of the maturity date and that I wanted a check for the entire amount sent to my home address. They said it would be 3 days to issue the check and then 7 to 10 business days to receive the check. I waited three weeks and then began calling them. They said the check must be lost and they had to send a form to me to fill out saying it was lost and it had to be notarized. They said they would send the form three times and I never got it. I am loosing about $8 per day that I don't have my money and I suspect they are making the interest for themselves on my money. I still don't have it a month later. Very upset with them. I will withdraw the other CD as soon as possible and never do business with Ally again. TH
I opened up a CD with them and they got some of my information incorrect. It is a very long story but, I had a difficult time obtaining my money. I would never do business with them again. It is too scary because this faceless bank does not care about its customers. Take your business elsewhere; I would never trust them.
Takes WAY too long to process paper check deposits. You'd think an online bank would have that figured out. Will place additional holds on deposits, with NO WARNING, when they arbitrarily decide you have overdrafted too many times, even though they still charge you a $25 overdraft fee every time. Maybe they should consider that a 5 business day hold makes a person more likely to overdraft their account. But more likely, they're just looking for more ways to make easy money off of individuals who are struggling financially and are easy targets. I've only had an account with Ally for 4 months, and I can say without reservation that it has been the worst banking experience of my life. Would not recommend. Would give no stars if I could.
Opened joint account online on 4/7/19, after entering all my personal info, I received a message that "DUE TO HIGH VOLUME" response time would be 3-5 business days or longer. WAIT, WHAT? I'm giving you money, and I need to wait a week? OK, deep breathe, I will wait for the 2.2% rate. I ended up waiting 6 business days, then went online and started an online customer service chat, gave my app ref # and they said my information was not on file. WAIT, WHAT? What happened to my data? My SSN, personal info, not on file? Online rep took my cell and said someone would call me within 1-2 business days. UGH, ok I waited. Today, 8 business days later, I call in and speak to a rep who says my information could not be authenticated? WAIT, WHAT? I had to call Ally Bank to find this out? NO WAY, but yes it's true. The rep also said they could not delete my personal information so my data is out there. I went online tonight on Marcus by Goldman Sachs, took me 5 minutes and application was approved, and we made our initial deposit of $25,000.00 at 2.25% interest. 100% TRUTH AND UNBIASED REVIEW.
Ally bank first closed my joint account(my spouse is the joint account holder). My wife got a scam job. Scammer told her to deposit money into the account and then use some money for some work. Later they were planning to
pull the check back. By the time she could realize it was getting late. She informed ftc.gov and also ally bank. Ally bank asked her to close the account(by transferring money out to make it zero balance) and then open a new account.
We had one check(in both of our names) and that was already deposited to my our joint savings account(not part of scam).
ally after some time closed all her account without telling her anything. Our check was stuck.
I decided to add her into my joint checking account.
It was taking longer for them to add her. So i keep on following...wasted close to 6 hours in general.
they keep on telling it will take 5 business days.
After 7 days when i tried to follow up, this is what happened on the phone call:
I just called Ally bank and was on 45+ minutes of call with them. I recorded the entire call as every time when i reaching out to Ally bank - I am getting conflicting responses. They are neither honest nor ethical/any integrity. ally told me that they won't be adding my wife into my account as joint holder as she committed a fraud. this is inaccurate: she did what ally customer service representative asked her to do. She fall into fraud/scam job which she reported to ftc.gov and then told it to Ally bank about everything ally customer service asked her to close the account as scam job folks knew her account number. Before closing she should have zero balance so she transferred money into my account. ally customer service asked her to open a new account. Which she did. But without her knowledge her online access was taken away and he new account got closed after few days. She wasted countless hours to talk to them over phone or chat but got no response. as we have check in both of our name, we wanted to deposit it. That check of more than $830.xx is still with ally bank. that's the reason i tried to add her to my account which took forever for ally to do so. Now i was wasting my time with ally bank to know why it is taking so long to get her added as joint account holder. I was always told that it takes 5 business days. When 5 business days are over, i asked all over again. Now ally bank told me that they will never let my spouse to open the account. Moreover as she transferred money out of her account to mine(for closing it) even my account is frozen. what???? I asked i have credit card payments and other transactions - what will happen to them as i have no other checking account. She told me that your fault. when asked some more critical question, this lady was trying to run away from the call. Now when i said that entire call is recorded she hang up the phone on me. Now i have to go in each and every place to change my payment method. More than $15.5K money is being blocked. I will be accessed late fees and impact to my credit score.
Now my accounts are also frozen without any fault of mine.
I have been with Ally for many years. I knew Ally services gone terrible but did not knew until I called.
Ally could not verify external recognized back accounts. Received Email after two days?
"We couldn't verify your Citibank, Checking account with the account information you entered"
I will update this post and I am waiting for supervisor to call me.
We opened an Ally savings account in December. The account opening process was easy and had no issues transferring money from our local bank into the account. We have transferred money into our brokerage account with another stock trading company and have had zero issues. We recently opened a CD with Ally and had no issues opening the account. We funded it through our savings account so the CD was opened and earning money quickly. I've not had a need to contact customer service but everything else has been perfect.
When my CD matured, it was a disaster trying to get a check for the proceeds. They made mistake after mistake and it delayed the delivery of my check. Talk out Gross incompetence! They were supposed to send the check by FedEx, but sent it by regular mail. It took 10 days, jeopardizing the renewal of a CD with another bank. There must be other banks witj competent employees. Stay away.
Upon two occasions I called the bank for information pertaining to my account and tax forms. There higher
I was told the waiting period would be 15 minutes to speak to someone. I held the phone listening to music over 15 minutes and ended the call. Twice!!I I sent them an email shown on their website several days ago with no reply.
If this is how they treat their depositors, I will close my account and look elsewhere.
Their higher rates don't give them a right to poor customer service.
Classic bait and switch techniques. They promised me a 1% bonus if I made a deposit by October 31. I transferred $100k into Ally (my nest egg), then they refused to pay the bonus. Infuriating. I cannot understand why they act this way. I just assume it’s their long history of abusing people in the auto finance business. They don’t know any other way.
I had an Ally account a couple of years back. They removed over $200,000 from my account and held it with no explanation for several weeks. I kept calling, verifying myself, and trying to get an answer about what was going on. The only information I ever got was, "It's for your protection, Sir. We've detected suspicious activity."
Who is the one person you'd want to get in touch with if you detected suspicious activity on an account? Maybe the account owner? Apparently not - I never got a single call, letter, or other communication from them. Eventually, the money just mysteriously showed up again.
Maybe this is something all banks are required to do. But Ally actually did it to me, and their customer service handled it in about the worst possible way. Never again, Ally. There are plenty of other banks offering the same rates.
Tried to open a joint Savings and two CD's. For the simplest of questions (do we all have to concur for a deposit or withdrawal) I was put on hold for her to find the answer. Then, at the end of the info page on my last joint owner, it stated I had to call customer service again. I have filled in all info for three people at this time and he's going to add questions and ask me to agree that if one person dies they only have to notify one of the two joint owners left. I said no, I want both notified. Sorry, we won't do that. Sorry, you don't get my money. Too bad, the best rates around. There is an alternative that is comparable though.
While chasing rates and moving money around, I have encountered some really annoying and inept financial institutions. Among those where I have made a speedy exit are Discover, Alliant, CIT, Investors Bank, and Goldman Sacs (Marcus). In sharp contrast is Ally Bank, where I have had favorable experiences with customer service, ACH transfers, website organization, access to Wire Transfers, and per-day withdraw limitations. I don't put up with lousy service, unfair limitations, or having to jump through hoops. You don't always know what will happen when you sign up for a new account but you can always vote with your feet. Being very pleased with Ally Bank, I plan on staying. Note too that Ally has 2-step authentication (a code is sent to your phone) when the computer accessing your account is unrecognized. In my opinion, this is extremely important with all the cyber theft currently plaguing the internet. Be sure to backup all your financial data should the unthinkable happen.
I am exceedingly happy with Ally bank because if you need to use a transfer form such as for an IRA, you can download the form, fill it out, scan it, and go into your account and e-mail the various forms you may need, even a Power of Attorney. They do not charge the Rinky Dink Fees of credit unions to open an account. One key feature that helps with any bank is to have a small corresponding savings account so that when an IRA CD matures, you can transfer it into the IRA money market until you make up your mind if you want to transfer to another bank, or wait to put it into another CD.
Opened a high yield 1 year special cd dec of 2017. It just matured(Dec 28th 2018). The principal went to where I wanted it to be deposited, but for some reason the interest was deposited into the bank account that opened the cd. unfortunately that account of mine has been closed and now I have to wait a whole week if not longer because of the holiday(new years eve) to get my interest on my deposit. Talked to CR and his supervisor, there was nothing they could do. They were nice on the phone but I could not get answer for why this happened. I am not too happy. I probably will not use ally again unless they have some really good rates or deals.
Beyond highest IRA Savings Account Rates, my first and only time requiring a call to their support team led to a complete disaster with my IRA accounts. Intent was to set up a Roth IRA Savings and fund by transferring the balance in my regular IRA Savings. Instead incompetent Ally customer service distributed all proceeds in my IRA savings. 20 days later (no interest for these missed days) by snail mail I received the distribution check, despite calling them to say stop the payment and please deposit to my Roth IRA. When calling to open a case file, upon waiting online for 40+ minutes, the call center hold message said "Thank you for calling Sprint". Clearly they staff their out-sourced call centers with inexperienced bank reps and share calls with mobile phone sales people. There was no follow-up of my case either by email confirmation or phone call. They could not stop payment on a check they erroneously distributed, told me I had to wait for the check, once received send back with VOID written on it. Not a chance ALLY! Since I have 60 days, Instead of sending their erroneous distribution back to them to fund the Roth I intended to, I am opening another account elsewhere. Most Horrific Online Bank Customer Service!
I've used Ally Bank numerous times to purchase CDs and for that I'd give them an excellent rating. I decided to open a checking account and use their bill pay service. That's where my opinion changed. I had some questions that no one could answer, nor could I get a supervisor to speak to me. I asked the rep to have someone from corporate call me and she said she would give them the message and if they felt like it they'd call me back. Guess they didn't feel like it as I haven't gotten a call yet. They do not guarantee their payments to arrive on time, so if you get late fees you have to call the bank and then they'll see what they can do. With the experience I had trying to get someone to answer my questions I'm not about to try to deal with them later. They know so little that I was told there is no corporate office, that all officers work out of their homes. I find that hard to believe but they did not make me feel warm and fuzzy about having my money with them. As my CDs mature I doubt that I'll stick with them. I was shocked as I'd thought they were great as I'd never talked to them much. I had to put 5 stars as review wouldn't post with one.
DepositAccounts lists a 14 month CD from Ally.
However, I found that I went to the Ally website it is not listed among the offered CDs.
One has to initiate the CD opening process and when you get to the point of selecting the Cd term you want, the 14 month Cd is listed there.
Ally redeemed my CDs slowly and inefficiently, and then would not correct a problem quickly. We had two CDs that expired, and they sent the redemption checks by mail. Unfortunately, they did not mail the checks for a few days, and one got lost in the mail. I wanted the lost check replaced quickly, but they require a long period before we can even request a replacement check. (I also wanted them to repay the lost interest because of their slow mailing of the redemption as a matter of principal, a whopping amount of less than $25.)
I buy a lot of CDs with a 12-month ladder, and Ally is now off my list of institutions to consider.
Ally is now providing free Webroot anti-virus software for its customers. I wasn't familiar with Webroot but the reviews are impressive. For windows, it only takes up 3.55 MB of memory. Initially, I suspected that it may be a trial offer, but it's not. I'm uncertain if the free software is subscription-based.
Easily opened 2 accounts and funded without any problems. Per CSR you can have 1 acct per person so wife & I each got one. The primary acct holder must be different on each acct and match email used to signup, but secondary holder easily added. Very pleased so far.
One can find the worst customer service at Ally Bank:
First, at the time that most organizations and banks stopped asking for social security (SS#), Ally is repeatedly asks for your social security number. I do not understand why they do not use the system that Bank of America and other institutions are using these days to identify their clients.
Second, when you call instead of being directly connected to the credit card department, you are connected to the general customer service and give your SS# and other personal info, then be transfer to that department and go through the same identification processing again with the new clerk in that department. As the bank's automated announcement requested at the beginning of my call, at the end of my conversation, I waited in order to be connected to the survey, but nothing came up.
Third, lack of efficient communication! They contacted me to remove my credit frees, without providing exact info or direction about what they exactly want. So I did remove the frees for one time use; then when I called to give them the pin number for accessing my credit report, they informed me that they couldn’t use the pin for one time access, so I had to put the time to redo the process again for 24 hour frees lift.
When I ask to talk to a manager to communicate my concern about giving my SS# to so many people, I was put on hold for 16 minutes. I finally disconnected the phone and called the general customer service, no one was available there either. The clerk said that a manager would contact me in the next 48 hours. Absolutely incredible!
I got a check from my account I closed with keybank, and I deposited it with Ally mobile banking on 1st of August, 2018, they closed the account on 2nd of August, 2018, when I asked why, they claimed the reason is "fraud"! Then I asked whoever spoke to me then if my check is still okay since you closed the account, so I can find a better and suitable bank, but she coudln't give reasonable response, so I went ahead and deposited the check with Alliant CU, and when Alliant couldn't clear it, I had to call Keybank what happened, and they said they already paid the check out to Ally bank same week I deposited with them. I've been calling them since then, and they've been dribbling me back and forth, asking me to tell keybank to contact them, and Key made it clear that they have nothing to do with it anymore, check has been paid out! I don't understand why you closed an account for alleged fraud, but you held unto the money for almost 2 months now, even murder case get solved in less time frame. Unless they never intend to give me back my money. I've requested evidence from keybank on how and when they paid Ally the check, I'm hoping there is something I can do with that to claim back my money when it hit my mail. I'm not about to let some cooperate thieves steal $4,600 from me, I'm on wheelchair for christ sake!. I'm gonna keep posting this in as many review platform that I can.
With CIT now at a stunning 2.45%, Ally needs to step up. MANY options now pay more than Ally. I'm a 10 year customer, but I'm getting discouraged.
Needing to open up an account in addition to my bank and credit union accounts, I considered the major online providers. Most don't support trust accounts. The few that do seemed to make it a somewhat difficult experience. Ally Bank was different. Even though their rate at the time was 5 or 10 basic points lower than some of the other stable online banks, I found their explanation of the process of opening up a trust account to be clear and reasonable. So I did, and I have to say it was the easiest account-opening process I have ever experienced with a financial institution.
Everything proceeded exactly as promised. Ally may not have THE highest rates but I think they're close to the top, and I give them huge kudos for supporting trust accounts. If you have enough money to be considering an online bank, you probably need to consider having a living trust, and Ally is one of the few banks that seems to acknowledge that need.
Online transfers are easy and relatively quick...not as quick as with my credit union account, but the money is there once the clock strikes midnight in the Eastern time zone (there must be some batch process involved). The set-up process for online transfers was the easiest I've ever dealt with. Not only do they make the usual trial deposits, they back them out at the same time rather than waiting a few days, thus minimizing disruption to your other accounts.
I haven't done much with the mobile app yet, and I haven't tried remote deposit capture.
I've had my account for a month, and I hope Ally continues with its great track record to this point. I think there's a reason so many DA reviews of Ally are so positive.
I'm coming up on my 1-yr anniversary with Ally. Great rates, great service, and easy to get to your money.
Transfers to and from Ally are literally overnight. Recently initiated a transfer to Ally at 5:00 pm, and the money was in my Online Savings account the next morning.
Also have a Checking account with Ally, complete with debit card and free checks. I tested it recently and was able to move money instantly from Savings to Checking, and then immediately used the debit card to withdraw funds from a Wells Fargo ATM. Smooth as silk, and Ally reimbursed the Wells Fargo fee !! Gotta love it.
Ally's customer service is the gold standard. I've always had knowledgeable courteous customer service reps who handled my requests in a prompt professional manner. I recently closed a CD and the money was in my account the next day. When Ally raises their rates, I'll gladly go back.
tl;dr Ally has been my gold standard for online banking.
Rates:
Ally does not seem to want to be a rate leader any longer. Their rates are good, mind you, but they have not been the leader for a while. They've remained near the top so they're dependable. When rates go up, you get them without any work like it should be. If you don't feel like opening multiple accounts and transferring money all over the place, you'll find a comfy home here. However, I feel they're hurting their less wealthy clients with their account tiers but they are clearly stated at least.
Web Software:
They have the best, which isn't to say it could be less "fancy" and thus better, but their self service is second to none. I can manage my CDs, open new accounts, transfer funds, set up anything in under a minute. No other bank's software comes close.
Customer Service:
I'm almost complete self service so I don't need them. In the past I can recall having good service but it has changed vastly since. I hope it varies based on the day, who you get, their mood, the moon(?), etc. but recently their representative have taken weeks to respond with insufficient answers.
Ally Bank used to be at the forefront (#1) with their rates... that is not the case currently.
I have had Ally checking and savings for a year or so. The only hiccup was identity verification, but a phone call resolved that in a matter of a few hours, and my account was activated. The interest checking has no fees, and a nice simple interface online. Billpay has not had any problems, but just make sure the phone numbers on the prefilled forms are correct. The biggest reason for choosing Ally are their card controls. Lots of people groan about it being a separate app, but seeing how many cards get hacked, it's well worth it. I can feel safe setting my limits when I don't want to use the debit card. I would like to see their card controls added to the desktop version of online banking though, so I can have an interface either on my phone or on my computer. I did order some checks and they came free as advertised in about a week. The savings account is no frills, but has outstanding rates. Ally's management are continuing to raise the rates while the brick and mortars sit at .01 percent for what seems like forever. Good job Ally!
Everything from creating the account to depositing money and the UX of the site is great.
The only problem is you can't (easily) withdraw your money.
I have been trying to close my no-penalty CDs and sent them a secure message. No response.
I called them - after verifying everything the agent made me wait 5-7 minutes and then said - "sorry looks like system is going through an update..." They said call again and a different group that is not going through a "system update" will be able to help.
I call again - again verified everything - made me wait - and behold "system is going through an update."
Can't be coincidence that the system "suddenly goes through an update" when a customer wants to withdraw the money.
Administrative barriers to make withdrawals difficult. Shady. Very shady.
Honestly I've had a fantastic experience with Ally. Whenever I've needed assistance, their customer support line is always open and available. I've called with minor questions before and the customer support I spoke with were helpful and very friendly too. When I've done transfers to and from this account, I've never had an issue with them. Usually if you do a transfer on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday you won't see it hit the account until Monday but that's perfectly predictable. Debits come out instantly and the only time I overdrew was my own stupid mistake and even then they didn't charge me a fee since it happened in one transaction. That was a huge comfort, let me tell you. All in all if you don't need to deposit cash, an online bank is the way to go in my opinion, particularly if you do a lot of online business.
Overall had a great experience with them. I had a CD with them, along with a savings/checking account that I used to fund the CD's. I was concerned that since it was an internet only bank that if I had issues they would be hard to solve, l was wrong and their customer support was excellent for when I had questions about setting up my accounts. I had a long tern CD, 2 year term and I had a short term one, 6 months. Overall I was overly pleased with how smooth everything went with the company, and although I am currently not using them anymore, I will be looking to open up another long term CD and I will mostly likely also be rolling over an IRA to them as well.
Whatever Ally is saving in having physical banking locations they seem to be passing onto its customers. I switched from Chase savings which was offering me 0.5% to Ally that offers me 1.85% interest. It takes a few days to have money deposited into the account, but it's worth the wait.
My experience with Ally bank has been pretty much wonderful.
For example, in regards to their customer service, I've had to contact them a few times over the past few years about disputing transactions (none of which were their fault). Everytime I've had to call them, they've had someone fluent in English there to support me. Furthermore, the calls were quick and easy, with no wait time. On the one occasion I used their website chat feature, they were equally quick and fluent in English. Their website is modern and simple, as is their mobile app. Everything is laid out clearly and there's no fluff. They pay most of my ATM fees for me.
If I did have to complain about something, it would be the lack of support for depositing cash. Withdrawing is fine, but they have no support whatsoever for depositing pure cash. Not a big deal for me, as I use the Internet for pretty much everything and my income is deposited directly in my account.
I've been a customer of Ally since 2011 and I have found them to be stellar in every regard. It's actually quite difficult to be charged fees, especially if you maintain your accounts diligently like I do. What I like about Ally is that they have US based customer service and it's easy to reach them via chat.. They are always constantly improving their online banking website and their smartphone apps - in fact, their most recent updates have made it super easy for me to track account balances. In cases where I have had issues with the bank itself, their customer service will make it right. However, my one negative with Ally is that their bill pay system can be frustrating to use as sometimes bill pay paper checks take a while to be mailed (especially official checks) and setting up eBills can be a bit of a pain as sometimes it gets caught between the biller's system and Ally's system.
Ally Bank has become one of best decisions that I have made. I needed an online bank that would fit my various needs. I wanted to have a debit card that would allow me to access my funds as any needs came up. I also wanted to be able to deposit checks online (with Ally I take a picture of the front and the back of the check). What makes Ally so good is that it is all electronic - I even have a checking account that earns interest - no hidden fees or annual fees, plus I don't have to keep a certain balance. I even have the ability to take out cash in a pinch too. Though, I have not used some of Ally Bank's other offerings, it is nice to know there are savigns accounts and even mutAul fund accounts too. One other option that I have used is their check writing option. I recently went to join Planet Fitness and they required a checking account. -so even in this situation I was covered.
I used this account for savings. When I got it, I wanted something that I wouldn't be able to get money from immediately so I wouldn't be tempted to spend the money unless it was something that I needed. This account also had higher interest rates than others I looked at and was perfect for my needs.
I've found that Ally is the best bank for opening a savings account or a CD account. Their rates are the best I can find, much better than retail bank establishments. When I opened my savings account they offered a rate of 1% APY, while other banks were offering .05%. They raise their savings rates to align more or less with how the FED raises rates, most retail banks don't do that. As of 04/18, the rate on my savings account is 1.45%. I can't really comment on their customer service, since I've never had to contact customer service, but as a customer of 5+ years, that is a testament unto itself.
I bank with Ally for my savings account. I am finishing my PhD. this year and wanted to save money to move, buy a house, and pay bills for about two months. I am very happy with Ally. They have the highest available interest rate for a savings account. It is very easy to transfer money into the bank account. It is also easy to deposit checks via an app. The only think that would be nice is if I could deposit cash. I have to put into my checking account and then transfer the money to my Ally account.
Ally's checking and savings accounts have been, since I became a customer several years ago, the best of any institution I've banked with, online or otherwise. The checking account is interest bearing and while that alone is not going to grow your money significantly, it is a nice feature. The savings account interest rates are some of the highest in the US right now. The customer service is outstanding. I have had multiple attempts to fraudulently use my card and each time Ally is right on top of it. Customer service called me out of the blue one morning to make sure I wasn't trying to use my debit card in China right then. When it became apparent that the attempted charges were fraudulent, the CS rep declined the transaction and went over all of the recent purchase history for that card making sure I recognized all the charges. There was on other recent charge that wasn't me and it was immediately wiped off and the account was suspended while they issued me a new card. It was handled in the most professional way possible and I hung up the phone feeling incredibly satisfied.
The mobile app and website for Ally make doing really anything banking related a snap. Checks up to $50,000 can be deposited from your smartphone. How cool is that?
All in all, I can't imagine a scenario where I would go back to banking with a brick and mortar institution. Ally is too far ahead of the game.
Ally Bank is great place to keep your money in one place. I use it for a online only savings where I send some of my paycheck too. Sometimes it is better to have a bank up area for money in case of emergency's so Ally is my place. I am able to leave the money there and not worry about any type of monthly fees chewing at it, and ever better when they raise the APY for the account itself every few months so am able to gain a few extra pennies with it too. When I need to take money out and send to other accounts I am able without fees and takes a quick amount of time. Ally is great place for no fees and taking care of your money simply.
I initially opened an Ally money market account as a result of a promotion which offered a cash bonus for new accounts. I opened the account online by transferring a deposit from an account I have with a local bank. The transfer was seamless and quickly processed. The account pays an interest rate that is among the best rates available based on what I have seen on bank rating sites. I quickly received an ATM card that I am able to use anywhere. I also received a supply of checks. I have had several occasions since opening the account to contact customer service, and have had completely positive experiences both online and speaking directly with a representative on the phone. It has now been over five years since opening my account and I continue to be totally satisfied with my experience.
I have had a very positive experience banking with Ally. I was very nervous at first because they are not a brick and mortar bank. I do all of my banking through their app or website. We have checking and savings accounts with them. When i opened 2 savings accounts for my kids I was able to do it all online. When i had a question what the requirements for a custodial accounts were the online representative was very helpful. They answered my questions of if both parents could be on the account or just one had to be. The wait time was under 3 minutes when I called to ask my questions. They then sent me the paperwork that needed to be signed and returned to them. Their bank rates for checking and savings is far best around. The local banks could not hold a candle to the 1.25 percent interest rate Ally was offering. And you did not have to have a high balance to earn that rate. It's very easy to make deposits into the accounts as well. I can either deposit checks with my phone or I can send them in the mail. I prefer though their app. I just take a picture of the check and type in the required information and it gets deposited. I have never had a problems with deposits not going through. I get a statement in the mail every quarter from them and it's easy to read. It's very easy to transfer money between accounts. It's labeled from and then to. Money gets transferred in a timely matter.
I found ally.com after searching for a place to put my CD and also start a IRA. They had good rates and that's ultimately why I switched to them. in the past I have accidently forgotten my password and I have had no issue with costumer service to help me try and recover it.
Due to a time where I was moving a lot, I was looking for a bank that would meet my needs and still service my banking no matter where I went. I opened a checking and savings account and used it along side my local establishment for approximately three months until I determined that it would be suitable while I was away. Overall, I had no problems and the customer service was very helpful. I did have one experience where my account numbers were compromised but the customer service rectified the problem very swiftly. I still have my account open and use it as a secondary service but now that I have returned home to stay, I much prefer a bank that I can walk into and speak to someone face to face whenever I need to.
I have been using Ally Bank for about 4 or 5 years now. I have had only positive experiences with them so far. I have not ever been charged a fee for their savings or checking accounts. I have an ATM card associated with the checking account and I can use this card at any ATM without having to worry about any fees. Fees charged by the bank or the ATM owner are reimbursed by Ally Bank. I also can order free checks from Ally as often as I would like. I can and have opened multiple savings accounts and give each of them a separate name. This is very useful for creating "Buckets." I can transfer money to/from Ally for free, with a few days time. It is very easy to link to another bank account and they also have easy direct deposit from my work.
My wife and I have been using Ally for about 4 years. We have a pretty great experience with them. The savings/checking account interest rates have been better than most places throughout that time. During this time we have not had any issues with fraudulent charges or any other issues with our account. The only issue we have had is cashing checks for my wife's business into the account. As the checks are not payable to her name, but to her business instead, Ally will not accept the funds, which is understandable.
We have also had issues with depositing cash into the account. We sold a car for cash, and were unable to deposit all the cash into the account at once. We have since opened an account with a local bank for such instances.
I use the checking deposit scanner on my phone several times a month. About a year ago the application updated to automatically take a picture of the check when it is in focus and that has worked extremely well.
I had set up a savings account with Ally so that my wife and I could save for summer, since we both work for schools and have decreased income during this time. Setting up the account was straight forward and didn't take much time to set up (maybe 15 minutes). I then set up an automatic withdrawal from my regular bank account from my local bank branch. This was also quick to set up, but took a day to finalize in order for them to make the random deposits that I needed to verify. Since then the deposits have been made automatically with perfect reliability. Twice since I opened the account with Ally they have increased the interest rates without my asking. I have had zero problems with my Ally account. I primarily access it via the mobile app on my phone, which is very intuitive and has all the important information right where you would expect to find it. There is no time wasted looking for something. I would recommend Ally to anyone.
Ally bank offers the best interest rate we could find on our savings accounts. They also offer checking accounts with all the "extras" like a debit card, free checks whenever you request them, and they refund fees charged by any ATM (up to a certain limit per month, but that's never been a problem for us). It offers the convenience of mobile check deposit and then you can use any ATM to withdraw cash when you need it! We have rarely had a need to contact customer service since you can do almost everything from the website, but when needed we got quick, helpful responses from the online chat feature. We have moved several times and we could keep our bank since Ally is internet-based. When we have needed to transfer funds from Ally to another (local) bank, it does take several days, but that is pretty normal and it has always gone smoothly.
I've used Ally as a bank for several years, and have loved every aspect of it. They reimburse fees incurred at any ATM, have interest bearing checking accounts with no minimum, and even raise the interest rate on your savings account when their rates go up - without you having to ask first! Customer service is great, too - there is always someone readily available by phone, or you can email, if you prefer. The website and app are both really easy to use (love that photo deposit feature!), and designed so that you can see your "total value" of all accounts, like savings, checking, and CDs, and then also breaks down that information for individual accounts. I highly recommend taking advantage of this super easy and competitive bank!
I have been banking with Ally bank for about 3 years strictly as an additional savings account. They have been awesome. I like that they pay their customers interest each month depending on how much is kept in their savings account. Recently they have started next business day bank transfers where I can make transfers to any of my connected bank accounts within one business day for free. This has been heaven sent for me for times where I needed a quick transaction or needed to try to avoid overdraft fees in any of my other bank accounts. I have not had to have much contact with customer service, but the times I did need to reach out, they were very helpful in helping me find the forms I needed to make necessary changes. Dealing with them has been one of the easiest banking experiences and I wish other larger banks would follow suit. I can make up to 6 transactions each month before I am charged $10 per transaction which is fair and still a low amount to charge for a banking transaction. I would recommend them to anyone as they have been my favorite thus far as well as my first online bank that I have used.
Have a trust and a personal account. Ally is unable to separate the two and in turn, they are jumbled together. Tried and tried again to alleviate this confusing situation to no avail. Their solution was to cash in the cd's and take the penalty and establish another account (Done to begin with). Sent letter to one of the presidents and she just turned it over to a very low (But nice) level employee who could do nothing.
Obvious they don't care.
I've had a great experience using this online banks. They provided free checks, no minimum balance, no transfer fees, investing brokerage with low fees, and debit cards that include ATM fee reimbursement. The only problem not having branches is that if you need a more secure form of payment like a bank note it is difficult. But the interest rate is very high.
Before deciding on an online bank, we did quite a bit of research on institutions that came highly recommended. We decided to go with Ally Bank for a few reasons. First, there interest rate was a bit higher than other places. They had a savings account with a daily compound interest rate of 1.45%. The mobile app is wonderful and has worked perfect every time. I read some reviews of online institutions having terrible costumer service and difficulty with the mobile app working but this is not the case with Ally. Another reason we chose Ally bank is the ability of transferring funds between this savings account and other accounts that are not with Ally. Our transfers have not taken longer than 2 days. All and all, we do enjoy banking with Ally online and plan on opening a few more accounts in the near future.
I started using Ally Bank because my friends and family recommended the bank to me. They had mentioned the higher interest rates and the great customer service. Sign-up was swift and easy -- it took only a few minutes to create a savings account. My expectations were certainly met. Their customer service is always accessible and the interest rate is competitive. There are no additional fees, which many other institutions impose. Recently, I needed a cashier's check. I called Ally and they sent one to me within several days free of cost. The mobile app is also solidly-built for both iOS and Android. I would highly recommend Ally Bank for anyone looking for a checking account and/or savings account. If my primary checking account with Chase weren't so convenient in my area, then I would have no problem using Ally Bank solely for my banking purposes. A great product and service all around.
For several years I have used Ally bank specifically for my savings account. In the beginning I was hesitant as everything is done "online only" and there were not many people who I knew who had banked in this manner before. I decided to take a chance as they had a lot of positive reviews and I knew that if the experience was poor, I could always just remove my funds. Thankfully, my experience with them has always been amazing. I would even say its been much better than some of the banks that have brick and mortar locations. They are extremely quick to respond to inquiries and you also have the option of removing funds from an ATM if needed. All communication is prompt and helpful. I will continue to use them in the future. I will admit, it does take a little getting used to only doing your business online, but after the initial learning curve, it is well worth the exemplary customer service.
I was looking for free online bank which allowed me a debit card and ease of access entirely online and Ally Bank truly fits my needs. The account was simple to set up in a matter of minutes. Although I don't take advantage of their other products, I can tell you the customer service for the free online checking was superb. I called to have some checks sent out and to ask about interest rates and the representative that I spoke to was both friendly and knowledgeable. I can't say enough about how good this online bank is, have I mentioned that the account is entirely free with no hidden fees? Seriously, I have had this account for 6 months now and use it daily for deposits and withdraws with my debit card. This online bank is highly recommended. The only wish I had for the account might be a higher interest rate on the checking account but again the account is free after all.
I recently opened a high yield online savings account with Ally Bank. I had been looking for a savings account which paid a (relatively speaking for today) high interest rate. Ally had one of the highest I found. Customer service was very helpful setting up the account. I access my account online and through their mobile app. The mobile app makes it very convenient to deposit money into my account. I would highly recommend Ally to anyone looking for an online bank account.
I opened an Ally checking account so I could put money away fro emergencies. I wanted a bank account that would be outside of my normal bank, so it would be 'out of sight, out of mind'. It only took a few minutes of work to apply for the account, and about a day to get all the verification and whatnot completed. It took a few minutes to set up an automatic withdrawal from my main checking account. The app is intuitive and gives me the info I want quick. Shortly after setting up the account, I received a notification that my interest rate increased, which was nice.
I was leary about using an online bank. I wondered if my information would be secure and it seemed strange to bank with a company where I couldn't walk into a branch and talk to someone. I took a chance on Ally bank because I wanted a place to save money where my husband couldn't get to it. So, I signed up for a money market account. I am so glad I did! Their interest rates are better than anything else I found offered. The website is easy to use and understand and it walks you through each step of depositing money. With their money market accounts, you can spend the money as often as you want without being penalized and the account comes with a debit card which is convenient and gave me peace of mind. The money is readily available to me if I have an emergency and need to use it. Overall, I have been very happy with the service and I'm glad I opened the account. I plan to stay with Ally for a long time to come!
I have been banking with Ally Bank for approximately 5 years. I have both savings accounts and a checking account with them. Ally Bank has always had some of the best interest rates on deposits in the industry and they are currently offering 1.45% on their savings account. One thing that I really like about Ally is the ability to open multiple savings accounts with them. I currently have 6 savings accounts and one checking account. This is useful because I can name these accounts and earmark these funds for various goals in my life. The checking account is another very nice offering from Ally. This account comes with free checks, all you have to do is order online and they deliver to you free of charge. The checking account also comes with a debit card. The great thing about this debit card is the fee to use and ATM. Ally Bank does not own or maintain their own ATM machines. However, you can use the card at any ATM machine. Ally Bank will reimburse any fees charged by the owner of the ATM up to a certain amount per month. This is a huge savings in an industry that typically nickel and dimes you to death.
I started an online savings account with this bank after shopping around a bit because I wasn't happy with the interest rates that my regular bank (used for checking and savings) was offering-- their interest rates are less than 1%. I found this after searching and was satisfied that they are FDIC insured and their interest rates (when I opened the account) were at 1.25% no matter what amount the customer had in the account. The sign up process was very easy, and I started the account with just $50, because I had concerns that it was an online only bank. In the six months since I opened the account, the interest rate has gone up twice; the first time to 1.35%, and now currently it is at 1.45%. I have deposited more into the account as I have become more comfortable with the idea of an online only bank. I have not had to contact customer service so far, as I have had no issues. Statements are timely and I receive an email each time a statement is released. Any time I request a transfer of funds, I also receive an email notifying me of the transfer (when it scheduled, when it should be transferred, and when the transfer is complete). The mobile application is also easy to use to check on the account. Because it is a savings-only account, I am limited to how many transactions I can make each month from the account (but there are unlimited transfers to the account). I find that it is well worth it to have CD rates but without the obligation to have my money locked into an account for a specified time period.
Ally Bank is an amazing online bank that I've been banking with for a few years now. With regards to their deposit accounts, I currently have a checking and savings account through Ally. I have had nothing but good experiences with this bank. I find their online deposit accounts are very easy to use. The website and mobile apps are very user friendly and easy to navigate. I had a question related to my checking account one day and called the bank and was given very quick advice from their customer support representative. The person I spoke to was very polite and willing to help me out. I think customer service goes a long way when it comes to customer satisfaction. I have highly recommended this bank to my family and friends and will continue to share the great experiences I have had with them.
As someone who has become disillusioned by my regular brick and mortar bank, I decided to open my new savings account with Ally Bank. I have had nothing but a great experience with them! When I initiate a transfer from my checking account to my savings, they tell me exactly when the money will be taken out of my checking and when it will be deposited in my savings account. I am aware how many withdrawals I am allowed to make from my savings per month and how long it would take to transfer money back to my checking account. I love that the banking is done completely online and NOT linked to my checking account for quick withdrawal, as this usually means less saving on my part. Overall, I would give this bank five stars!
I've had an online savings account with Ally for a little over 5 years now. Their website is easy to use and I've never experienced an outage when I wanted to do something. Transfers used to take 3 business days to process, but now they typically take one (as long as you submit the transfer request early enough in the day!) Rates are generally competitive - however, they do tend to take longer to raise their rate compared to other online banks. Even if other banks pay slightly higher rates, I'm happy and have no plans to move my money elsewhere. I've also been confident enough with Ally to refer their online savings account to family members, and they have been equally as happy with their accounts.
Pretty much all banks are the same if they are backed by FDIC, but what makes this bank stand out above all others is that they have the highest savings interest rate that I could find. When other banks were only offering about 0.5% this bank had a 1% interest rate for savings accounts. Currently their interest rate just went up from 1.35 to 1.45%. I have a few different savings accounts and with about the same amount I was getting pennies in my other account, but with this bank I was getting dollars in interest. Also the wait time to get a hold of someone from customer service is always available. The longest that I have seen the wait time was 10 minutes. Typically it is a 1 or 2 minute wait. I think what helps them to be able to offer these services is the fact that they don't have any physical branches around the country so their overhead costs are much lower than the traditional banks.
I have been using Ally Bank for over a year. I chose Ally bank because a friend of mine told me about the bank. At the time I was looking for a bank to handle my commission payments so I would not commingle my monies with my family money. I wanted a bank that I can easily view from my mobile platform and a way to get to cash that would be very easy than a traditional bank. I looked at a few different on-line banks however I felt that Ally met me needs. Their customer service is also very good. They answer all of my questions and they are always available. Since I am self employed they have various products that I am interested in such as a SEP IRA and they also have a way to make investments. Another benefit that they have is the ability to pay bills seamlessly on line. I can manage my accounts, pay bills, set up payment options and send money to my wife or to my family account very easily. I have been very happy with Ally and I would recommend them to my friends and family.
So I bank with Ally and hold a savings account as well as a checking account. I like that they offer no fees. Places like Chase gouge me with fees and I decided it was time to change who I bank with. I also like that they have high interest rates. If I am keeping my money in a bank I expect competitive interest rates which again the major banking corporations were not giving me. I appreciate that although ally does not have a physical location they were able to offer me good customer support via phone and online. It would be nice to be able to go to a physical Location to drop off checks, speak to a real person, or to withdraw money, but I was willing to give all of that up for ally. I feel that when I bank with Ally they aren't trying to Scam me or rip me off but that they actually want their customers to be happy. This is why I bank with ally and I have absolutely no regrets. I would recommend ally wholeheartedly with no reservations whatsoever.
My wife and I use Ally's online savings account for our emergency fund because of their competitive interest rates (currently at 1.45% APY and no fees, which we love). It was easy to sign up and create an account. I did hit a snag along the way regarding our mailing address, which brought me into contact with Ally's customer service for the first time. As far as quality goes, it was outstanding. Every representative I talked to was polite, professional, and helpful. However, the wait time to speak with a real person was sometimes long (10-20 minutes), so I'd rate their customer service 4/5. Another thing we love is Ally's commitment to a useable app and web site -- both are sleek and easy to use. Overall, I highly recommend them for an online-only bank.
I have had an checking account at Ally for about a year now, and have had no problems. The web interface is very straight-forward and user friendly. I like the layout- there is no need to search for things like in some banks. One specific thing is the account/routing numbers. On most websites, you really have to search for these, and sometimes go somewhere else to look up routing numbers. On Ally, the account number and routing number are right at the top of the page- the account number is hidden, but can easily be revealed. I like this feature because it makes it easier to link this to other accounts. Most of the other features (transactions, debit card stuff, etc) are pretty standard. One other thing that sticks out is support- info is right at the top of the page. Again, most banks, you really have to search for this. Another feature is Ally's mobile app. Everything you need is at your finger tips, when you need it.
I opened an Ally Bank online account about 4 years ago. It's very easy to open and keep track of your finances all online. You can easily deposit money or transfer money into your account. I only transferred money from an existing account at another bank. Transfers either way usually took about 1-2 days to complete.
I have banked with Ally Bank for over five years now, and have not had a problem with them yet. They do not charge any fees for basic checking and savings, and they pay a decent interest rate. They even show how much interest you earned for every month right at the top of your account page. The website is easy to use, and you can manage your account, and handle transactions right from there. The mobile app is very useful as well, and you can easily do the same things from the app as you can with the website. The customer service is very good as well. You can contact them on the internet or by phone. I have only had to contact the customer service one time by phone, and when I did I was happy with the excellent customer service. They actually took care of my problem in a matter of minutes. Overall, I am very happy with Ally Bank, and have no plans of changing banks anytime soon.
I've been a member of Ally Bank for almost two years. I started with a couple hundred dollars just to see and test the waters. I am a happy camper! I've gradually added more money and think of it almost as a retirement account. The savings account interest rate is beyond what I would have thought. It has gone up at least three times since I've been a member. I get timely emails on offers, news about interest rates and other products that they have and have nothing put good interaction. While I have never had to speak to a customer service representative, I can't imagine their customer service would be too bad. I haven't used their mobile app, but they did have a promotion during Super Bowl that almost made me download it. Their website has always been up and running fast when I've logged in. Rates and balances are always posted on time. I would definitely recommend this bank.
We like using Ally for our savings account. They have a slightly higher interest rate than brick and mortar banks and their option to chat online with customer service reps or call is great. I've never had to wait more than a minute to talk with anyone. We used to have a checking account with them and I liked it a lot except for one crucial detail and that was that it was a pain in the butt to cash/deposit checks written from another country. You can't deposit checks written from Canada for instance via their app so we decided to go with a local bank for our checking account and keep the savings account with Ally.
I signed up for their savings account in July of 2017, and the APY has jumped from 1.20 to 1.45%! You guys, that's free money! It helps me feel better about my savings goals, and I'm actually excited to deposit into my account now. If you need to transfer money from your savings to a non-Ally bank account, it does take a few days, which is nice in a way because it helps me stay more disciplined about saving.
Why I didn't give them a perfect rating:My fiance and I recently tried to open a joint checking account with them, but got denied because my credit score sucks, and he doesn't have a credit score. It would have been nice to know that was going to be a big deal.
The Ally mobile app and website make it possible to do all your day-to-day banking remotely, including depositing checks. I used to have Chase, but I moved to a location with no Chase branches, and I planned to get a new in-person bank. But I've found that I don't need to visit a branch to do any of the things I need because the Ally app and website are so comprehensive. My housemate and I can pay each other for bills and groceries with no problem on the website, which is very helpful.
Ally Bank is great! I started off by opening a savings account and was blown away by their interest rates. After that first account, I opened a second savings account followed by a Roth IRA and a CD all through Ally Bank. I have been incredibly pleased with their easy to use website and their very high interest rates on all the accounts I hold there. I have only once had to have contact with one of the representatives on Ally bank's website and they were very helpful, friendly, and accurately resolved my issue. I have automatic deposits set up and their options are very easy. They offer weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and more options to electronically deposit money into your savings accounts. I would recommend Ally bank to anyone who likes to watch their account grow.
My husband and I recently decided that we wanted another bank account to manage our money a little better. So we did a little research and found out great things about Ally. We opened both a checking account and a savings account with them and have had nothing but great experiences. The online banking website is user friendly and visually appealing. The customer service is always great. I've talked to them over the phone and through online chat. It has made it so much better for us to manage our money. This has become our bill account. All money goes into here to automatically pay bills so we know they are going out of time. The interest rate in the savings account is great too! We love the 24/7 banking option and that even though it's an online bank, it's easy to deposit checks through their online app and use one of their approved ATMS in the area to withdraw money. Love this bank!
I am currently banking with Ally. I was looking for a free checking account and was pleasantly surprised to find out they exist. I had a little trouble with my application I filled out online and called the customer service line. I had the sweetest lady help me through the process. She was really easy to talk to and extremely helpful. It was like talking to an old friend. She was able to process my application the same day and get my account up and running. I have been pleased with the service so far with the exception of how long it takes for deposits to process. That is where the free checking comes into play. You get what you pay for.
I bank with Ally online banking. I love it. No branches means that my interest is higher than traditional banks. My savings account interest was so much last year that I actually had to file it on my taxes. One complaint I have though, is that any and all issues must be dealt with over the phone and sometimes there is a wait to speak with someone, up to 20 minutes. Last summer I was in Europe, and my debit card was flagged because I forgot to notify my bank. The 24/7 help line was useful since I didn't have to account for the time difference and I was able to use my card and withdraw euros from the atm. I would highly recommend to anyone.
I have been banking with a savings account at Ally bank for about 4 years. I absolutely love it! The interest rate for return has been increasing over the years. What started out as 1% has gone up to 1.49% as of recently. They are reasonable, offer great rates for banking and for home financing. If I did not already go with a preferred lender, I would've definitely gone with them. They have great customer service. I absolutely love that I can transfer money from my savings account to other accounts at other banks and it arrives in 1 business day with no fee! That is my absolute favorite feature with this online bank. I was skeptical at first, but I have referred them to many of my friends who bank there as well now.
I have a online savings account with Ally. I have been doing my online banking with them for 3 months now. The number one reason I moved my funds to be with them is their competitive interest rates. They are always keeping their interest rates near the top of the market. When a competitor raises their rates they raise theirs within days. My interaction with the service representatives has been limited. This is primarily because their online sign up and deposit is so easy. I will continue to use their products for the foreseeable future.
My experience with Ally bank has been an overall positive one. The website is very easy to use. Transferring money to and from other institutions is a breeze. Their products are competitive, often offering the highest interest rate for a CD or savings account.
It's not perfect. Takes 2 to 3 days to move money to and from Ally bank. Opening an IRA involves printing and document and mailing it to them. Their website has been down for maintenance a bit too often for me.
Overall, a very good online only bank. Ally Bank is good.
Setting up an account was straight forward and easy, I did it all online. The savings account rates are extremely competitive. The user interface is easy to use and navigate. Having looked at their other products, they offer very competitive CD rates and seem to offer a variety of different products. I have not reached out to the company through their phone line at this time so I cannot comment on that aspect of the bank. I have also heard positive reviews from other who bank with them and have recommended them to some of my friends as well. Despite having all of the information online, they also mail out statements which I thought was nice and helpful. Transfers are simple and no fees are charged, at least not on any of the transfers I have done. Overall I have nothing negative to say about the bank.
I opened my ira Roth with them (they were shutting down the program I was originally with),anyway, wish I never did. Turns out they don't accept deposits through my employer,or my bank (I have to physically mail in a form). The only thing I can do is pay for a wire transfer from my bank to them. Needless to say, I haven't deposited any money into my Roth acct. Looking for someone else as we speak.
i was (still am but soon to be $1 just to maintain a way to reenter if they get their heads out of their anal aperatures) -- a customer with CapOne since they were ING, when they were so fabulous no one could compare. i have recently discovered to my dismay that apparently the CEO is taking CapOne down the toilet. i mean who else to blame?
i started searching and came up with Ally. I am thrilled that i actually have a place to park dry powder where someone will talk to you on the phone and chat on the internet within minutes if not seconds. i also told them they have me as long as they keep me happy. the minute they start screwing up it will be the road traveled by CapOne.
I love Ally's checking account. I typically get my paycheck a day before I would otherwise, they have no fees for checking with direct deposit. They waive all ATM fees for online accounts, even though I still have to pay the specific ATM fee. I also like their overdraft service. I had a situation where I had an overdraft and I had three transactions that overdrew the account. Their policy is to waive the first one, but when I called in and talked to a customer service representative, she waived all three fees from that day because she said it was all on the same day. I also like that they now linked my savings account up to my checking account so it will draw from there automatically if I over have an overdraft again. Their website is easy to use as well as mobile banking. I love being able to deposit checks using my phone, it is so much faster.
I have used Ally Bank for 3 years now. I have never had any issues. I started using it when they were offering a much higher interest rate on their savings account than any other bank especially since the market was down. They were almost 1% higher than any other bank that I could find. I have rarely had a reason to contact their customer service but I had one issue where my money was not deposited correctly. This caused my account to be negative and a few transactions to come back as insufficient funds. When I called them, they looked at my account. As soon as the agent pulled up my account, she apologized, said she knew what the problem was and stated that it would be rectified in a few minutes. By the time the call had ended, she had refunded me all the fees, made sure that my deposit was applied correctly and given me an extra $50 in my account as a goodwill for their mistake. I have never had customer service like this so I wasn't quite sure if it was real. They also decided to waive my fees for 3 months for Ally Invest so I was able to make any stock trades for free as well.
I have a savings account with Ally Bank. I chose it because when I was looking up CDs and savings accounts they had the highest interest rates I could find. It feels a little weird not to have any physical place to be able to go to-no ATMS. The downside I think is that when you need to withdraw money you have to schedule it. You don't get it instantly. To my surprise it doesn't work like PayPal. They put up a calendar and you choose a date at a minimum a couple of days in the future for them to transfer it to your other bank account. I really dislike this, but I'm staying for the interest rates.
I've been a long time customer at Ally, but recently ran into this seemingly crazy conundrum: I wanted to park a sizeable amount of IRA funds in their 3 month CD, because the yield is the rate leader. But the process of opening and funding the account might take 4-6 weeks, and the same time span was quoted for their process on moving that money somewhere else at the end of the term. This came straight from a woman in their IRA dept. Why the delays? Because you can open an account online, but then they'll send you a 'welcome package' you have to fill out and return, have them process it, then transfer funds (ACH is not acceptable), etc. etc. Upon questioning, I found I *could* shorten the process by downloading forms and uploading them via email, which seemed more like 'normal business' to me. But the IRA rep I spoke with absolutely would not give me even a ballpark figure of how much doing things over the web might shorten the in process and out process for funds. 4-6 weeks to set up a 3 month CD? That's crazy! Furthermore, perhaps this is a sign that Ally doesn't have the personnel to do business on reasonable, normal timelines - their 'on hold' phone wait time for a rep seems to average about 20 minutes these days - much higher than it used to be. (Please either tell me what I'm missing here, or alternately, which of the 3 stooges thought up this bank policy?)
Ally Bank is great - especially when it comes to interest fees... at least when compared to my brick and mortar bank. I have a Bank of America account that gives me a few cents of interest each year on my Money Market Account with them. Compared to Ally, this is (literally) pocket change. Ally gives me (at last check) about 1.3% on my savings account which equals out to more than $100 each year! What a difference. Whenever I call them to ask a question, their agents are quick, efficient, and friendly.
In the day and age of no store fronts, Ally bank certainly provides you with the best rates possible compared to your traditional banks such as Bank of America or Chase. You don't have the ability to go to a bank if you need to talk to someone, but talking to someone over the phone or in chat is quick and easy. In return for a spartan setup, you are rewarded with one of the highest rates of return in your savings account. 1.25% on a savings account compared to say 0.03 % for Bank of America. You have access to many ATMs and you are returned any fees that have been charged for withdrawing money. The mobile app is easy to use and without any bugs, at least for me. I have never had any issues with transfers for deposits via the mobile app. In short, make sure to give it a shot, it doesn't hurt and you'll be earning more back from you hard earned money.
Ally has truly free checking. They even give you back all fees that were charged from any ATM. The checking is an interest-based checking with no minimum balance required. The money market again has no minimum required and has a great interest rate. It does however have a limited amount of withdrawals you can make per month without a charge. As for the customer service, you can call or chat. Calling is 24 hours a day. The few times I have had to contact them was due to forgetting my online account name and or password. They are always very quick to help and are never rude. Being an online bank, you need to have another bank in your area that you can actually go to if you have paper checks. When i do this the money transfer to ally is always quick.
I was looking for a savings account, and I considered going with the typical big banks. After awhile, I realized that I might as well take advantage of the opportunities I had online. Ally was able to provide me with decent rates, and I figured I should go ahead with them. It cut off any time I needed for me to go to an actual bank, and I handled everything online at my convenience. I had been so used to going to a typical bank, that at first I was actually rather skeptical. However, with Ally that went away instantly. I was able to even have the chance to have a card in my name should I have wanted to open a checkings account. Everything about it was incredibly legit.
Ally Bank is a great online bank to be in. They don't charge any ATM fees. This is helpful when traveling and need quick cash from any ATM. I could just go to Las Vegas and not worry about any fees from the ATM when I need money. The website looks a old and not as user friendly as others, but they make up for it in their competitive products. Ally offers a great annual percentage rate. The customer service is great too. I can call and get a hold of a representative pretty quickly. I had to check my balance and if a transfer went through late at night and I was able to get a hold of somebody to help me. I don't have to hold or wait a long time like other institutions. Overall, I would rate this online bank as near the top of the list.
I signed up for Ally banking a few years ago because I needed a savings account. I wanted to get a higher interest rate than the traditional banks so I went with Ally. I believe they can offer a higher interest rate because they are exclusively an online bank. It also was an attractive choice for a savings account because there were no annual fees and no minimum balance needed to held into the account. I signed up and made a small required deposit, I believe it was something like $25. I liked the simplicity of the online banking website they offer. It's very easy to understand and use right away without confusion. All of my transfers went through smoothly and the interest added up right away. One of the things I didn't like about this way of banking was that there was no access to an ATM to withdraw cash. They do not send you a ATM card. So it's good if you want to save and don't need immediate access.
Ally is the first online bank that I have used. At first I was a little skeptical because having some of money in an online bank is a different idea for banking. What I like about Ally is that there is no monthly fees or minimal balance needed to not be charged a fee. Also, with not having ATM fee's that is plus, since there would be no ally specific ATM's to withdraw money from. I also like that there is an free option to send money to other bank's using Pop money service. Most of the interaction I have had with customer service, has been pretty seamless. I did choose to talk to a customer service agent through the chat service. I have not had any issues with the website itself, and it has always been up when I needed to access my account. I did experience having to wait about 10 minutes in order to speak to a customer service agent. In regards to the debit card, I got the card quickly and have not problems using it at stores. I am happy with this bank and would suggest it to others if they feel they want to leave the standard bank and make it a fully online experience.
I have been using Ally Bank for about three years now. They were easy to apply and sign up for. They have no fees for your basic banking functions. You get free checks. You can make deposits several different ways including with your phone, computer or by mailing it in. You get refunds on up to $10.00 a month on any ATM fees. Money transfers are free and easy to use from the website or from the phone app. Also, mobile banking with the phone app works great. You get decent interest rates on your savings and even on your checking accounts. The security has never failed me either, I have had to call in to reactivate my ATM card once or twice, but better to have to do this when they think something is suspicious. Its better to be safe than sorry. Over all I have had a great experience with Ally Bank.
I have been very happy with my accounts at Ally. Their website and app are very clean and easy to use. I can easily transfer money between my accounts instantly. I also like that the app allows me to photograph my checks for deposit, saving me a trip to an ATM. The rates are very completive, and whenever I've had to contact customer service they were very helpful.
Very long time on the phone. Irresponsible promises. Transfers that do not go through. That is my horrible experience with Ally Bank.
This bank has incredibly long time to get somewhere on the phone when this bank has promotional rates or holidays.
Two weeks ago I waited 40 minutes and lately 30 minutes.
Online Account opening screens seem nice, but if you by mistake press back button -- you are in trouble.
I specified electronic transfer from external bank when I was trying to open CD, but was not sure if confirmation was done properly.
I received e-mail that CD account was opened, but when I tried to log into my online account I've got message that account is disabled.
I called and was told that next Monday I will receive a call from their fraud prevention center to unlock my account.
Nobody called me on Monday. Only Tuesday after short phone conversation they enabled my account, but I already used another bank.
Week later they called me asking if I'd like to fund my CD. This time I was told that they will honor the rate that I had when opened CD, though more than 10 days and promotional rate on the 1 year CD dropped.
I set up funds transfer on the phone. 6 days later I found out that transfer was not executed.
When I called they could not find a record of transfer request. When I specified name and phone number of the person that responsible for the transfer I was told that they do not register calls and requests that go through their back office. And it appears that call was made by their back office employee.
It appears that transfer was not executed, and there was no record of it.
Also customer service told me that I can do the transfer right away, but they will only give me current rate which was less then couple week ago when I opened the CD.
This all situation is outrages!
Ally gets very poor scores for customer service. I tried to reach a person two times, and waited 40 minutes the first time and 30 minutes the second time. They ran me through the wringer with ID requirements to open the account, asking that I send a copy of a DL (driver's license) and utility bill. I did this, but the bank refused to honor my mailing address (which is on my DL). After all this, they would not let me open my account with an electronic debit, instead saying to send a check or wire money to them. INCREDIBLE! I recently opened an account at a competitor (which I selected because of my problems with Ally) and the account was open in 5 minutes. They pay 0.05 to 0.10% more, but you pay for it. The competitor answered my call in 6 seconds.
If you want to wait on hold for 30+ minutes for any customer service interaction, this is the bank for you!
I have been banking with Ally for over 3 years. I learned about Ally Bank after reading an article in Kiplingers a while ago. I utilize the online savings bank. THe rate is currently 1.25% which is m ore than I receive from local credit union. Customer service is friendly is fast. I send my direct deposit hear and it helps my savings due to automatic. THey are now even offering investment accounts for trading. I would recommend Ally to anyone@
My major bank offers an interest rate of 0.01%, which is absolutely ridiculous. So, after hearing lots of people talk about HYS accounts, I decided to explore and landed on Ally which currently has an interest rate of 1.25% and no fees (vs. my bank which charges $5 a month just to have money in savings). It took me less than 15 minutes to sign-up and make a deposit, and I've been banking with them for over a year now.
Ally bank is a great online bank. A great thing about them is no monthly fees! I have a checking and savings account.Also have a good interest rate.They can offer no fee accounts because they are strictly online. They do not have any brick and mortar buildings to pay for. I am very happy I found them. They have great customer service 24/7.They also have access to ATM machines with a debit card which is sent to you.
I have had a great experience with Ally Bank. In the past, I have used other online only institutions but all of them have fallen short. Ally does not belong into that category. With Ally, I use it as a high interest savings account, because I find that the brick and mortar banks offer dismal interest rates. I recently completed a transaction from the Ally app on December 6th where I sent $100 from my brick and mortar checking account to my Ally account. The funds posted to my account the next day and both the deductions and additions were reflected correctly in my checking and savings accounts respectively. With the APY for interest accrual at 1.25%, that obliterates the amount you would get at brick and mortar banking institutions. The only thing that would trump it is doing a short to long term CD.
I opened a savings account with Ally Bank about three years ago. I wanted another bank to hold my savings account other than my primary bank because it seemed like it would be less tempting to take money out of that account. Well, in some ways this is true. However, Ally makes it very easy to access my money. I do sometimes miss the aspect of having a person to go to when I encounter an issue. However, the people I have talked to through chat and on the phone have been extremely helpful and courteous. I had an issue with getting some money transferred from Ally to my primary bank, and within 5 minutes on chat I was able to resolve my issue. I imagine at some point I will look at transferring completely to an online-only bank, and when that time comes, I will definitely stick with Ally Bank.
It is taking approximately seven business days for this institution to adhere to the transfer request of my funds. I had to request the same transfer of funds more than once, resulting in a longer period of time to have the transaction completed. This is not why online banking was created. I first initiated the transfer of funds approximately five business days ago online, only not to receive my funds in three days. This morning, I had to verbally initiate the transfer again. Now I have to wait approximately another four business days to hopefully and successfully have my transfer of funds completed. Needless to say, this institution is history for me! I received confirmation numbers for both requests, so I know my first request was completed properly. I cannot and will not have these types of mishaps, when it comes to my hard earned funds. I have had online banking with several institutions over the years and never experienced this type of error! If I did not need my funds in a timely manner, I would not request them.
Have been banking here for 6 years but they lost me just this past week. Had an 18-month CD mature and was hoping to transfer more funds and change to a 12-month account within the grace period. Thing is, there web interface was giving errors each day I tried. The call and chat wait times were > 50 minutes. Never heard back when sending them a "secure message" (through their interface). Finally got through to a customer service representative the day after the maturity date -- but they couldn't do anything. Had to pay the early withdrawal penalty, so will be taking my business elsewhere. Glad I didn't invest more.
Ally Bank is honestly one of the best banks that I've ever had experience with. When I first started out with them, they only had $9 overdraft fees and they were limited to only 1 overdraft fee per day. This, compared to other banks, was amazing to me. Most banks want to charge you $30-$35 overdraft fees and do it on EACH item that comes through after your account has already been overdrafted. It doesn't matter how the transactions are run with most banks; if you have 4 overdraft items, then you'll get 4 overdraft fees. The fact that Ally was willing to do it the way they did was pretty cool to me. To this day, even though their overdraft fees are higher than they used to be, I still think it's the best deal out there as far as checking account features. And their overdraft fees are still lower than other banks at just $25. Their customer service through Live Chat is always amazing, as well.
I like using Ally bank for our savings account. It is an online-only financial institution, and because of that it offers higher rates. It's a bit cumbersome withdrawing funds from the account and takes at least a few days to receive the money. I'm sure this is much different if you have a checking account with them since they offer a debit card. But i like having the account separate from my other accounts so I'm less likely to dip into my savings for things I really don't need. I've always had great experiences when contacting customer service, which I have done a few times over the course of the years I've had the account.
I recently opened an Ally bank account to help saving money for my family. My wife and I both work for school districts, so I wanted a place to put money to help us out over the summer. I could have opened a separate account with my local branch, but the convenience of Ally bank along with their high interest rates was too good to pass up. Setting up my account was super fast and easy. It only took me minutes after that to set up auto withdrawals, and I can track and control everything from the app on my phone. I have no concerns about my Ally accounts, as they are always at the tip of my fingers.
call wait time used to be a few minutes, but became >30 min recently. very strange, and makes me nervous.
I have been with Ally for many years as a place to park my cash. They always have competitive rates and good choice of types of accounts. You might sometimes be able to find a bank with slightly higher rates but they tend to be inconsistent; Ally is always near the top.
But the real deciding factor is their great easy-to-use website. For example: I had a couple of Ally no-penalty CDs at 1.50% when Ally offered new ones at 1.75%. I wouldn't bother swapping for only 10 basis points, but a 25 point increase caught my attention. It literally took me less than 5 minutes to close both of my old accounts and use the proceeds to fund the new ones! No hassle, and I'm happy!
The only place they are lacking is customer service. The wait time to speak to a rep was about 30 min. and the chat wait time was even longer. But once I did make contact, the rep was efficient and knowledgable.
All in all, highly recommended.
Ally Bank has been nothing but helpful and easy to use for the many years I have banked with them. I originally opened a checking account with them because I was intrigued by the no cost of maintaining an account as well as the no ATM fees regardless of what ATM you use. They have stayed true to their word over all these years and still do not charge any fees for a checking account. I have since opened another checking account as well as a savings account with them and the process to do so was extremely simple and took less than five minutes. I can access all of my bank account through one login on the site or mobile app and all the information I need is displayed in an easy to understand way.
I have been banking with ally since 2012. I currently have checking, savings, and CD's. Initially I had to correct my wife's last name on our account as she has 2 last names and I only told ally of one of the last names, and they refused to cash her paycheck. Took them a week and a half to update my wife's last name, pretty lame. But I learned over the years online banks in general work slower at times to do basic stuff like getting a same day cashier's check to make your last payment on a house (not happening, it will take a week at least), just the nature of the beast.
I'm very happy with the trade off and ally's 24/7 I/M chat, no nonsense clearly laid out webpage, samsung pay compatible, and $15 checking atm fee reimbursement, is GREAT.
Working with Ally has been a great experience. They have a great interest rate on the money market that I have. It is easy to move money both to and from my accounts. Generally I see deposits within a 24 -48 hour period. I like that I can also use the check deposit with the app and it only takes about 24 hours to see the funds in my Money Market account. The only issue I've had is when I tried to add my significant other to my account, they would not accept his drivers license because it had a different address - we had recently moved in with each other and therefore his address had not been updated on his actual drivers license. Although they communicated well, we still have not been able to get him added to my account.
Called a few times to open an account. Always a wait of more than 20 minutes. Tried the chat feature 5 minutes ago I was #41 in queue. I am still #39 now. This is really terrible service!!
I have nothing but wonderful things to say about banking with Ally Bank. App and website are both very convenient, and the savings account has a great interest rate. When my account information was stolen (I've unfortunately been subject to a lot of data breaches in the last few years), Ally was swift to cancel my card, notify me, and work me through the charges. I was due to leave the country for an extended period of time, and they expedited a new debit card to me, free of charge. My one and only complaint is that it's difficult/impossible to get cash deposited into an account since it's online only. So if you work a job where a lot of your take-home pay is cash (e.g., working for a restaurant for tips), then you might want to consider a different bank. This isn't an issue for me, so it hasn't affected my rating.
Went to setup a savings account for my daughters and did not see any explanation for custodial accounts. Called and explained what I was looking for after holding for 8 mins. The rep then had to put me on hold while he "researches the solution" This happened twice during the call. Then said they could setup a UGMA account. I told him I will call back since that did not sound right. After checking it info online, it mentioned to call for custodial accounts. I then got another even lesser qualified CS agent who said she could help but required me to repeat everything at least 2-3x because she couldn't hear. I then asked if I could if there was a way I could enter the information online and she proceeded to direct me back to online to setup a UGMA/Trust account and said to check trust. What she failed to mention after I hung up was that Trust needed to be place before the account could be setup.
I then decided this wasn't a good start and proceeded to go to Discover which got setup (3 accounts) in 15 minutes with excellent service by the CSR on the phone. So disappointed with Ally given the strong reviews.
I use Ally mobile banking specifically for their savings account. I do not use any services except savings, and I have an in person bank for my checking account that I have set up transfers with to send money directly to my Allly account. When researching savings accounts, I came across the Ally savings account. There are no fees associated with this, and the interest rate, which started at 1.00% has only gone up - currently at 1.25%. The rate is why I initially chose ally. Their 'contact us' feature always ensures prompt responses. I had a question about referring friends and I received an answer immediately. I have found that Ally is not only trustworthy, but an excellent bank that provides the highest interest rate I have found.
My wife and I have been GMAC/Ally customers since 2005. Tried to open a new CD this week and was refused. Not a transactional account like a checking/savings account mind you, but a CD.
After 3 hours of chatting and talking on the phone with Ally, the reason. My wife's phone number on her profile (her cell phone), a number that hasn't changed on the bank site in 5 years, doesn't match what they think it should be.
Their "Internet records search" says in should be XXX-XXXX and her cell is YYY-YYYY, so her profile is locked. We have to prove to them we're not lying.
WTF?? Really, you trust a generic Internet records search over a decades long customer whose verified all their information multuple times! Between things like this and their ever decreasing web site functionality I'm about done with this bank!
Prior to my account with Ally, I have never used an online only bank. I received information about the bank when I secured my car loan through them at a reasonable rate. It was very easy to set up and fund. Additionally the options to set up a savings account or money market account is very user friendly. I have not used their customer service as of yet because I have not had an issue with the account or any of the services. The app is very user friendly as well and it has great self serve options. Only thing I would change: when making my car payment the only option is to link my bank account. Sometimes I would prefer to use another account and utilize my debit card but this is not an option unless you use a third party vendor and have a one time charge per transaction.
I have used Ally bank for the past 2 years and I can't imagine ever using another bank again. They have a fantastic app called that allows you to remotely deposit checks with Ally eCheck Deposit. You can also move funds from your Ally account to other bank accounts seamlessly. You can easily check your account balances with the app at any time of the day which is very convenient when budgeting for the week.
I also use Zelle within the app to pay other friends and family through their own bank accounts. It has no fee attached so it is a lot more cost-effective than using something like Paypal.
I have only had a few opportunities to use Ally's customer service but every time I have it has been a pleasant experience and I have always had my problems solved while I was on the phone in a timely manner.
I have had an awesome experience with this bank in general.There is excellent customer service and prompt feedback.There is also a high yield 12 month cds in my month and the annual percentage yield is 1.65% annually.I have banked with this online bank for quite sometime and I have been a satisfied customer.The bank easily allows me to monitor my accounts,by checking my balance,transaction history by simply logging in. its also easy to do a direct deposit without me lifting a finger.Am also able to use my phone to log in which makes it efficient for me.I can easily set alerts,pay bills,transfer money and manage my account from almost everywhere.
Excellent banking experience. The online banking interface is easy-to-use and provides all the normal features you would expect to see like transactions, transfers, withdrawals, interest tracking, etc. The online high-yield savings account offers fantastic rates that are much better than competitors. this account has no fees and no minimum balance requirements.
One potential downside to the high-yield savings account is that there's a limit on the number of withdrawals per monthly statement period (5 withdrawals). I've never personally had a problem with that as savings accounts typically do not need to be drawn from frequently.
I've been using this bank for over 7 years and am very pleased with them. Overall, I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a new bank or even to expand their financial portfolio.
I currently hold a number of savings accounts at Ally and I could not be happier with it. The application process was easy, and my monthly deposits are also very simple. I also like the online-only nature of the bank because it makes it less likely for me to tap into the accounts and spend frivolously. The interest rate is one of the best out there - as of the time of this writing it's at 1.25%, compounded daily. There are no fees I've experienced in the course of normal banking. The one time I had to use customer service, it was easy and I was able to reach a human in a minimal amount of time. Don't let the online-only nature scare you away. The layout is very user friendly and instinctual.
Great bank if you like having your money held hostage. This institution is a joke. Stay away!
I recently opened a new savings account at Ally Bank. I searched the internet for the best rate and they came up as the highest in the search engine. I went to their online site and read about the account. Once I was satisfied that I would not be paying any fees and did not need a large amount to open up the account, I proceeded to open the account. I was amazed at how quickly I was able to open the account, set up an electronic transfer to fund the account and then set up the recurring transfer that I was going to be doing monthly. I was also able to make it a joint account with my husband and there was a simple process for him to verify the account information for himself after I was done. I would definitely recommend Ally bank to someone for savings. If you want to get the best rate outside of the stock market, and you don't mind not having immediate access to you money, then Ally Bank is for you. It definitely is going to help me save money.
I've been a customer of Ally Bank now for about half a year, since switching over from another bank, due to higher interest rates. So far, I've had nothing but great experiences with Ally, though I have yet to speak to a customer service representative, simply because things have run so smoothly, that I haven't had to. Their interest rates are competitive, and some of the highest I've seen recently. Transferring money over is quick and easy, just link an external bank account and it just takes a click of a button. When you input the amount to transfer, they even have "pre-determined" amounts of $50, $100, $150, $200, etc...just to save you a little extra time typing. Transferring from your savings account is easy, as well, and quicker, as it only takes a day or two to appear in your bank account. My only little qualm so far is that it takes several days to transfer into your savings account, as opposed to transferring to an external bank.
I will be a customer of Ally as long as their service remains steady, and their interest rates remain competitive!
In 2013 my first child was born. I immediately began thinking about the future. What will he want to be when he grows up? Will he go to college? Military? Trade School? I knew I had to start saving no matter what he wanted to do. I did some research and came across online only banks. Ally seemed to be at the top of that list. After a bit more research I found that Ally had a savings account that was paying 10 times the national average. I immediately opened an account online. I set up direct deposit and the rest is history! I have had to call customer service a few times. One of those being when I changed jobs and needed to change direct deposit. I called in and the customer service rep was friendly and knowledgeable. She was able to process my request right away! I would recommend Ally to anyone!
We switched to Ally bank several years ago after seeing an ad for their great interest rates on checking/savings/CD accounts. We've been very happy with our decision to move our accounts to Ally. The customer service is very quick and efficient - if I have a question or need, I send a secure email and have an answer quickly. If I need to get cash out, I can do it at ANY ATM and the fee is reimbursed to my account - no need to search around for my bank's atm's! Another thing I love is that if we overdraw from checking, they will just pull it from savings with no fee. This has saved us a lot of money! And, the rates are still very competitive with other banks, so I'm confident we're getting the most bang for our buck.
I joined Ally Bank, an online bank, only at the beginning of this year. I did some research and went with Ally because they seemed to have the most experience and very good ratings overall by long time users. I spend a lot of time overseas and was looking to open a checking account with zero fees and a minimum opening deposit. I wanted something that was easy to use but safe and Ally offers a number of security steps to minimize andy breaches. The only reason that I gave it 4 stars in web/mobile experience is because, as an online bank, I would expect for certain services to be available 24/7. However, all the deposits I make on Fridays and weekends, I normally don't see in my account until Monday morning. I think you should be able to make a transfer or deposit to your account 364 days a year and be able to see the money in your account in real time. I'm not sure if that is the case with any bank, but I really think that, since everything is automated, it should be possible. The customer service reps are excellent and knowledgeable. They tried to help me open an account when I was overseas and, though it ended up being impossible and I had to wait till I got back home to NY, they still tried their best to help me. I appreciate their time and effort.
It has been a superb experience for me banking online with Ally bank. I was not that comfortable with the online bank only idea in the beginning. But once I used it, I never felt the need to physically visit the bank. The online site is very comfortable and user friendly. Never have I had any kind of issues till date. All the facilities are extremely useful. The facility has been perfectly to my taste when I need to urgently transfer money to someone. The transfer has been instant and hassle free. I would suggest this bank to anyone. Transfer of money to other banks have also been very good. My only concern is that fees are little bit on the higher side.
Honestly Ally is great for pretty much everyone. They don't have any minimum balance requirements, they don't have withdrawal limits or fees, they give a generous amount of interest on savings accounts. I'd had a savings account with them for multiple years now and I've never come across any problems. It's extremely easy to add a bank or set up a transfer to or from another account or bank. Depositing checks is also a breeze. You just scan the front and back, upload the pictures, and you're done! Easy as pie. Ally is honestly the easiest bank I've ever had to work with. If you ever do need customer support, the wait times are incredibly short at just a minute or so. I would highly recommend Ally to anyone who's tired of excessive fees for every little thing, or tired of being confused by poorly designed websites.
I started researching online banks in October due to the absolute low interest rate on CD's. I was somewhat leary of investing in such but after reading the reviews and the interest rates being paid, I decided to try Ally out for a small CD account. I opened a small CD account with no problems and very easy to do. I also like the app which is also easy to operate. I then opened a savings account and am having monthly transfers made with no problems. I found the customer service to be very helpful and can understand every word they speak. I am very happy here but I still maintain a checking account at my former bank Wells Fargo.
I have been using Ally Bank for my deposits for almost two years now. At first I was leery, having never used an online bank solution before, but their sign-up process was easy enough and once I linked my payroll to them to set up direct deposits the rest was a breeze. They typically get me my deposits either the SAME business day they're sent through or the very next morning at the latest. As opposed to my usual credit union, that's a surprisingly quick turn around time. My only wish was that their app, Ally Mobile, was more user friendly. It sometimes glitches out on me when I'm trying to check my balance, forcing me to log back in. Other than that, I have no interest in pursuing other banking options at this time.
I had been using Ally Bank for all my banking needs. When my wife and I decided we should start saving for a housing down payment, My other bank's interest rate wasn't cutting it. I heard some great reviews about Ally's 1.00% APR and we decided to jump in. Since joining, the rate climbed to 1.25%! Transferring funds to and from our account is super simple, their app is super intuitive and user friendly, and we have not had any problems, only good experiences.
I thought I would try out an online banking experience by trying Ally Bank. There were a lot of advertisements on my television for the company so I decided to bank with them. The account was easy to open and the deposit and withdrawal process was easy as well. I did have an occurrence when my account was hacked and it was a pain trying to get the customer service to dispute the money that was withdrawn from my account fraudulently. I had to speak to multiple people regarding the issue and it took about two weeks to correct the issue. There were fees associated with the account everytime I used an ATM which I also did not like. Overall I am happier banking with a bank that has a physical office I can go to.
I love banking online with Ally Bank. I like to use their app on my phone to manage my account. Their checking account and savings account both are free and offer decent rates. I can take a picture of any check and deposit it straight into my account. I can easily transfer money between my accounts, which is nice whenever I need to cover an extra expense. I like their online chat platform and the people have been easy to work with. Overall, I would recommend them and have recommended them to several family members who, like me, don't have the time to go to a physical bank.
I was hesitant at first about using an online only bank but after seeing the interest rates for my savings account, I was sold. Since it is 2017 and you can do so many things via the internet, the days of the brick and mortar bank branches are over. First of all, the majority of my income is deposited into my bank account via direct deposit. And with the feature of depositing a check with the Ally mobile app, it saves me a lot of time. Also, the fact that Ally will waive up to $10 ATM fees, I will just take out about $200 a month and also I just don't like carrying cash with me. I've had Ally for my car loan and the customer services was just so exceptional that I had to look into getting a checking and savings account with them. The entire process was very quick and straightforward and the rates is amazing. I'm even thinking about getting an Ally credit card from them as well.
About two months ago, I opened an online bank account with Ally online bank. I love the ease of access and the customer service. The set up only took about 20 minutes! I now deposit all of my finances to the account. The debit card and checks arrived easily too. Overall, the experience with Ally bank has been wonderful.
Ally has really been a very easy to use and stress free online banking option. I make a lot of transfers and by far they had the fastest of any other institutions I have used. You transfer and the money is there the very next day. Their rates as far as savings seem to be way better than any traditional bank I've seen. The account opening process was very easy and stress free. Best of all their services are completely free. The only disadvantage is that they do not have physical branches so if you have cash to deposit that you need available quickly you are in a disposition but fortunately I don't come across that problem a lot. Overall I would highly recommend Ally to anyone looking for a great online bank.
Ally Bank was my first experience with online banks, and to be honest, I wasn't too keen on it. I wasn't sure I trusted the idea of giving a bank my money, when they didn't have a physical place for me to go and get assistance if needed. I was worried about being scammed. Ally Bank truly showed me that not all banks are created equal. I prefer and still use them for my savings accounts. Every time I call customer service, they are always ready and enthusiastic about helping me, which makes me feel safe to continue using them. The interest rate is excellent as well. The interest rate for online banks is typically higher than brick and mortar banks; which is true in this case . The interest rate is higher than most other online banks as well.
All in all, it has been a wonderful experience with them and I'm sure it will continue being so. I recommend them to everyone who is looking for a savings account.
I had some extra money and wanted to deposit it into an account that would offer high interest so I could gain money. This money was previously in my checking account at Compass bank, and my particular account did not have any interest, so my money was just sitting there and not gaining any money. I did some research online, and found Ally Bank. It is an online bank and they offer many different savings accounts, CDs, checking accounts, etc. I was a little skeptical because I had never used an online-only bank account before. After doing some research, I found them to be a reputable and reliable bank. This gave me confidence in the security of the bank. Further research revealed that they offered the highest interest I could find online (at the time I believe it was 1.05%, compounded daily), and now it is 1.20%. I am very happy with the interest rate, and their customer service department is available 24/7. They have an online chat feature which is very convenient and the agents are very knowledgeable and helpful. I would recommend this bank to anyone who wants a high interest rate and great customer service.
I absolutely love Ally. I previously had Chase bank for about 7 years and had so many hassles with them: fees, low interest rates, issues causing me to have to physically go to the bank, etc. All of those problems disappeared with Ally. They reimburse ATM fees in case I ever need to take out cash, I can deposit checks easily from my phone, send money to people on my phone, and I get AMAZING interest rates. I'm getting the same rate on my checking account now that I used to get on my savings, and my savings rate is over 10 times as much! The only complaint I have is that there is no way to deposit cash, but that's such a minor issue compared to all the positives. I recommend Ally to absolutely everyone, it's just such a better way to bank than traditional banks.
I deposited a tax refund check a month after I opened my account. Ally completely locked me out of online and mobile access to my account for 5 business days because they couldn’t reach the issuer of the check to verify the check. They also cancelled my prescheduled incoming ach transfer during this period ( initiated from ally account).
Luckily I’m not using this accoubt to pay my bills so the impact for me is minimal but I can see this being a big problem for some.
I asked if they could put a hold on the check but still let me log into my account but they said there was no such option. This seems unreasonable as I never had problem cashing or depositing checks with any other bank.
I am astonished at the incompetence of this company. 2 weeks ago, my husband noticed fraudulent charges, completely out of line with our typical account activity. When I called to report it they said they would put a dispute in and shut the card down for me. 2 days later we found the rest of our account had been completely drained. When I called to inquire why, they had allowed the people fraudulently using our account to reopen it and drain the rest of the funds. They never notified us that our card was being used in a different part of the country or for large cash withdrawls which is completely unlike us AND they allowed them to continue even after I reported the fraud and shut the card down. They actually reopened the card for them. Over the next few days I spent countless hours on the phone with numerous customer service representatives who had no idea what they were doing and could not offer me any additional security on my account. About 5 days after the initial report, I spoke with a representative who informed me the first representative had never filed a dispute. So they lied and did nothing to help me get the funds back. That representative disputed the fraudulent activity. At this point, daycare, the mortgage, and electric bill are not getting paid. They assured me my case was the highest priority for their loss prevention team, then assigned it to someone on vacation. Finally, they gave me a provisional credit for the funds and now won't let me access it so now, 2 weeks later, we are still unable to pay our mortgage or any other bills. I just spend hours on the phone being bounced around to different departments all with no idea what they are doing. I can't go into a branch to see a person either. Also, I've compared their security to other banks and it's pitiful. Even my credit union allows a secret password on the account but they don't. Most other banks allow a security code to be sent to your phone or email before being able to get access to the account when speaking with a rep. They don't (although they have the option for online login, but that did nothing to protect me). We will never bank here again.
I moved from my small hometown earlier this year. Which means I had to find a new bank. I chose Ally because of their high interest rate savings account. I was able to transfer my monies to them with ease and they haven't given me any trouble when ever I have questions or concerns about the product they are offering. I feel that my money is safe in their hands and it is nice knowing that my savings are earning some decent interest instead of just sitting there like at my previous bank. As for my checking account that I use a debit card with. It has given me no troubles what so ever and their mobile app allows me to keep track of my balance whenever I want.
My experience with Ally has been great. I'm a very light user, and haven't delved into CDs, investing, etc., beyond basic savings and checking usage. A big reason for this was because I move very often, and their mobile app and support is fantastic. Depositing checks from my phone is very simple. The app has a built in scanner to take pictures of the checks. Their customer support is great as well. I tried to withdraw money from an ATM that did not give any cash but still marked itself as having done so. Their customer support refunded the money to my checking account in half an hour.
One of the other features that is very nice with their deposit accounts is the lack of a minimum balance combined with a nice interest rate. My interest on my savings account is 1.19% APY. So, that's nice. Also, any ATM withdrawal fee is refunded to my account within 48 hours.
I'm sorry I can't give you much more than the most casual of usage, but I hope the information is helpful.
I originally opened my Ally savings account because of the great interest rates. However, since I have had the account for the last three years, I have decided that it is the best banking experience I've had so far. First, if I want to withdraw money, I have to really think about if I need it because it is not readily accessible. I can't just drive up to a brick and mortar location and take the money out. However, if I do need the money for something, I am able to transfer it to my other checking account and use it accordingly with no fees charged. I like this feature very much. In addition, Ally seems to truly care about my privacy and security and makes sure that my information is kept safe.
I have been a long-standing customer of brick and mortar type banks, but after a recent move to a location that is not within reasonable distance to my usual bank, I opted to try an online bank. The process for signing up for an account was seamless and my partner was easily added to my account via a signature and return envelope. I have only needed to speak with their customer service representation on one occasion and my question was answered quickly with minimal hold time on the phone. The ability to take photos through the app for check deposit is incredibly easy and I have not yet needed to take multiple pictures of my check because it blurry or out of angle like I have done with my previous banking institution. I also like that my limit on check deposits is higher so if I have multiple higher dollar check amounts I do not have to hold onto them for several days. I am also impressed that they offer interest on my checking account with charging huge fees to just keep my money with them, let alone be required to have a high balance to avoid any fees, they are perfect for the typical working person. I recently recommended Ally.com to a friend who was having issues obtaining an account at a local back because she hadn't yet had her license changed to reflect her new address. With Ally.com this was not an issue and she was able to get an account that day. I feel that my money is safe with this institution and have the customer's needs in mind.
Not having branches is no problem. The app and website are both great and contain all the functionality you could need. Waiving ATM fees means accessing cash is always easy. Customer service is quick to reach. Free Webroot antivirus is a nice bonus. No fees for checking, plus a small amount of interest on the account are great features. Very low overdraft fee as well.
I chose this bank because I moved away from my hometown where I only used a local bank. I needed to be able to make deposits online and use it primarily on mobile. I emailed customer service with some general questions, and they replied almost immediately by answering but not pushing me to join the bank. It included all the things I need, like using my Masterpass or using my Microsoft Wallet. I never have to worry about my information being discovered by a third party or there being a data breach, which is similar to my former local bank but something I value in a bank I didn't know much about that I took a chance on using. I also use an Ally credit card and it allows me to get a 2% cash back on grocery stores and for getting gas. It isn't a lot but it's something, a little perk that makes me feel a little better about spending money sometimes. I had an issue once where I was charged a $1 fee at a gas station 3 times instead of just once, and Ally resolved it for me right away. I don't have anything bad to say about them, and I prefer them over any big name bank out there because the experience is more personal and just as secure.
I've been banking with Ally for more than 5 years and only have positive things to say. They have very attracting CD and, checking, and savings account interest rates, along with very accessible customer service. Their website is very easy to use and navigate and the lack of fees are very very good. I have no intention of ever switching to a brick and mortar or other online bank, as ally has everything that suits my needs - an efficient and reliable bank that I can access easily online. It's also very easy to link accounts at other banks for quick and efficient ach transfers and the debit cards have very good fee rebates. Every time I've called their customer service, I have never had to wait long either.
I highly recommend using ally bank. I know they also specialize in car loans, but that is one of the few services that they offer that I have not used, but would consider doing so in the future, due to my positive experiences with everything else that they offer.
I recently opened an account with Ally Bank. The setup was incredibly easy and straightforward. Getting the account ready to go took less than 2 days with a transfer of money from my old bank. Both the checking and savings account offer very competitive interest rates, I believe the savings account has one of the best rates available. The only downside is if you forget your password to your online account you have to make a phone call, which can be annoying. Many other institutions offer sending a new password setup key via email or phone.
Last year my local bank decided to upgrade their web portal. It was basically a disaster. I was locked out of my account for nearly a week at a time when I needed to retrieve records for some financial statements. This was very inconvenient. They kept sending emails saying oops, this hasn't worked like we thought it would so it will be just another couple of days and you can access your account. Not only could I not access my savings and checking account, but I was blocked from my bill pay as well. It was at that point I started looking elsewhere for a place to do my banking. I had taken several loans from Ally in the past so I looked into starting an account with them. Come to find out that since I had taken loans from them before, I already had an account. All I had to do was choose the savings and checking options to start banking there so I did. Transferring my funds was painless and I was suprised to find out that even though I couldn't log into my old account, I could still transfer the funds from Ally. I was concerned about deposits since they don't have a local brick and mortar store but it turns out I can make deposits on paper checks even easier by using the camera on my phone. Wait time for help is never very long and they are always super helpful and patient. In the end, I kept my accounts at my old bank but do all of my banking and bill pay from Ally now because I like it there. They have better rates too.
I was skeptical about joining ALLY bank because of the commercials and making sure I wasn't jumping into something just because of advertising. However, I was surprised from the start. Their fees are low and their customer service is really great. I liked how it is very easy to get someone on the phone rather than having to wait for 20+ minutes at my brick and mortar bank. Everything at ALLY is black and white, you aren't trying to figure out fee's or what checks aren't depositing. They are the most consistent bank I've ever banked with. It's convenient for me because I can make mobile deposits from my phone and I have the money the next day. Rarely do they hold any checks and that's what I'm looking for in a bank. Their savings interest rates are great to because they don't have the over head that brick and mortar banks do. I recommend them to anyone looking for something else with a bank. I highly recommend and you won't be disappointed!!
I have been a customer of Ally Bank for several years and currently have a checking and savings account there. In the past, I have also bought CD's from Ally when I didn't need to use the money for a year or two. Even though it's only an online bank with no physical branches, I think it's the best bank! It has 24/7 customer service, using employees in the United States who are very helpful and have always been polite and knowledgable. It also pays one of the highest interest rates for checking and savings accounts, and its fees are easy to find on the website. Because it has no physical branches, Ally also refunds all ATM fees (without requiring me to do anything) from any location in the United States. Ally Bank allows for check deposits using my phone camera, which is very easy to use. They have also recently started using the chip technology on all debit cards to help protect me from identity theft. What more could I want from a bank than excellent interest rates, 24-hour customer service, free nationwide ATM's, and banking online at any time. Great company!
I was in the market for a higher yield savings account for short term savings (I work as a teacher, so I was saving money for the summer months). I began by searching for the highest interest rates for online only banks. I had a whole list of banks to look at. I first checked their interest rates, their fees, and then their reviews. One after another they all had poor reviews, mostly relating to the same thing: changing interest rates. From reading all these reviews and a few articles, I learned that many online only accounts will offer really high interest rates to entice people to join, and then drop down below the average online banks. So then I began looking at some of the bigger more well known online banks, and came to Ally. Ally caught my attention for having a decent interest rate, no fees, good customer service, an app, mobile check depositing, and an advertised 10-minute or less sign up. So I decided on Ally. It really did take only 10 minutes to sign up. It did take me an additional day to link my checking account though, as I had to wait for their two random deposits to verify my account. This all happened just two days ago, so I have not funded my account yet, but I have used the website and app to get my feel for using it, and both are very user friendly.
Ally Bank is a solid online bank that offers competitive interest rates for new savings accounts. Basically, the more money you have to stow away, the more able you are to fully utilize what Ally has to offer. I like to call my Ally Savings Account my "rainy day fund" because it is easy to maintain and it seems secure and safe. I have opened CD accounts with them in the past which has been nice. I have deposited funds into the account via check which is easy to do, and customer service is a delight to deal with. If you ever need the funds that you save with Ally, you can link a separate bank account to it and withdrawals take about 1-2 days, which is great and fast. Overall I am impressed with Ally.
I have had an Ally savings account for over three years now. I like it so much that about a year ago I opened another savings account. The automatic transfers are easy to set up and make recurring. The interface is easy to use and view exactly where my accounts are at. In particular I like the interest rate that I earn, which is far superior to any rate that I would receive from a typical brick-and-mortar bank. I would highly recommend Ally to anyone that is interested in setting up a savings account. The interest rates alone make it worth it, and getting money in and out is just as easy as with a traditional bank.
Ally has the best dedicated savings account I have ever used. This would be my third account for savings and I have had the best experience with Ally. It is now the only savings account that I use. They make the transfer process incredibly easy and straight forward. I am able to deposit checks directly into this account. I love the ease of using both their online website as well as their mobile application on my phone. And the best point is their interest rate. It is one of the highest available for a no fee savings account and has gradually risen even higher since I first opened the account. I would highly recommend getting an ally account to anyone interested in opening a dedicated savings account.
For years I've had a savings account at a popular chain of banks. I have no problems with that bank; however, I finally got tired of earning .1% return on my savings account. I put up with it for so long because I was expecting to use that money and didn't expect to have it in the account for that long. Well, months turned to years and I finally sat down and figured out how much I lost in interest compared to an online bank. So I pulled the funds and opened an account at Ally. Now I earn over 1%. True, 1% isn't that much more exciting than .1% but it's better than being spat on and I'll find a use for the extra hundreds of dollars per year.
I needed to start saving money. Having a lack of experience on what to look for in a Savings Account, I did research online and found Ally. They have extremely competitive rates and are often higher than other banks especially when it comes to their savings accounts. I love not having to go anywhere and deal with anyone, however, their customer service is very helpful if you happen to need it. I chose an online only account because I figured it would help with discipline. My experience has been great and I have had no problems! I will continue to bank with them and appreciate their awesome service. Thanks Ally!
I started using Ally banking services a few years ago and it's been one of the greatest decisions of my life. First of all, the convenience of being able to get everything done online on my phone or computer without needing to drive to the bank has become such a huge time-saver for me. I only have a savings account with them, but Ally offers one of the highest annual percentage yield that I've seen for savings accounts. And there's also no monthly fees for having an account with them, which is also super awesome. Signing up with them literally only took like a minute and it's just been a pleasure handling my finances with Ally ever since. The one thing that has been kind of a hassle though is their limitation on how many checks I can write every month. They restrict me to only writing 6 checks per month using Ally, which I was worried about at first, but I rarely ever need to actually write checks these days so it's been ok so far on that front.
I was able to open an account on this site so easily. I had a lot of fun setting it up. I got some info in the mail from them and I was ready to go. The customer service was really good. The man I talked to on the phone told me about how they work and I was not sure about them, since they were an online only bank. My favorite thing about this bank is the fact that they do not have an annual fee. That is a huge thing with me. The last bank I was with had a fee of six dollars a month. This is one of the only banks that does not have a fee. They also have interest compounded daily, which is really unique.
I banked with Ally Bank for a short time while I was living abroad. It was easy to keep track of my finances with their online services. I was pleased that I was able to contact customer service with any issues and still get what I need... it wasn't difficult like I thought it was going to be. I was pleased that I was able to monitor my accounts while feeling like my funds were safe. I used primary checking and savings with automatic payments set up and had very rare issues with anything for the year or so that I used Ally Bank. The transition to an account when I got back to the states was easy too! Overall, I was happy with how this worked, especially since it wasn't an ideal situation.
Ally is an excellent online banking institution. I found it on numerous searches and best lists for places to store money. It has very low fees. Interest rates are some of the best for savings accounts as well as cd's. I have savings, money market, and Cds with ally. I feel that my money grows more quickly. It is federally insured as well so I feel secure having my money wth them. Customer support is top notch. They are always quick to assist my needs. I get assistance and help immediately. I have never felt frustrated with this banks. Previous banks left me feeling taken advantage of
Ally Bank offers premier mobile and online banking and savings accounting. Their high yield savings account boasts consistently at or above average interest rates (currently 1.20% APY). They also have no maintenance fees, and offer a very user-friendly, efficient online banking scheme. Their online notification system is excellent (using emails and online inboxes) to provide updates pertinent to the account such as interest rate changes. The restrictions on accounts are clearly defined and communicated (for example a maximum number of transactions limit per account cycle). Ally offers a wide variety of online products, such as CDs, Money Markets, Interest Checking, High Interest Savings, IRAs, and loans. Overall, this bank gets a 5 out of 5 stars rating. I would highly recommend this bank to friends and family.
I opened an account with Ally bank, from my bedroom on the computer. I did not need to get up and get ready and go anywhere. My account was up and running in under 15 minutes. All items I needed were mailed to me. A debit card, checks, deposit slips and self-addressed envelopes. The rates are very good and all my transactions are done through their app. When I use my card at an ATM and there is a charge, I receive that money back at the end of the month. There are no maintenance fees. This is by far the best bank I have ever used in my life. Brick and mortar banks are in the past and online only banks are the way of the future.
I have had several accounts with Ally bank for at least 8 years; savings, checking, CD, Money market, and IRA. I have transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in and out of these accounts while buying and selling real estate. I have not had even one bad experience with this bank.
Customer service is excellent. The representatives are very efficient, and have always resolved my questions to my complete satisfaction. Transactions are always timely.
The web site is intuitive and very easy to navigate. I rarely need to contact customer service since I can handle almost everything myself. When I make transfers to other financial institutions I know exactly when I am going to receive my money. There is a graphical interface on the opening page that gives a clear picture of how your money is allocated among my accounts. This is my favorite banking site.
The interest rate at Ally is always higher than the major banks and the credit union that I belong to. They even offer a credit card that gives a nice cash back opportunity if you deposit the "cash" in an Ally account.
I really enjoy using Ally bank. I used to be a Chase user for my savings, but when I signed up for Ally I definitely felt like I was dealing with a more trustworthy bank. I really like their interest rate they provide for the customers for savings. I also think it's has more mobility then most online banks. I think they need to start being a bit more competitive because other companies are catching on and doing the same thing, but the truth is is that they did it first. That makes what they offer more believable to me. It's very accessible for an online bank, and I like that I'm able to check out money a decent amount of times per month (about 5 I think). Overall, they're a very good bank, and I'll recommend it to anyone that is looking for a new place to stash their savings.
I decided to switch my short term and long term savings accounts from a brick and mortar retail with my current banking institution (Bank of America) to an entirely online bank account with Ally.
The main reason I decided to switch was to make it more of a "hassle" to get to for lack of a better word. I thought that if my savings were not tied to my main account it would be easier to forget about and save accordingly.
If I were to transfer the money back to another account, I could do so in 24 hours. I love the ease of accessing my money in the case of an emergency. Also - I automatically draft a certain dollar amount out of each check to each account which is a breeze. Monthly, I transfer money from Bank of America to Ally, which is not as difficult as I thought it originally may have been.
I would highly recommend an online bank account to anyone, specifically Ally. I currently earn 1 percent interest on my available funds in the account, which is leaps and bounds higher than any other lending institution would have provided. The APY is high, the convenience of doing business, and the ease of accessing my funds are my main reasons for sticking with Ally. I highly recommend them.
I have been banking with Ally for about 1 year. I like how they have excellent customer service. I opened a checking account with them because they offered an interest-based checking account with low minimums. It is very easy to access my account, deposit money, withdraw/transfer money and set up direct deposit. I only keep a small amount in here at most times. It comes in very handy when I travel and need reserve funds in case my wells fargo account puts a hold on my checking/credit card. It has happened before and Ally has helped out a lot. I don't use any other services other than a checking account through Ally but I know they offer many. I only wanted a checking account through a strictly online banking institution and Ally has provided me with everything that I need and exceeded my expectations.
I've been an Ally Bank member for a little over a year and I have been very happy with the experience. At first I was a little apprehensive because I have always dealt with brick and mortar banks, but I felt it was time to give this one a try. What was most appealing to me was the interest rate, which was well over 1% at the time I joined. It's not much, but it is something and it adds up over time. In addition to the interest rate, you also don't have any of the typical fees that you get with a traditional bank. They even reimburse you for ATM transactions. I have several bank accounts and what I can say is that there is absolutely no difference between how I interact with Ally and how I do 98% of my transactions with my other banks. Looking back I have had no issues with Ally.
As the title says, signing up and using Ally Bank for checking and savings services is easy and convenient. I was looking for a good online bank that I could have my online business/work income be deposited into. I wanted something that either had a low or no signup fee. Ally Bank allowed me to signup rather easily and required no signup fee. I was given a checking and savings account within minutes and I was able to start using this account once I made my first deposit. I was sent a Mastercard debit card within two weeks and some temporary checks. Having this account is rather convenient in that I can use their mobile app to access information about my account such as balances, deposits, and withdrawals at the touch of a button. I've had this account for over a year now and it's been a pleasure doing business with this institution and I would highly recommend this for anyone who has no need for visiting an actual brick and mortar bank.
I love Ally Bank! I love the fact that they don't have fees for transfers, ATMs, or on their accounts. It makes me feel like I'm not constantly being charged money for the use of my money. Their online banking is easy to use and I love their app. I'm able to deposit checks using my phone. The customer service people are helpful and you don't have to wait too long waiting on assistance. And another awesome thing is that they refund any ATM charges you have. Wonderful.
I have both a checking account and several savings accounts with Ally Bank due to their high interest rates and how easy it is to open accounts with them. The account opening process takes minutes and there are no minimum balance requirements. Every single time I've called customer service, I've had such a great experience. Their customer service representatives are knowledgeable available 24/7.
The most recent account I opened was an additional savings account. I called because I had questions about the transfer limits and the representative didn't just answer my question, but explained why there were transfer/withdrawal limits on savings accounts. She took the time to explain how the federal regulation that governs these accounts limits my withdrawals and talked to me about my activity and whether or not that would be a good account for me. She was not only immensely helpful, she went out of her way to explain the situation to me - which is something I've never had a bank representative do for me.
I have banked with Ally since 2012 when interest rates were very low and I was looking to maximize my earnings. Ally had 10x the savings rate of my then current bank which excited me to switch. Since switching I have been happy with their ATM fee reimbursement (since they don't have their own locations) and their expanding services. It is convenient to be able to use one service to manage my money and this has simplified my financial management. I enjoy their free check deposit function where you just take a picture of your check. I have never had a check rejected and this service has worked well.
I already had a bank account with a major bank in the United States, but I had just started earning income from a side job, and I wanted an account to keep the money in that was completely separate from my main bank account. I checked a few online banks, and Ally seemed like a straightforward and trustworthy site. Plus, the 1.15% interest seemed like a nice added benefit.
It was simple to open my account, but I ran into some problems when I tried to sync my Ally account with my major bank account. I'm not sure whose fault it was, but when I tried again the next day, the problem had resolved itself.
Ally was a good choice for what I need if for -- a safe way to keep track of and store my money.
My experience with Ally bank has been nothing but positive. I currently have my emergency fund in a high interest savings account with Ally bank. Their interest rate on basic savings accounts simply blows every brick-and-mortar bank out of the water. The mobile app is very easy to use and aesthetically pleasing. I have only called their customer service line once; but the customer service was exceptional in this one experience. Overall, I highly recommend Ally bank, especially for their high interest cash accounts.
I have been banking with Ally Bank for the last few years. I have multiple savings accounts with them, each set up to have fund automatically transferred to them each month. The interface, both online and in their app, is intuitive and easy to use. I can see my balances at a glance and can easily navigate to different accounts to check them in more detail. The interest rate is much better than ones that I get at my other brick and mortar bank. While not astronomical, I at least feel that I'm losing less money to inflation than I am at my other bank. Further, I do not pay any fees to my online bank, and they allow plenty of transfers and amounts for my needs.
When I started searching for a bank I had two goals in mind: My first goal was to find a bank that had a decent savings account where my money would be somewhat hedge against inflation. Most bank pay a paltry and dismal .01% interest rate for you lending them your money, quite an insult really. Ally stood out among the top banks having interest rates, even higher than some CD's. It was fortunate that my first goal tied with my second goal when I chose ally, they were pretty easy to use. Throughout setting up my account and moving my money between banks, ally made the process really easy and I felt secure while doing it as well. Even when I've had to call customer support they've made the process really painless. Overall it's been a good 2 years with ally.
I've been a customer for Ally Bank for about six years now. I was at first reluctant to open another bank account because I already had accounts in other popular local banks, let alone the fact that I wasn't comfortable with an idea of an internet only bank. My brother had an account with them and he approached me and said that Ally Bank offers the best services and an unmatched customer experience. The process for opening a new account is straightforward and they even offer bonus to anyone who refers up to 5 people to them. Since I was a bit dissatisfied with the services I was getting at other banks, I decided to give Ally a try by opening a checking account with them. My account is always secure and I get all important notifications. The maintenance fees are also reasonable and their customer service is excellent. I would definitely recommend this bank to anyone looking for a customer friendly and easy to access financial institution.
This bank blows all other banks out of the water in my opinion. Setting up your accounts is so much easier than any other bank. You do it all from your phone instead of going into a bank. I chose this bank because of convenience; it's all done through your phone. They have I think the best fees of anyone almost none! I have overdraft protection so if my checking goes over it automatically takes from my savings. The app shows you how many transactions left you have from taking money from your savings to checking before a fee would occur. They give you back any fee that was taken from any atm's at the end of the month which is amazing. To deposit money you just take a picture of the check on the app and it get's deposited the only downfall is you can not deposit cash. They have amazing customer service you call and are connected to a real person right away.
I had reached a point where I found banking to be frustrating with wait lines in the drive through teller and always having to adjust my hours around the limited hours my local bank was opened on Saturday. In a Money magazine article, I found a recommendation for Ally. I was immediately pleased with the ease of opening an account. Even more impressively was that they had ATM's that could be accessed in my area without a fee. Be SURE to check their ATM locations - you may be pleasantly surprised. My banking experience with Ally has been limited to Savings and Checking but the experience has been painless. I would rarely ever call in but once lost an Debit Card connected to my Savings and called in and received excellent service. Another call-in experience over an inquiry into the CD's was just average but nothing bad and worthwhile to think about. Most pleasant for me has been the rate of savings. While still nowhere near the level they are during the Clinton era, the APY on the Savings is currently 1.15 which is many times more than the measly 0.05 percent offered at the local bank. While I'm not a rich person, I do enjoy seeing money add to my hard-earned savings. The checking has been worthwhile as well. While I rarely ever write checks unless it is for an offering at the church, I have found they are easily cleared just as quickly as my local bank was. Overall, I'm a very happy customer and would recommend Ally to many working professionals who may not have the time during their busy workday to visit a local bank.
I opened a high yield savings account with Ally Bank. At the time, the annual interest rate was 1%, which was twenty times higher than my local bank's interest rate. I wanted a place to park my money where it would be safe and earn more interest. The customer service with Ally has been very good. The mobile app makes it easy to deposit checks I receive. One downside is that cash must be deposited by mail.
I created an online savings account with Ally Bank to take advantage of their more favorable account interest rates compared to brick and mortar banks. The application process was significantly more onerous that it should have been; after completing the application process provided by the bank I spent several hours on the phone on hold with their customer service because of some unknown error with their system. After spending several hours on the phone, I finally managed to be elevated to a customer service agent who actually had the pertinent information about the problem, they told me they didn't know what the problem was and that I had wasted my time on the phone because the problem would need to be addressed at a later date.
Over a week later I was eventually contacted by the bank, and they informed me that my account was available to use. I deposited funds, and was, if not pleased, at least content with my choice to create the account. The interest is still laughably low, but at least it's better than any brick and mortar interest rate.
I have had an online savings account at Ally Bank for the last 3 years. The company is awesome and I have not ever had any problems. The type of account I have does not have any monthly fees associated with it, which I really like because it saves me money by not having to worry about keeping a minimum amount in there at all times. It also has competitive interest rates compared to my bank that I can physically go to, which is nice. The last thing I really like is that when I want money available in my checking account (at another bank), as long as I initiate the transaction early enough in the day, it's available the very next business day! Ally Bank is a very good online bank.
First of all, I absolutely love Ally bank. Yes, I've had a few issues, mainly because of my fault, but their customer service is one of the best in the business. One incident I had was, I forgot my login to my account, so I called them to see if I could reset the password. Within five minutes, I was able to login to my account again. It's simple to receive statements online, and to transfer money around when needed to wherever I want virtually. Also, who doesn't like to deposit a check simply by taking a picture of it from your phone? Overall, I'm very satisfied with Ally Bank and have no complaints so far.
I opened a checking and savings account with Ally before moving to another state. I did it in 3 minutes online, and it was verified, my money transferred, and ready to go in a matter of 3 days. We are now able to deposit checks simply by sending a picture of the check. I received a debit card but was having trouble getting it activated. The online support was readily available and guided me through the process in a few moments. There customer service by phone or chat line has been superb when I have had a question. I have not had any hidden or ridiculous fees, and the paper checks are free. I also receive over 1% return on my savings account, an unheard of amount compared to other banks I used in the past. I even get .1 percent return on my checking account. Ally offers a number of options on cd's and IRA's. I transferred a portion of my savings to a long-term cd and enjoy over 2% APY. The online interface is simply and easy to use. I just appreciate the no gimmick, customer service, and convenience of this bank.
I have had a total of two CD's from this bank in the past 5 years. I bought CDs from this bank because they had the highest rate when I first bought one 5 years ago, although the return on my money was still not very good. When that CD matured, I cashed it in and later bought another one because Ally Bank was still offering the best interest. I got the type of CD where you get to raise your rate once if the interest rate goes up. I have enrolled in the notification feature where they are supposed to notify me if the interest rate goes up. I don't believe I have ever been notified, and I haven't checked to make sure that the rate has not gone up. When the CDs mature and renew, you get a little bit more interest. They send me the appropriate forms for income tax every January (or maybe they just email me), so that is simple enough. I had to call their customer service once and the representative was very friendly and helpful.
I have had nothing but positive experiences since I opened my Ally account 2.5 years ago. I switched from a bank that would nickel and dime me with random fees. Since joining Ally, I've made money with the great interest rates across three accounts. Their app is extremely easy to use, depositing money is quick, and I can transfer money effortlessly. If I need cash, there are multiple machines that I can withdraw from without any fees. Their online chat is a great way to speak with customer service on my own time. All of my fears about not having a physical address to visit were resolved, and I have never had a headache needing to sort out money matters. I would recommend this bank to absolutely anyone, and I am now a devoted customer of Ally.
I bank with Ally Bank. I currently have an interest checking account with them, and am quite satisfied with them. They offer a great APY, one of the highest for banks in the nation. Transfers are fairly quick, usually within a couple days at most. I use the mobile banking app to view my balance most often. While they do not have any ATMs, they pay you back the ATM fees for the first 3 withdrawals each month from other banks ATMs I believe. Also you can always just get cash back at the grocery store as well. While my balance is usually pretty low, I don't feel any less of a valued customer than probably anyone else does. They also send feee checks to use should I want to or need to, although I have not ever written a check while at my current bank thus far. They also have prompt, and polite customer service. As they don't have physical branches, this is quite necessary as you do all interactions with people who work at the bank over the phone. Overall, I believe Ally Bank is one of the best primarily online banks you could choose.
Ally Bank is a wonderful way to bank. It is completely online so they offer better interest yields. The wait times for service is comparable to your typical bank, if not faster, and that's only if you need to call. Usually, I can do everything through their app or through my computer. The checking account and savings account have no monthly fees so I don't feel like I'm having money taken out for no reason. I would highly recommend them and have many times.
When it was time for me to open a new checking account, I wanted to do something different than use an old brick and mortar store. I thought that they weren't necessary anymore, and so I looked into online banks, and chose the one I heard was best, which was Ally. I was right, you don't need a bank with physical locations, and Ally turned out to be the best bank I've ever used. It has a checking account with no minimum amount, and no fees. The interest rate is fine, and everything about the experience is smooth and easy, from depositing checks (using your smartphone), to paying bills, to using ATMs (the app shows you which in your area are free), to transferring money digitally. It's all there, and I have absolutely no reason to switch back to a "normal" bank. Oh, and their customer service is quick and painless, 24/7. Ally has really impressed me.
My mom started this savings bank account for me when I was 17. She wanted me to be a good saver and she thought this online bank would be the best way for me to do that. She started it out with $500. So then when I would get paid at my job I would automatically have $50 withdrawn from my checking and put into my Ally savings, which I still do today. The money in that account has grown beyond my w