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Ally Bank Review
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In mid-May, GMAC Bank changed its name to Ally Bank. With General Motors in the news every day for something negative, it’s hard to do business when everyone thinks you’re about to go out of business. The funny thing about it all is that GMAC Bank’s parent company, GMAC Financial, hasn’t been a part of General Motors for several years. When you have financial companies in distress and auto companies in distress, a bank that people think is inextricably linked to auto company is in some deep trouble.
So, they changed their name.
But are they a good bank to do business with? Let’s find out.
History Lesson on GMAC
If you are confused with all the acronyms and relationships between businesses, you aren’t a lone. I was very confused. GMAC stand for General Motors Acceptance Corporation and was once a wholly owned financial services arm of General Motors, the auto manufacturer. The financial services company provided financing to GM dealers, among other things. In 2006, General Motors sold a majority stake in GMAC to Cerberus Capital Management, thus providing some separation in the GM and GMAC relationship. Last year, GMAC was converted to a bank holding company to give them access to TARP funds.
GMAC Bank is a subsidiary of GMAC Financial Services, which offers a whole host of other financial products. This year, in May, GMAC Bank changed their name to Ally Bank.
Whew! Hopefully that all makes sense, but the end result is that Ally Bank/GMAC Bank is part of GMAC Financial Services, which is separate from General Motors itself and has been since 2006.
FDIC Insured
First things first, always confirm that the bank is FDIC insured. I would never bank at a non FDIC/NCUA insured financial institution and neither should you. Ally Bank is FDIC insured under FDIC certificate #57803 and have been since August 2004. The FDIC certificate still lists gmacbank.com as their primary internet web address but that will redirect you to the Ally Bank homepage. If you’re curious, their headquarters is at 6985 Union Park Center, Midvale, UT 84047.
Bankrate Safe & Sound rating: I don’t put a tremendous amount of credence in bank ratings because I believe FDIC insurance trumps everything, but they are valuable to read so you know what you’re getting into. Since the reports are quarterly, the most recent one is from December 2008, which is arguably a little dated. Back then, they still had a three star rating (out of five) and their predictive indicator was positive. You can read the memo for GMAC Bank here. I didn’t find a more recent report.
Online Savings Account
Let’s get to the reason why you and I care about Ally Bank in the first place, their deposit products. Ally Bank’s high interest rate on their high yield savings account is pretty good, enough to snag one of the top spots on my table of high yield savings account rates (Everbank is listed higher with an asterisk because they offer a promo rate for three months). The minimum to open is a comedic $0 (they will close your account if you don’t fund it, but I’d read that to say “no minimums”) and there are no monthly fees.
One thing I do like seeing is the explicit listing of a limit of six withdrawals or transfers per statement cycle. This limit is true on all savings accounts because there is a six transfer/withdrawal limit mandated by federal regulations. So many people, myself included, run into this problem with online accounts and it’s mostly out of ignorance. It’s nice to see them inform people about it.
No Penalty Certificate of Deposit
They’ve been heavily promoting the fact that they have no tricks, with no fees, no minimums, and all sorts of other anti-gimmick messages. It’s a great angle, especially during a time when banks are trying to earn as much revenue as possible, but a lot of other banks have very low minimums and don’t have any maintenance fees. In that respect, they’re not that much different. However, they do have one unique product – a no-penalty CD.
The no penalty CD lets you withdraw your money without paying a penalty, which is usually several months worth of interest. On CDs shorter than 12 months, the standard penalty is three month’s worth of interest. On CDs greater than 12 months, the standard penalty is six month’s worth of interest. For the no penalty CD, the penalty is in fact $0. The difference is in the interest rate.
In May 2009, they offered a 9-month No Penalty CD at 2.50% APY and a 9-month regular CD at 2.60% APY rate, a difference of 0.10% APY (the rates have since changed). That translates into $0.75 on ever $1,000 deposited over the 9 month period. Seventy five cents doesn’t look like a lot, but to be fair you need to compare it with the interest you would’ve earned at 2.60%. When you calculate the difference as a percentage of the total interest earned, it’s not a significant price to pay at 3.86%. You lose a little under percent to gain the flexibility to cancel, it doesn’t seem too bad and would be a fair price if you think interest rates are rising.
The only downside with the no penalty CD is that the only term they offer is 9 months.
Summary
It’s FDIC insured, they have great rates compared to their peers, and they seem to be in sound financial shape. I don’t have an account with them but I’ve heard good things about people who opened GMAC Bank accounts because of their great rates. I don’t see anything that would stop me from banking with them.
Do you have a GMAC Bank/Ally Bank account? What do you think of them?
{ 76 comments, please add your thoughts now! }
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Interesting– I just saw ads for this “new” company. I hadn’t taken the time to uncover the change.
I’ve been with GMAC (now Ally) for a while. Couldn’t have been happier. CD laddering is super-easy since opening a “sub-account” takes but a few seconds. And I also use Ally as my ACH transfer hub since you can link unlimited number of bank accounts to it.
And before FDIC’s deposit interest rate cap takes effect on Jan 1, 2010, I’ve locked in a large portion of my liquid funds into several no-penalty CD’s.
Even though the no-penalty CD only has 9-mo term, assuming the interest rate still remains the same (or higher), I can simply break the CD and transfer the money into a new no-penalty CD near the end of the year to effectively extend the term.
Stay away from Ally Bank. They do a complete credit check just to open an account and require a minimum credit score before they will accept a deposit. For example, if you are just starting out and have no credit history at all, they will not open an account for you. This is an intrusive policy that makes little business sense. There are much better options out there.
As long as they have the best rates, I don’t really care. I have a high credit score, so why not use that to my advantage?
Seems odd that they do this, especially if you’re not asking for overdraft protection or some other sort of credit, but… I don’t really care.
I called to find out and they do a soft pull for CDs and a hard pull for OSAs because you can overdraw the OSA.
It makes business sense because overdrawing an account is essentially giving you a loan, I believe your disdain and hatred for the credit score is clouding your judgment.
Dear Mr. ToughMoneyLove:
I an not financially savvy, but trying to figure out the best option for a bit of money (~$500 each) I set aside for my children as a giftgift to minors. You mentioned, “There are much better options out there.” What would they be?
Many, many thanks!
For high interest bank accounts, find them at checkingfinder.com. For a $500 gift to minors, consider an I-Bond.
Thank you, Mr. TML(and sorry for the typos in previos post – haha)!! I will look into I-bonds
Not clouding my judgment. When there are other banks with equal or better rates who do not rely on credit scores, I prefer to act on principle and send my business to banks that have policies that make sense. There is no risk to Ally Bank on overdrafts. They just refuse to honor them. Very simple. Plus, having no credit history at all does not in any way indicate that the applicant is more likely to overdraw an account as compared to someone who loves credit. In fact, I would say that the opposite is true.
Having no credit score makes it impossible for them to predict whether you are a good or bad risk. Assuming that they’re extending overdraft protection (as Jim indicated) then this makes perfect sense. They’re extending credit, so they want to know your credit risk. Like it or not (and I realize that you do not), some form of a credit score is the industry standard for this.
What relevance is a credit score to saving money?
I’m with ToughMoneyLove on this one. It irks me when places bundle up services and give you no way to opt out if the services preclude you from joining.
I have this problem with ING Direct, I’d love to have an Electric Orange checking, but don’t meet the credit requirements because of the overdraft. Even calling and talking to a rep there’s no way to waive the overdraft protection. Love their savings, would love their checking, but can’t.
Exactly what does Ally gain from pulling a soft on a CD? Where’s the risk to them?
A soft pull on the CD is just to confirm your identity.
The no-penalty CD is so tempting… it’s almost hard to believe it’s no-penalty.
Nickel – Can’t you see that you are taking the bank’s bait plus the hook and the sinker? A bank that checks your credit score because of overdraft protection that they force on you is actually hoping you will overdraw the account so that you can be charged exorbitant fees. If it was really about risk control, they would simply not honor checks presented against insufficient funds. This is about making money in fees from careless customers who overdraw accounts. The credit score is part of the plan to insure that this money-making strategy is profitable.
And, it is not the industry standard. Most banks that open accounts online will use a credit report to verify your identity but not all require a minimum credit score. A brick and mortar band requires neither, unless you want credit, such as overdraft protection.
I see your point, but I still don’t really care. I have a good credit score as a byproduct of my financial habits, and I don’t overdraft my accounts. Thus, it doesn’t affect me. GMAC (now Ally) offers good rates, and that’s what I’m after when choosing a bank. We opened several CDs with them last fall when we were in the market for high yield CDs.
As for avoiding fees by not having overdraft protection, NSF fees at most banks are usually considerably more expensive than fees associated with triggering overdraft protecting. Every bank that I’ve ever banked at has charged a fee for an overdraft even if they flat out refuse the check.
Sure, they might be creating a situation in which you could get hooked on carrying a balance on your LOC. But it’s still up to the customer’s poor judgment to turn that into a liability instead of a convenience.
If they force you to take an overdraft line and you don’t want one, then I agree that you shouldn’t have an account with them. (For the record, we had no such problems when opening our CDs, though they’re a different beast.) But making blanket statements that people should stay away from them is silly. In some cases, they’re the best option out there — like last fall when we were looking for CDs, they had far and away the best rates, and were super easy to deal with.
Mr. ToughMoneyLove,
This is a perfectly legitimate free market strategy. Perhaps you need to consider that this product is not for people who are going to run up overdrafts. One of the reasons that financial organizations like this can offer attractive services to financially responsible customers is that they do not let over-drafters ride along and be subsidized by others. Hence the stiffer fees. Think of it as an incentive to be financially responsible, and not burden your financial neighbors in the same bank.
If I am responsible, and someone else is bouncing checks or generating overdrafts at my bank, I want them to pull their own weight, plus a significant “kicker” to motivate them to change their behavior. The era of cheap credit with no consequences and walking away from debt is over, and we’re all tired of bailing other people out. The best customers deserve the cream, and people who present higher risk deserve to pay for that risk. We’re never going back to the way it was before.
I refuse to support any financial company that has accepted tax-payer bailouts.
GMAC acted with malfeasance during the credit bubble.
Who do you support? I am in the market for a new checking account & would like more opinions.
Thanks – Pete
With checking accounts I prefer the most convenient local bank because checking is about convenience and not return.
Are you unaware that the government FORCED banks to accept bailout money?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122402486344034247.html
GMAC may have accepted it, but their actual preferences were irrelevant.
I have an account with Ally and they are the most courteous, professional bank I have ever dealt with. They have a terrific secure email link and have answerered all of my questions clearly and quickly. I give them my highest rating.
I’ve had a GMAC onlione savings account and several CDs laddered through them, for about eight or nine months now, I believe.
Before that I had HSBC and ING as my main online accounts. But little by little, I began transferring nearly all of my savings over to GMAC. So far, since the Ally name change, nothing appears different. It’s still very easy to open and manage CDs and other accounts online, and I enjoy the interface much more than any other online bank I’ve dealt with.
Oh, and the fact that their rates are well above ING and HSBC, doesn’t hurt either.
I recommend Ally, wholeheartedly.
There are local and regional brick and mortar banks that offer free online checking with some very good interest rates, if you are willing to use debit cards for transactions 10 times/month. You can find them at CheckingFinder.com. For online savings, try Capital One. If you are a Costco member, use its link and you will get a better rate.
i work in the banking industry. a soft pull is to confirm identity. this is in place due to the Patriot Act. ALL banks need to confirm identity when opeing as new acct, its the law and monitored by the occ.
that said, i have two accounts at ally and so far i am impressed with their offerings and their super easy to navigate and use web interface.
Have you guys seen this?
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/03/news/ally.enemy.fortune/?postversion=2009060304
Ally’s under fire for their high interest rates. The article contends that they’re drastically overdrawn, using their deposits to fund their nearly depleted car and home loan businesses.
There’s more about how risky Ally may actually be, followed up by the CEO’s hillariously snarky responses.
Now I’m extra conflicted after opening an ally account yesterday and transferring the funds from my ING. Any thoughts?
I have a savings and a CD with them. It seems they are very professional and offer good services.. the credit score doesn’t bother me much yet.. But I’m a little concerned after reading the comments now.
Re: savings
Looks like it costs $20 each transfer to get your money back out though.
Only if you request a wire transfer, ACH is still free (which is how most transfers are).
Its wierd,,I went to open the no penalty CD with rate of 2.50 APY, I get to page set up page and it shows a rate of 2.30 APY….Im not sure why this is happening,,,very strange.
I JUST opened an account with Ally and the rate has already dropped, argggg! Same thing happened with HSBC, conspiracy!
I just opened an account at Ally then read the limits on Ally’s liability you have to agree to in order to activate the account. It is ridiculously over the top. I compared it to ETRADE and it’s not even close. ETRADE limits your liability to $50 or $500 depending on when you inform them that your password has been hacked, etc.
Bottom line…Ally bank looks great unless you become a victim of fraud.
The whole bailout is so stupid on so many levels. Paying workers not to work, paying workers to quit, giving Chrysler to a company along with billions of dollars. This FAKE bankruptcy is a fraud by our US Treasury, among others. Anyhow, get ready to print some more money. This GMAC did not ever qualify as a bank. it was switcharoo and the Treasury has funded it completely. They have raise sqwaut funding except from our GOVEREMENT, otherwise nothing. Changing the name, FRAUD, magic trick, still same POS. All this trickery is making me ill.
Unfortunately this falls into the too-good-to-be-true category. They advertised these rates, but locked in investors to much lower rates given the clause in fine print that “rates are subject to change without notice.” Even the CEO of the Bank was forced to apologize for this issue on another blog (http://www.finnie.org/2009/06/06/ally-bank-no-sneaky-disclaimers-no-fine-print-just-lies/).
Yeah, it’s been unfortunate that their rates keep going dooooown.
They could use another strategy for attracting deposits, such as by accepting money from young adults who have money, income, and a bright financial future, but do not yet have a credit score. How revolutionary would that be?
I am a recent college graduate and I am really excited and surprised by Ally Bank. I like the fact that it is online and really easy to access and use. The rates are good and I can easily transfer to and from my checking account. I was looking for a smart alternative to the standard savings account with Guaranty Bank and I believe I have found it!
I have been with Ally (GMAC) for 3 years. I had no problem with GMAC before.
Recently I spend 2 months in Ally and still can not open a new account, this experience is very frustrated. The customer representatives have inconsistent answers. One day they call you with one answer, and please don’t feel surprised for the call from them in the following days with another answer; I fax the documents to them, and they can not find/locate the fax. I am tired with several rounds of this kind of inconsistence.
My question is:
If representatives can NOT provide standard guidance/answer, what’s the meaning of customer service of the bank?
Although they have 7-24 call service, it won’t help if they can NOT solve your problem. (In fact, it wastes your time!)
I am searching for another bank with relative high rates. Enough is enough.
I had a similar problem.
Though I signed and returned their “signature card” immediately, they kept calling and mailing me to tell me that they did not receive it.
Finally after umpteen calls, as I was about to fax/mail them a fresh set, they called me again to say that they had found the original copy.
No problems after that initial scare.
They wouldn’t let me open a savings account due to lack of credit. I still don’t understand why me not having bills in my name is a reason for them to not take my $10,000 and put it in a savings account.
I have had a savings account at Ally since before they changed their name. I have not had any issues with them. In fact, I really like the convenience of their website and being able to transfer money to and from my accounts with ease. They offer competitive rates and they have always been very straightforward about everything.
Other bankers are just badmouthing Ally because they can’t compete at the same level. My money is FDIC insured, making a good APY, and I really could care less about them running a credit check. Actually, I feel more secure about it because then they can confirm my true identity. Plus, I know that they are more aware of the level of risk that they have opening accounts with people who have established credit. This is similar to people complaining that Wal-mart put them out of business because they have low prices. Well, either compete or make room for somebody else in the market who is doing it better.
You are charged $10. (each) if you do more than 6 ACH transfers in a month. Avoid this bank.
Isn’t that the case for all savings accounts?
Unfortunately, I think that is the federal law! They are required to charge you $10 for more than 6 transactions on a savings account by law. You may want to consider an online checking account if you think you will have more than 6 transactions per month to avoid the fees and still get a decent interest rate.
well the reason for the 6 transfers is because we are following federal guidlines, if you would like more transactions we could always lower the APY? your choice lol
As the saying goes, “If it’s too good to be true, it usually is!”
This is the horrible bank I’ve ever experienced ever.
I started to apply a no penalty bank two months ago, where the rate was 2.5%. I actually think they are delaying the process on purpose so to give a lower rate. Now it is 1.9%.
I’ve talked to them on the phone over 20 times. They asked for the application ID, full SSN#, birthday, and then the secret question each time. They keep losing my fax, each time I have to repeat the same story to each reprentative starting from the beginning. I faxed my driver license, other bank statement and brokage account statement, even go to post office to wait for a hour to get an certifciation letter. In the end they claimed they need a stamp. After all these, in the end, they ask for an utility bill. I have to talk to PG&E to add my name (originally only my spouse’s name). And they keep saying they didn’t find the last fax with the utility bill after I faxed them so many other documents.
I feel something is wrong here. This is defintely the worst application experience so far. I am not even borrowing their money! Are they over cautious or they don’t really need the business?
After waiting for the guy for 5 minutes to go through the notes and can’t help, I finally closed the application. But I feel super bad because I give them every document i have and all personal stuff. I even have to change my secret answers now!
A frustrated applicant
Can’t say I am very pleased about my experience with this bank either.
For starters, their interest rates are no longer that great; there are several other online banks whose rates are significantly higher. As this was essentially the only reason I considered this bank, that is very disappointing.
Second, they never made clear at any time during the application process that they were going to do a full credit check. I’m young and don’t have a credit history, and this will just make it more difficult to start building one.
Third, after my application was flagged I was never able to get a direct answer from any of the reps I spoke with one the phone. They kept telling me that everything was fine and all I needed to do was fax over several documents. I faxed the documents, gave them all the information they requested, only to find out my application was rejected.
I can understand that they want to see your credit score if they are offering overdraft protection; however, they should at least have made an effort to warn people with a bad or limited credit history not to apply. There is also no reason to waste people’s time having them call back and forth, faxing documents and whatnot when they have no intention of opening the account.
I spent all this time, ink, and paper trying to open a savings account with a barely competitive interest rate, and all I have to show for it is an enquiry on my credit record.
Thanks for less than nothing Ally Bank.
I opened up a savings account with GMAC bank about two months ago. I was attracted by the high interest rate and convenience of banking online. When GMAC turned to Ally, I was a bit skeptical.
I then opened up a 60 month CD about two weeks ago. A few days afterwards, I realized I made a mistake and needed the money. I called customer service and asked if I could close the CD with no penalty. They said they would see what they could do. Today, I see the CD was closed with no penalty.
I am no longer skeptical.
Just got back three weeks ago from 15 months in Afganistan, trying to get up to speed with returning home and saw ads for this bank with good yields, Horah. Nice idea, wrong bank. Jumped thru hoops on their forms just to be turned down on opening a account with $15,000 because of lack of credit history. Now i see this bank is the child of GMAC, how ironic is that. They made me feel like a loser when it was them all the time.
I have opened an MMA with Ally for its check writing privilege. To my surprise, when I provided the routing number, 124003116, to Countrywide for setting up automatic payment, it says invalid routing number. The CS at both Ally and Countrywide can’t resolve this issue.
On the other hand, I have paid my credit card bill using Ally’s routing number. Strange!
I found the old GMAC routing number (031176136) did the trick. If the new routing number doesn’t work, give the old GMAC number, even if you are a new Ally customer.
Thanks a ton David,
I ran into the same issue and both banks are no wiser to the issue.
What in the hell is with this second class bank running ads that are abusive to children. Are they crazy? Again, are they crazy? Take a pony from a girl and a truck from a little boy and do it with unbridled sarcasm! This is overt verbal child abuse, on national television, with the intent of making money. ARE THESE PEOPLE CRAZY?
Are you serious? I mean, really, are you serious? What, did someone steal a toy from you when you were a kid or something? Don’t take advertisements so seriously. It’s bad for your blood pressure.
I don’t understand Ally Bank’s way of doing business. I tried to open an online bank account with a $10,000 deposit and a $40,000 CD account for my son who just turned 18. The bank approved the CD account but denied his online banking account because they claimed that he does not have a sufficient credit history. WTF. After debating the issue with a manager and wasting 30 minutes of my time on the phone, I gave up. I’m taking my business somewhere else. I can understand the bank declining a credit card application but I have never heard of a bank not willing to open a bank deposit account without sufficient credit history.
Steven,
Many banks these days hard pull credit report because some customers are prone to overdraft. As I understand, Ally is one of them.
This has been discussed before and I’m sorry you didn’t realize it.
David – Your reply to Steven is a non-sequitur. On what evidence do the robots posing as humans at Ally Bank conclude that a young person with no credit history (and therefore no FICO score) is prone to overdraft? This is what the FICO score has become in many contexts – a substitute for judgment and common sense.
Interesting…I was going to open an account with Ally, I have two savings accounts, one at a traditional branch bank, and one with ING Direct. When I was filling out the information to open the account, I was directed to call the customer service line. To my disgrace, I was denied the opportunity to open an account because my credit score wasn’t high enough. I wish this information was posted somewhere obvious on their web site so that I wouldn’t have wasted my time. Now they have my address, SS#, e-mail, phone number…just great.
Beware GMAC, Cerberus and now Ally. Remember GMAC was one of the big players in the bad mortage biz that crushed this nation last year and is still falling out. Cerberus ran Chrysler and GMAC into the ground, stiffed thousands and is now trying to bet bank status so it can again screw the public. Stay away no matter what they offer in return. Cerberus will find a way to stick it to you. So they named their new bank Ally, like they are our allies, please…
I closed my account after two months. Interest rate kept dropping. Website didn’t accurately show account info. They kept insisting on snamil mail for some things
I deposited a cashiers check into their savings account and they took 9 days to clear it. A cashier’s check is cash; they kept my money for 9 days and not only could I not access it, I did not get interest on it.
Their website is suspect. I have been unable to access my account for over 24 hours. Scary. I plan on closing the account.
Stay away from Ally Bank. Their website does not accurately reflect transactions and they want real paperwork when you sign up
I have never felt so irritated at any bank! I opened up an account, per my client’s request, with Ally. It took 3-4 days for approvals just to open the accounts. My client (a LARGE bank in the US) deposited money into the accounts. It took almost 1 week for verification (this is a LARGE bank transfering money into Ally)…go figure…ONE WEEK to verify this. NOW they will not let me access the money…and it’s been TWO WEEKS since it was verified by Ally. I have called and called and “chatted” and called and I get NO ANSWERS as to why this is going on! I can not get my money and NO ONE WILL GIVE ME AN ANSWER and NO ONE CALLS ME LIKE THEY TELL ME THEY WILL. This has been the WORST experience I have ever had with any company or bank.
Hmmm,Seems like I’m the odd man out here. I opened an CD, with out any problems. I actually liked the added paperwork. I was able to take my time and review the terms.
I just received an e-mail from Ally telling me that I could save even more by taking some money that I have not used in my Online Savings Account and putting that to work in a higher paying CD! When was the last time a bank tried to help you at their expense?
I am very happy with Ally.
Beware of Ally Bank. I opened a MMA and a CD. I wanted to link the MMA to my Citibank checking. It appeared their cumbersome method, through some website called Money HQ, finally worked. But when I tried to make a transfer, it showed somebody else’s name on the Ally MMA. I have been fighting them for a week. Finally today, their Cust Svc rep told me that I should go elsewhere, that Ally Bank was not the bank for me. I am willing to go elsewhere, but they want to assess a sizeable penalty on my CD. I think they should waive the CD because they cannot fix my account and are basically kicking me out.
I have read that they are getting heat from the gov’t because they are doing the same things they were doing as GMAC bank which cost us taxpayers a chunk of bailout money when it failed. Everyone, pull out your money.
Your message makes no sense. I have linked my Ally accounts with external accounts with no issues. They use the same process as other online banks like ING. You are asked to verify it with trial deposits which is also pretty standard.
In fact, I was a customer when they were GMAC bank and was very pleased with their service then, as I am now.
10/17/09: Ally Bank has reduced the APY for the
Online Savings Account from to 1.70% from 1.80%
at the beginning of the week.
I opened a OSA this past week. Verified banks
via trial deposit, started money movement, all
went fine. I like the simple, clean web site User Interface. Compared to the cluttered chaos
of citibank or tdameritrade, it is quite nice.
They show you the current interest rate your
money is earning right there at account status,
not hidden (ever try to find the rate Citibank’s
Ultimate Money Market is presently paying? –
impossible!) so you’ll easily and immediately
see when they adjust the rate.
They show you the current w/d counter for the
statement period (says “Limited Transaction
Count”) right there at account status, so you
know when you are close to hitting the federal
law limit, 6 w/d per period. I’ve never seen
this feature from any bank before.
So far, it is just like their commercials,
“story” and banner ads state: nothing hidden,
being 100% straightforward with the customer.
- unlimited number of linked external accounts
-Quarter mil xfer $ limit (website msg is “Amount must be 250,000 or less”)
- ACH deposit start
to earn interest immediately (i.e. “good faith”)
but will take 3 business days to clear the
source bank.
- ACH w/d show up in destination bank in 3
business days (so I’m told)
- Alerts possible for
“Regular Deposit” and “Cross Balance Threshold”
Other activity automatically generates a
status email.
One glitch: a visual-only rendering imperfection
of login & “security image” dialog boxes on
firefox 1.5 & 2.
Ally bank: please implement “next day” ACH for
deposit and wd/! Countrywide’s late Savingslink
account had this feature, so I know it can
be done.
I’ve been with ING since 2002. Interest rates, as everyone knows (or should) are crappy, but they have a special deal for a 12 month CD at 2.25% as of today. Whew, and to think I was considering Ally!
I watched the initial ads from Ally and decided to open an online savings account to test the service. Since then, I have been so impressed that I have not only opened more accounts but have transferred all my savings to them. IMHO they are the best online bank.
Ally Bank owns and services my home loan, which is a HELOC rather than a conventional mortgage (this is part of CMG’s Home Ownership Accelerator program). The HELOC is tied to a checking account for bill payment, etc.
Earlier this year, after depositing $100,000 in the checking account (proceeds of some investment liquidations), Ally Bank swept the funds from my checking account into the HELOC and then immediately dropped the credit line on the HELOC by that amount! I now have no access to those funds at all, and Ally Bank refuses to release them back to me.
On continuing to wrestle with them over this, it has become clear to me that GMAC/Ally is in severe financial distress and probably insolvent. I’ve been taking a much closer look at their financial statements, and have taken every liquid dollar I still have access to out of my accounts with them. I’m even considering shorting their stock because it looks like they’re a failure candidate.
If you’re considering doing business with them, be very, very careful. They are desperate for cash, so don’t let them have any opportunity to take yours.
It was reported on the news that GMAC is going to ask the government for more bailout money. So I am inclined to think they are desperate for deposits just to keep them afloat. Too many car and home loans going sour. Not sure it the rate justifies the risk. Sure, it’s FDIC insured, but what happens to your money in a bankruptcy? And even if you got dollar for dollar back after a bankruptcy, how long would you have to wait for it?
I moved my savings from my credit union last March. I have no complaints. They are who they say they are.
Three cds with ally all 1yrsame rate. each mth’s statement apy earned climbed tp the last month’s yield of 4.53%. Ally transferred money to on line savings but only paid 4.36%. Dozens of phone calls, no one knows anything, supervisors promise to call back same day, NEVER call back. Hide behind NO PHONE NUMBERS, can’t trace anyone. It’s like a sweat box or boiler room in a collection agency. Lies, hiding, etc, etc. Take evry cent and RUN BABY RUN.
ally bank is great they have good rates and are customer helpfull