Should You Open an Ally Bank Checking Account?

Today, we’ll be talking about Ally Bank. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, it is one of the top financial institutions in the United States. Ally Bank offers diversified financial services. Currently, it is among the largest banking institutions in the country by assets. Its electronic trading site has over 350,000 funded accounts. One of the most popular bank accounts at Ally Bank is a checking account called the Interest Checking Account. Today we’ll be unpacking all about this special checking account. What are the pros of this account? Are there any cons? And most of all, should you open an Ally Bank checking account for yourself? Learn it all by scrolling through.

About Ally Bank’s services

Did you know that Ally Bank offers car financing and leasing for more than four million customers and produces 1.4 million car loans every single year? But that’s not all. They don’t limit themselves to that. Other than car financing and leasing, Ally Bank’s services include corporate lending, online banking through a direct bank, mortgage loans, and vehicle insurance. It is also an electronic trading platform to buy and sell financial assets. With over 2 million depositors and counting.

Why do you need a checking account?

Before talking about Ally Bank checking accounts, let’s learn a bit about checking accounts in general. Basically, checking accounts are used by people to keep track of their finances for their daily spending. Having a checking account can help you keep your money safe.

Apart from that, checking accounts let you keep the funds necessary for your financial emergencies. But why should we need a checking account? Why can’t you keep your money at home instead? Well, you can choose to keep your money at home. However, that comes with a lot of risks. For instance, thieves may steal it, and unexpected accidents like fire or natural disasters can damage it too. As you can see, keeping your money at home can have major safety issues. This is why checking accounts are the best and safest option. Plus, you can access your money at any time using an ATM card or online. Thankfully, most businesses accept electronic payments more and more nowadays. So a checking account is a convenient and safe option.

The specialty of the Ally Bank checking account

So what makes Ally Bank’s checking account stand out? It is due to the various features that come with it. Such special features include:

You can access an ATM using your ATM card at any time.
You can earn interest on your checking account.
You can remote-check deposits through the banking app on your phone.
You can expect overdraft protection.
Early direct deposit

Opening an Ally Bank checking account

Now that you learned about Ally Bank and the special features of their checking accounts, you may want to open one for yourself too. You can easily open a checking account. Let’s see how you can apply to open an Ally Bank checking account:

First, go to the Ally Bank website.
navigate to the product page.
Select the type of account you need to open.
In our example, we are opening a checking account. So go ahead and click on your PayPal account.
Click on the “Open Account” button.
Then, provide the required details and select the terms and your preferred funding options.
Once you do that, you will receive an email indicating that they have approved your application.
The steps are pretty simple, right? Apart from this method, there are a couple of other methods you can opt for.

Apply through customer care

Alternatively, you can try another method to open a checking account online. That is done by simply calling Ally Bank customer care. You can contact them at 1-877-247-2559, 27/7.

Apply through email

Other than that, you can apply for an account through email by downloading an application from the relevant section of your form and sending it to the address on the application page.

What do you need to create your Ally Bank checking account?

Let’s see what you will need when opening your account. You are going to need several documents, which include:

Your legal name
Your social security number (You can either present a tax identification number instead.)
Your birthday
Your address

These are the basic details you will need to open your checking account. However, depending on the procedure, you may be asked to submit some more paperwork and information. You can expect such requests in certain situations, like when you have issues with your legal name. For instance, suppose that after marriage you changed your name but never made it official. This can make the process a little more complicated. In that case, the bank would want to confirm your details. So they would ask for information, including:

Your driver’s license
Your Social Security card
Proof of U.S. residency or citizenship

How much money do you need to open an Ally Bank checking account?

As you may already know, most banks expect you to deposit some money when opening an account. Sometimes, this can be inconvenient for you. But that’s not the case with Ally Bank checking accounts. You don’t need to deposit money to open an Ally Bank account. Isn’t that great? Plus, the bank does not request that you fund your checking account with any specific amount. But, we would say it would be best to deposit some money in your account to keep it active. You can deposit $20–$25. Also, you can set up a direct deposit to receive your salary payments from your employer every month.

How much will it cost? Ally Bank checking account charges

As you may know, a lot of bank accounts charge you for various reasons, like monthly fees, withdrawal fees, foreign transaction fees, and this and that. and we know it’s such a headache. But, when it comes to your Ally Bank checking account, we have great news for you. Yes, you guessed it—Ally Bank checking accounts do not charge any such fees.

Having an Ally Bank checking account means you are free from

Monthly maintenance fees
Low daily balance fees
Overdraft item fees
Official/cashier’s checks
Standard or expedited ACH transfer fees
Incoming wire fees (domestic and international)
Copies of online statements
Postage-paid deposit envelope fees

However, you cannot expect it all to be free. Ally Bank expects you to part with returned deposit item fees of up to $7.50. Other than that, it is expected that you will pay expedited delivery fees of around $15. Keep in mind that outgoing domestic wire fees can cost you up to $20. Also, the account research fee is about $25.

Ally Bank checking account: advantages

You can enjoy a variety of pros if you have a checking account with Ally Bank. These advantages include:

1. You are free from a lot of transaction fees

The bank does not charge fees as much as most other banks do. So you are free from overdraft fees, incoming wires, and official/cashier’s checks, among others.

2. It’s easy to open your account

The process to open an account is very easy and user-friendly. There are no complex steps involved. You just need your computer or phone to create the checking account online. Or else, you can complete the process through mail, email, or simply contact Ally Bank to open the bank account.

3. You can withdraw money easily

You have the chance to access or withdraw money anytime you want through ATMs and online.

4. There are no minimum balance requirements

The bank does not require you to deposit a specific amount to create the account. This basically means that you can open your checking account with however much money you want. You don’t have to worry about the bank penalizing you or imposing charges as per your balance.

5. FDIC-insurance

The FDIC insures Ally Bank. This means your money will continue to remain intact even if the bank collapses.

6. Deposit checks remotely

Ally Bank offers an eCheck Deposit service, which you can use to deposit checks online.

7. Debit card

Ally Bank issues a Mastercard debit card. This can be used to withdraw money via ATMs and shop online and at physical stores.

8. You can earn interest

Ally Bank’s checking account earns interest. Your funds will not just lie idle in your account.

Ally Bank checking account: disadvantages

Before you decide to open a checking account at Ally Bank, you need to learn about the cons. There are not many disadvantages, but get to know them too.

Fees on certain transactions This is one of the major cons of the Ally Bank checking account. You are expected to pay for transactions like expedited delivery and outgoing wires.
No cash deposits. With the Ally Bank account, you cannot make cash deposits. You are only allowed to make direct deposits, online deposits, wire transfers, or remote check deposits.
No brick-and-mortar services This is because Ally Bank operates entirely online. So you need to get one-on-one assistance from bank officials.

Wrapping up

There you have it! Now you know all about Ally Bank. It is one of the largest financial institutions, providing financial services like car finance, corporate lending, online banking through a direct bank, mortgage loans, vehicle insurance, and an electronic trading platform to buy and sell financial assets. One of the services we discussed today was the checking account offered by Ally Bank. We discussed the special features and the pros and cons of them. Comparatively, the pros of Ally Bank’s checking accounts are higher than the cons. We could say that the Interest Checking Account is a good choice for your transaction needs.