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Rating: 4.8 stars out of 5
Overview
Ally Bank is ideal for consumers comfortable with banking only online who want access to loans, high-yield deposit products and credit cards.
Highlights
- ATM Fee Refunds
- High APY
- Low Min Deposit
Overall
Ally Bank is a one-stop shop for online-only banking customers from coast to coast. It offers a competitive yield on its savings account, money market account and its CDs. It is a part of a large fee-free ATM network and its checking account reimburses $10 worth of out-of-network ATM fees each statement period.
Pros
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Ally is a robust online bank with an array of deposit products, loans and services.
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The bank offers low-fee deposit accounts with no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements.
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Pays higher yields on CDs and savings accounts than traditional brick-and-mortar banks.
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Ally Bank lets customers access more than 43,000 ATMs through the Allpoint network.
Cons
Cash deposits aren't accepted.
You can’t send an international wire transfer from Ally Bank.
Ally bank products
Ally savings overview
Ally offers a high-yield savings account that is consistently competitive. It doesn’t offer the absolute highest APY, but it is always around the top-tier rate. There’s no minimum deposit needed to open an account and no monthly service fees either. The account doesn’t offer an ATM card, so you’ll have to do an online funds transfer, wire transfer, telephone transfer or request a check to access your funds.
Ally Bank savings accounts also have buckets that help you save for goals inside your online savings account.
Pros
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Ally’s Online Savings Account pays the same competitive APY across all balance tiers.
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The account doesn’t have monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements.
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The digital account offers a feature that helps you save toward your various goals.
Cons
Cash deposits aren't accepted.
Member FDIC
Savings Account
Bank experience
Ally Bank has no branches, but retail bank customers can speak with a representative over the phone 24/7. Customers can also tell how long the phone wait will be on Ally’s website. They can also use the live chat feature online.
The Ally Bank mobile app has a high rating on iOS and a good rating on Google Play. One feature helps users to get into the habit of saving, by analyzing customers’ checking accounts and automatically moving money into their savings when its algorithms determine it’s safe to do so.
About Ally
Ally Bank is an online bank that grew out of the banking division of General Motors Acceptance Corp. (GMAC), which was originally an auto financing company. In 2009, GMAC Bank became Ally Bank.
Today, the bank offers consumers nationwide a wide range of products, including credit cards, home loans, money market accounts, investment products, certificates of deposit, checking accounts and savings accounts. The bank’s holding company, Ally Financial, is a leading financial services provider with headquarters in Detroit. It serves millions of retail customers and thousands of automotive dealers.
Review methodology
With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.