Ally Bank Review 2023

When looking for places to stash your money, you might debate whether to open a savings account with an online-only bank or a more traditional bank with physical branches.

Ally Bank is the banking branch of Ally Financial. Since 2009 Ally has been a popular digital bank that offers savings, checking, CDs, and money market accounts. So what are some of Ally Bank's main features, offerings, and how does it stack up against its competitors?

Let's take a look at Ally Bank's main offerings, overall features, and who Ally Bank is best for. 

Ally Bank products

Ally interest savings account

Ally's high-yield savings account features competitive interest rates, no monthly service or overdraft fees, and no minimum deposit requirements. Plus, account holders can set up 10 separate savings "buckets" or sub-accounts, and employ recurring transfers, roundups, boosters and surprise transfers to speed up their savings goals.

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Pros 

• Competitive interest rates.
• Tools and features to make savings easy.
• Can create sub accounts.

Cons

• No brick-and-mortar branches.
• No cash deposits.

Why we recommend Ally Bank: Competitive interest rates, easy, sophisticated tools to help you save, plus around-the-clock customer service.

Ally certificate of deposit (CD)

Ally offers CDs with terms between three months to five years, and also raise-your-rate and no-penalty CDs. Plus, there's no minimum amount to open your CD, but you'll need to stash something in one to start earning interest.

Pros

• Competitive rates. 
• No minimum account requirements.
• Several different CD options. 
• 10-day best rate guarantee.

Cons

• Automatic renewal at maturity.

Why we recommend it: With its competitive rates, different products, and no minimum account requirements, Ally's CD offerings are worth considering. 

Ally Bank features

Fees

Overdraft

While many banks charge an overdraft fee if you don't have sufficient funds in your bank account to cover a transaction, Ally doesn't charge fees for overdraft items on its checking or savings accounts. 

Monthly maintenance

You might get hit with a monthly account fee from some banks. Ally's checking and savings accounts don't have monthly maintenance fees.

Low balance

A bank might have a fee if your balance dips below a minimum amount. You won't get charged a low balance fee with an Ally checking account.

ACH Transfers 

Whereas some banks charge a fee for ACH transfers, Ally's savings and checking accounts don't charge you a fee for standard or expedited ACH transfers.

Wires

If you are receiving a domestic or international wire, Ally won't charge you a fee if you have a savings or checking account. However, there is a $20 fee per domestic wire.

Cashier's checks

If you have a savings or checking account, you won't be charged a fee for an official or cashier's check.

Expedited delivery

If you need a check overnighted, Ally charges an expedited delivery fee of $15.

Account research Fee

Should you be in need of extensive research, for example, if you need statements from years past, Ally will charge a research fee of $25 per hour. You'll be informed ahead of time of any such fees. 

Customer Experience

Support

If you're an existing Ally member, you can access Ally's customer support team via chat by logging into your account. Available 24/7, Ally's customer support team is highly accessible, and can be reached via phone, chat, email, or written correspondence. 

Accessibility

You can manage your account, check your balance, make transfers and deposits, and pay bills all online or via Ally's mobile app. If you use assistive technology, you can reach out to Ally's customer support for assistance.

UI/Technology With Ally's mobile app and desktop experience, you can deposit checks, and opt for direct deposit and and manage your accounts anytime, anywhere. Plus, you can decide on paperless statements. Security To keep your accounts safe, you can receive account alerts via phone, email, or text to set spending limits and preferences to block transactions in certain merchant categories. Plus, you can set up controls so that your card can only be used within a certain geographic range.

History and reputation

Ally started out as an auto finance company in 1919, and has grown into online banking, credit lending and wealth management.

In 2021 Ally Bank faced a data breach where a coding error on its website led to customers' usernames and passwords being exposed to a third-party business associates. A related class action lawsuit was filed that accused Ally of being responsible for the breach was dismissed.

In 2021 Ally Financial agreed to pay a settlement worth $757,500,000 for consumers who received notices from Ally that turned out the notices didn't comply with each state's form and content requirements.

Who is Ally Bank for?

Ally Bank is a strong fit for those who are comfortable with an online-only bank and with doing all their banking on a desktop or mobile app. As Ally Bank has competitive high-yield savings and CD accounts, we find it to be a top contender for those who are focused on optimizing short-term savings, don't want to worry about fees, and enjoy using savings features and tools to help them reach their goals. 

Is Ally Bank FDIC insured?

Yes, if you have a deposit account with Ally Bank, up to $250,000 per account holder per qualifying account is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Qualifying accounts include checking, savings, money market, CD, and retirement accounts. 

World presence 

While Ally Bank is an online-bank, its physical headquarters is in Sandy, Utah, and it has a corporate center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ally Financial, the holding company that owns Ally Bank is located in Detroit, Michigan.

Ally has employee offices across the U.S. include locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Jacksonville, Little Rock, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh.

How does Ally Bank compare?

Ally Bank vs. SoFi

With roots as a student loan refinancing company, SoFi now offers a hybrid checking and savings account. Both Ally and SoFi offer digital bank accounts with no minimum required balances, nor monthly maintenance or overdraft fees.

However, SoFi offers some special features, such as getting paid up to two days early, a cash-back debit card and the potential to earn a sign-up cash bonus if you sign up for direct deposit. Ally Bank is more of a conventional bank, with more traditional offers such as CDs and money market accounts. Plus, you can open a savings or checking account as standalone accounts.

Ally Bank vs. Marcus

Both Ally Bank and Marcus are digital banks that offer savings accounts and CDs. Stacked up against one another, both offer different types of CD options, such as no-penalty CDs and rate bump CDs. However, Marcus's CDs have a higher APR than Ally's and require a $500 minimum deposit, whereas Ally doesn't have a minimum opening deposit.

Whereas both Ally Bank and Marcus offer high-yield savings accounts with competitive rates and no fees, Ally offers savings buckets, where you can set up up to 10 savings goals and opt for automatic "surprise" savings and boosters. Ally offers more comprehensive bank offerings and products, whereas Marcus offers some loan and investment and credit card options.

Ally Bank vs. Discover

Both Ally Bank and Discover offer a full range of banking products and accounts, such as savings, checking, CDs, and money market accounts. Plus, as both online-only banks, they're able to offer competitive interest rates. You also won't find any overdraft or maintenance fees from either bank. Discover offers attractive features such as getting paid early on its checking account.

Whereas Ally Bank has a step-up and rate-bump CD, Discover only offers standard CDs with terms that range from three months to 10 years. The different terms are more than that's typical. However, Ally Bank doesn't require a minimum to open a CD, and Discover's minimum deposit is $2,500.

Ally Bank vs. Chase

When stacking the digital-only Ally Bank versus Chase, an important distinction is Chase is a longstanding branch with over 5,300 brick-and-mortar locations in the U.S. And while both financial institutions offer savings, checking, CDs, money market accounts, and loans, Ally Bank has the competitive edge with higher interest rates.

Whereas Ally Bank features no monthly account or overdraft fees, Chase has both. However, the $5 monthly account fee can get dropped if you either have a linked eligible checking account, keep a daily balance of $300 or $25 in recurring transfers such as autosave.

Ally Bank vs. Citibank

In comparing the digital-only bank Ally with Citibank, which has over 700 branches across 13 states, both banks offer different accounts and loan products and competitive interest rates. However, Citibank requires high minimum balances or a direct deposit to drop its monthly account fee.

While both Ally Bank and Citibank have different types of CDs to choose from, Citibank has a higher minimum balance to open an account. Plus, Citibank's three-, four- and five-year CDs have historically not offered as much APY as Ally's.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Are Ally Bank and Ally Financial the same?

While they are part of the same company, they aren't the same. Ally Bank is a wholly owned, indirect subsidiary of Ally Financial.

How is Ally Bank ranked? 

Ally Bank ranks third overall in J.D. Power's 2022 Customer Service Satisfaction Study, after Charles Schwab and Discover Bank.

Who owns Ally Bank?

As Ally Bank is part of Ally Financial, and Ally Financial is a publicly traded company, institutional investors own the majority of Ally. In fact, that percentage is nearly 90%. The remaining percentage is retail investors and Ally Insiders.

How do I contact Ally customer service?

You can contact Ally's Bank department in a number of ways. If you're in the U.S., the number is 877-247-2559. If you're outside the U.S., the number is 757-247-2559. Need to report fraud? The line to call is 1-833-226-1520. You can also send an email by logging into your account. You can also reach Ally's customer care department at:

Ally Bank Customer Care\ P.O. Box 951\ Horsham, PA 19044

Does Ally bank have a chat feature?

Yes. You can access Ally's chat feature by logging onto your account on your desktop or via the mobile app.