Ally: Banking & Investing Positive Reviews
Easy to use and easy to bank with!I love their live chat option! It’s probably my favorite thing about banking with Ally. They are good about answering calls, too, but if you’re trying to multitask I find the chat more convenient so that in public places other ppl aren’t over hearing your conversation. It’s really easy to deposit checks and I find their app to be pretty reliable. I can’t even recall the app crashing on me more than once, and I’ve had it for many years! Unlike other bank apps I’ve used that have bn a complete nightmare. I really wish they offered business banking bc I have not bn able to find a bank that is as convenient to bank with and has a banking app as good as Ally’s. Another cool feature is you can see your total balance for all accounts on the home page, and your individual balances are listed next to each account. I know this is something my husband really wished his previous bank app had. Also, you can transfer money from one account to another via the app and the amount is available straight away! Overall, I highly recommend this bank and it’s app..NautikersVersion: 20.12.0
2024: great app but STILL not VPN friendlyAND ANOTHER THING: What's with the "Your Ally session timed out due to inactivity" push notification? Do you really think my session timeout is so important that I need to get a push notification every time I use your app? Have you, or anyone you know, ever received that notification and said, "Oh, my Ally app session is timed out, I better do something about that"? No? Yeah, I didn't think so. And this notification can only be disabled if you completely disable all Ally notifications which is nuts. I bet this was some manager or consultant's "contribution" to the Ally app project to justify their insane salary. Please remove this useless notification or at the very least give your users the option to turn it off separately in app settings.
2024 UPDATE: So, it’s 2024 and the Ally Bank iOS app (and website) still aren’t VPN friendly. Literally every other banking app and website that I use work fine with VPNs. But Ally Bank chooses to be stuck in the past and jeopardize the security of their customers because they don’t want to spend a little money to make their app and website VPN compatible. Do better.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: Great bank and app. One problem: when my VPN is on, the app gets stuck on the loading screen. I have many other bank / brokerage iOS apps and every single one of them works flawlessly with the VPN enabled. Please update your iOS app to work with VPNs..MStyleFTWVersion: 24.1.1
Could be betterI’ve had Ally about 10 years now. Was first attracted by their no penalty CDs when I was saving for my first home. Obviously in that amount of time alot has changed in my own life and therefore current needs, tech and stock trading. The good: they’re polite, easy to get a hold of on the phone. The bad: their stock trading interface is circa 2010. This is how others used to look and function so originally I didn’t think anything of it but other options have come so much further now I don’t know why y’all don’t get with the program to keep a younger customer base engaged. I like the analyst reports and options charts but actually entering a trade is cumbersome and they won’t let you trade on margin. Plus it only shows your average holdings of a ticker- no clue how to see how much of that is ST or LT to make informed decisions when selling. There are much better stock trading options out there. Only reason I still have the stock account I do is because my main brokerage no longer accepts stock transfers and I don’t want to cash out of these. I moved 90% of my money out years ago when it was in cash. Summary- as a bank they are competitive with CD rates. I’ve never used them for normal savings or checking so can’t comment. Good customer service. To stay competitive, their trading side needs a major facelift, but does have better research tools than others..Apm1026Version: 22.06.3
Love them to bank and invest!I’ve been saving online with Ally for a couple years now - using them for a savings account was a no brainer. But I DID use the ole brain to decide who to go with for my first foray into the stock market. I read up on best apps for beginners, pros and cons of several different platforms, etc, and decided to go with Ally - ultimately the fact that I already banked with them gave an extra ‘pro’ to them on the list, in addition to charging NO commission and NO trading fees, which seemed basically unheard of on most other apps I looked into. I’ve had my investment account open for most of this month and it’s been a really easy, unscary process (as Unscary as the stock market can be, anyway.) I used them to buy a handful of specific stocks I decided on after tracking those stocks for a year and researching them, and I plan to use this account to grow my money towards retirement, investing a modest amount each year (not to actively trade, and not to quickly grow funds that I then want to immediately use). So my experience based on that goal has been really great!.BudgetMaster BVersion: 6.15.1
Best Bank thus farI’ve been with Ally for several years now. I have a checking and savings account with them. Even when I couldn’t find a bank to finance my car loan, Ally was the only one to trust me with a car loan. I paid off that car with no issues from Ally. I would recommend Ally to everyone that I know. I realized recently how great they are. I had not used my account for over a year, probably a year and a half. So, when I called them the other day, to my surprise, my account was still open and ready to use! Amazing!!! And their live customer support is the best!
I’m seeing negative comments here, but why would you use a bank for stock investments? Maybe if you are having issues with Ally’s investment program, try using companies that focus just on that, and come back to Ally once they have mastered that option. It seems that their stock investment program may need some updating, but don’t write them off just because you’ve had issues. Ally is still a great bank option..MgwattVersion: 6.7.1
Really long waitI made my account for trading months ago. I’m still filing for my account to be fully active. You have to jump through so many hoops to use this app. You have to file for your bank and IF they accept it which took me 6 tries to get accepted because they didn’t like the way my documents looked? Legit got confirmed from the same thing I sent every time because that’s what they kept asking for. Anyway then you have to wait 4 or 5 days for your money to show in account then you have to wait 4 or 5 days for it to “settle” in your account. Then you have your money all set and oh wait you still can’t use it even though you have it. You have to now apply for options which will take 2 to 3 days. I applied for Fidelity and got instant access and the app is cleaner. But my friend is using this app so I’m going to be using this app. But there should be a easier way to just apply for everything out the get go. None of this wait months to do anything crap. Super in convenient. Other then the looooooong wait the bank it ok. The app only has 1/4th of the features so expect to have to use their website every now and then..SealvlVersion: 21.01.0
Buckets are greatSo far I enjoy using the bank and a major reason I chose them was because of the spending buckets. You allocate money into different buckets for different purposes such as bills, eating out, savings. The only thing I would change about them is the way they take the money. If you spend somewhere it doesn’t recognize, it will take it out of the “unbucketed” money. It will take money from multiple buckets if necessary to put in unbucketed for your purchase. The problem is once I redirect the purchase to a bucket that already had the money in it, the app puts the money back in the unbucketed section. Now I have to manually put all the money back in the different buckets. Example: I took $300 out of the atm to make a payment. I had a bucket for this but the app took money from 4 other buckets to cover it. Then I had to figure out which ones and how much to put back in each. I hope this makes sense. If they could make it so the money goes back where I had it on its own then I would give it 5 stars..TrustmeimmadoctorVersion: 23.24.0
So Far So Frustrated 🤷🏻♂️I just switched over to this bank based off of the high praise that their customer service department receives. Truth is, I haven’t even had the app long enough to need customer service, and I’m already quite frustrated. The app is incredibly buggy and feels very unreliable. The login system is glitchy and often forces me to close and reopen the app before it finally lets me log in. All of the Help and FAQ sections on the app never load in, they just sit frozen with a loading sign. And I’m trying to stick to facts that are actually happening and not inject too much “grumpy opinion” in this but I have seen some people saying the app is very non-intuitive, and I have to agree. Menus feel clunky and difficult to navigate. I work with some incredible UX designers, and it’s amazing what hiring a smart one can do (or if you have one, giving them a bit more room to shine). Anyway, not sure if anyone ever reads these but these are my thoughts. I put this at three stars stars because I have faith that someone smart at Ally will see this and help prompt some big app changes..Corporate Sell OutVersion: 22.02.0
Outstanding Investment and Banking PlatformI moved my money over to Ally because I liked the ability to easily create additional checking and savings custodian accounts for my kids all manageable from one place. Each with their own debit cards and free checks! + Found a really neat savings feature called buckets to help save for specific goals.
Noticed they offered an integrated investment platform and so I opened one just to test the waters. This ended up being one of my favorite features. My money is transferable from any Ally checking or savings accounts IMMEDIATELY (as in only seconds to process) great if a last minute opportunity develops.
The platform has been 100% responsive and reliable executing trades of both stocks and options. They allow you to sell short or buy long, and offer a good research platform. There are API integration features to enable other custom platforms and rich detailed market data.
Best of all great 24/7 customer support that is both responsive and provided by real humans. Have an issue and they have your back, it exceeded my expectations by far when compared to other banks and trading platforms.
Oh yeah as another big plus 9 times out of 10 they have the highest interest rates available out there on the savings accounts! While none of us are planing to get rich on interest it’s nice to have my cash value savings keep up with inflation, and get that nice compound interest as it sits safely.
A+ 5 star from me.Danial JacksonVersion: 6.16.0
App issueI have had to call into the bank three times in two days. This bank has done some kind of update to there app and it tells me two out of three times that I’m not enrolled into there Face ID or passcode. They told me it’s a error or glitch with the biometrics of the app but I have to delete the app and reinstall it. I have no idea if this will help. I’m going to find some other bank now to do business with. It would also seem the customer service people really don’t know either what’s going on and no one like even a manager has got back to me. Ally bank was good years ago I don’t know what there trying to accomplish but it’s going the opposite direction. This problem with the biometric the lady told me has affected some 7,000 accounts. I hope they fix this because it will lead to customer’s leaving. Not cool..Zombie guyyVersion: 21.09.0
Awesome Bank w/ Sometimes Troublesome AppThis review is NOT about the bank, but the app. This app glitches quite a bit. There are times when it randomly says that Zelle is unavailable or that I can't log in as if my account no longer exists. Also, Zelle doesn't consistently show the little purple z by my contacts so I can verify they're enrolled before I send money. When I try to view transaction details, the app loads a blank page and it doesn't load anything more even when I pull down on the page to reload, open and close the app, or even remove and reinstall it. The developers really need to look into what's causing all of these bugs bc I have the app for a reason; I don't always have access to my laptop and the entire purpose of the app is to provide convenient access from a mobile device. Besides that, I like that things are easy to find on this app and the display and setup is very nice. Those bugs kinda dim that shine, though..Morgs97Version: 23.17.0
Great but could be betterI truly enjoy banking with Ally Bank. I’ve been a customer for almost 10 years. The mobile app has come a long way. I’m definitely enjoying the new feature but there’s always room for improvement. Most banking apps include a budgeting feature. I think it’s time for Ally to implement a budgeting feature in their app. I’ve been using 3rd party apps to keep my budget in check, but it would be much more convenient to do this right inside the Ally app. The buckets feature is okay but could be improved. I like the idea of “cash envelope system” and the buckets feature is a sort of digital version of this. I do think we should be allowed to create as many buckets as we like. I also which we could create buckets in our checking accounts. You should also be able to allocated fixed amounts rather than just percentages. If these things are fixed, you’ll get that 5th star from me. Keep up the great work Ally bank!.KelseybrianaaaVersion: 6.16.3
Update Required pop ups affect app usabilityThe Ally app is in the top 25% of financial related apps I’ve used. Over the years, it has gotten consistently better, particularly since they moved ATM finder back into the app (instead of requiring a separate download). I do have a few complaints, though.
I work for a communications company that has an app in the App Store. Sometimes, due to non backwards-compatible API changes, we need to force users to update to the latest version of the app in the App Store. But, we generally do this sparingly, with great regard for the annoyance it causes users. And when possible, we support the past few versions of our app instead of only the latest release.
Ally has released 5 updates in the past few weeks (good!) but forces only the absolute latest version on users (bad!) if you open a version that was released only a day ago, you can’t use the app until you go to the App Store and update.
On top of that, it seems like Ally Bank is using the Staged 7-day releases feature of App Store Connect, which doesn’t auto-update the app for the majority of users until a week after the update goes live in the App Store. The end result is a massive pain as the daily use case/experience. It would be great if the “update required” feature could be used more sparingly (maybe support the last 2-3 versions instead of just the latest?) but if that’s not an option, consider turning off the Staged Rollout feature..EthansinjinVersion: 6.13.1
Not well developedI first got Ally when I purchased my AC. Then I got an offer for their credit card I didn’t even know they had. I haven’t had any issues with my accounts and payments. That being said l, their app and site need work. On the app, no matter how many times I set up Face ID and passcode, it doesn’t work when I go to log in and says it’s not set up. I enter my user name and passcode and it won’t pass the log in screen. When I do finally get it, it only shows my credit card. In order to see my loan for my AC, I have to go onto a web browser and use a separate log in to be able to view that account. In my opinion they need to not only fix the app but also make it to where their consumer can see all their accts with Ally under one Id. Also they need a disclaimer that if you are removing a payment method that is associated to an autopay on the account, that you need to turn off autopay or that payment isn’t actually deleted and will keep billing to the acct that was removed..Daniegrl22Version: 23.14.0
Please make an Okay option after update screenI have an iPhone 6, iOS 12. My phone won't upgrade to 13, and I don't plan on changing phones anytime soon. I recently switched to Ally Bank and downloaded the app, which says it requires iOS 13, but that there was an older version available that I could download. I downloaded it, set it up with my credentials, blah blah and closed it out. The next time I opened it, it says to update. No 'Okay' or 'Cancel' button. No 'X'. Uninstalled and reinstalled and same thing. Which ultimately means I can't access the app. I understand that there are features and fixes in the iOS 13 version that aren't in older versions, but I'm sure Ally has a lot of customers who haven't upgraded their software for whatever reason, and personally, it would be extremely helpful if there was an option to close the dialog box so that the app is accessible for older devices. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk lol.Bannister832Version: 21.07.1
Good but disappointed no use with VPNOverall I’m satisfied with Ally and the app. I still wish it was easier to see pending transactions and I randomly (at least to me) have transactions declined while at the store but I get a text now that I can tell them to accept the charge whereas in the past I would have to step out of line and call them.
However, what I am most upset about is the fact that I can’t use the app with the VPN on, on my phone. I couldn’t login to the app for days and didn’t know why until I came to the app looking for an update and saw someone had commented on the VPN issue. When I contacted Ally about it I was told they value security (ironic) and such as don’t allow certain internet protocols and if I could still login online I would be fine. Well, apparently I can’t login online either unless I turn of my VPN for that too. This is highly inconvenient, especially when I don’t have this issue with my other banking apps..Donnie504Version: 6.21.0
Nearly PerfectAlly Bank is absolutely a 5 star bank (products, rates, customer service, etc). The app is very nearly 5 stars (so I rounded up). It has all of the features one would want in a bank app and has proven to be reliable. I had previously given the app a lower rating because the debit card controls were in a different app, but Ally took that feedback and moved those into this app. What a wonderful upgrade! About the only thing I would change in the app now is the Snapshot page. It is so annoying to me that I have to see an ad on this screen every time I open the app. It seems that the Explore section is sufficient advertising in the app (I am already a customer after all). If the Snapshot screen got a little polish and had the ads removed this app would be perfect. Keep up the good work!.Nerdawg4Version: 22.02.0
Long Deposit times, app malfunctionsI like ally as a whole. It probably has the best customer service I’ve had at a bank, but there are some issues that get super frustrating. Half the time there are app errors that make it hard for me to use. Normally this would not be a problem but when your using an online bank only it can affect when I need to make a purchase or pay a bill. The second is mobile check deposit. I rarely use it, but my work issued me a paper check and it is taking triple the amount of time with no communication to get it into my account. I didn’t deposit on a Friday or weekend but it’s taking days, where big banks like chase takes minutes. If you need money badly I wouldn’t recommend using ally for paper checks.
Do I still like it yes. But I won’t be making ally my only bank account any time soon. If I have to worry about how and when I can access my money..Corinne ZVersion: 23.3.1
Free International Money Transfer 💸Enjoy high maximum transfers into more than 20 currencies while saving up to 90% over local banks! The cheap, fast way to send money abroad. Free transfer up to 500 USD!AdvertorialVersion: 24.4.0
Ally: Banking & Investing Negative Reviews
Used to be great, lately not so muchThis app and bank used to be great. At some point in 2022 the app and bank started having issues. The most egregious problem I have had is, after signing in the app say “you have no accounts at Ally bank “. Depending on the situation this can be terrifying. Luckily closing the app and trying again later has brought back my accounts. No exactly confidence inspiring. Often Face ID fails to work. Sometimes it fails to invoke a Face ID check forcing me to hit the Face ID button. Sometimes it performs the Face ID verification but never unlocks the app. Fortunately this can also usually be fixed by closing the app, waiting a while and trying again. When. I can actually get it to authenticate the apps responsiveness is painfully slow. The account screen can take a long time to populate data. I have seen this behavior on my iPhone 13 pro when on excellent WiFi or cellular networks. This also happens on my iPad Pro and my wife’s iPhone. On all these devices we access other services and financial institutions without issue. I suspect that Ally made a change to their back office servers that is causing these problems but that is just speculation. I have lost trust in Ally after being a customer for many years. I opened up another account at a local account because I wasn’t comfortable having the bulk of my assets at Ally any more. This used to be a great bank. I hope they fix their issues..VerticaltakeoffVersion: 22.07.1
Great service, but the app is bad.I’ve used a couple of other online banking and investing apps, as well as other financial apps such as those for credit cards or loan accounts. When compared to those apps,I have found ally’s has been underwhelming, confusing, and frustrating at times. For rhe most part, I had found the user interfaces for the other apps very intuitive, easy to navigate, and have small and seemingly insignificant features that are taken for granted until you use an app that doesn’t have them. Such features include buying fractional shares of securities, without which investing in companies such as Berkshire Hathaway (stock currently valued around $450,000/share) becomes impossible to the common investor. Another capability missing from the app is the ability to manage external accounts used to fund your ally accounts - instead, there is a message that says to visit their website to manage your accounts, and while they provide the URL of the website, they could easily provide a link within that message that would take you directly to the site instead of having users exit the app, navigate to their web browser, and then manually enter the URL.
Despite how I feel about the app itself, I enjoy ally’s services. This is the only reason that I am leaving this review, in hopes that it will be viewed by the powers that be within the ally organization and that they will take action to overhaul the app..Logan J.Version: 21.12.0
Terrible appHad a terrible experience using this app. Don’t bother using the transfer feature because you’ll lose money and have an even harder time trying to get it back. There was a glitch using this feature and nothing was updated on my end until I reset the app, only to find out that the transfers were received but weren’t successful. That means that the money was taken out of my checkings but not deposited into the other account. This is my third day trying to contact customer support and figure out the solution to this problem and all I got was “There was a glitch you’ll just have to wait.” Even their customer authentication system wasn’t working when sending me an SMS. After checking the reviews on here I found out that this problem has occurred for multiple other users… ranging from months to YEARS AGO! Ally seriously needs to invest in rebuilding this app and fix all of these problems because something as simple as transferring money from one Ally account to another Ally account shouldn’t be this troublesome. If there was a “request” to transfer, the money shouldn’t be taken out unless there was a solid connection between the user confirming this transfer to occur and the accounts are prepared to make the proper updates on both ends. If you’re reading this as a customer, don’t bother downloading the app and do everything online. Better yet, find a better bank..John Malkovich the FifthVersion: 22.06.3
Used To Love Them!I’m not sure what’s happened to Ally in the last year, but everything about my experience has been horrible. When I first moved my business to Ally three years ago (I was a longtime BofA customer) I was so impressed - their customer service was top-notch. To say that it has declined is laughable - it has absolutely plummeted. I cannot get a customer service representative on the phone to save my life - I always spend three hours plus waiting to get to an actual person (YES, truly more than three hours), and twice upon reaching a person, I was promptly hung up on. No one that I end up actually reaching seems to be a competent, trained employee of Ally - they all claim to be working for an outsourced company and they literally cannot provide help with the smallest of things. More than six months ago, I had some fraudulent activity on my debit card. I filed a claim for more than a thousand dollars stolen from my account. Now, currently, six months later, I have heard NOTHING from Ally regarding my claim. Every person I speak with tells me it’s “still in process” and to “be patient.” To have more than a THOUSAND dollars missing from your bank account for the better part of a year - that’s unacceptable. Ally is an absolute disaster. Such a shame, because I was so impressed with them once upon a time. I would urge you to reconsider placing any money in their hands!.NokesStevieVersion: 22.13.0
Good luck getting your money.For a bank that does not accept cash deposits, you would thinking getting their customers their money from their check would be a high priority, but it’s not. I am currently a college student living paycheck to paycheck, so by the time payday rolls around, i NEED my money. I switched jobs recently and found out I am going to get my first paycheck a month and a half from now. I am solely relying on the paycheck I deposited from my last job. I do a mobile deposit because I have no other choice. The information available states that you will get your money the next business day if you deposit before 7 pm. I deposited before 7pm. It has been 4 days so far, and my funds are not available to me. I chatted with an agent who said it will be available on the 10th, 7 days after I deposited my check. They said it was because my account is overdrawn $10, so they are withholding my funds. The overdrawn funds came out on the 2nd, I deposited on the third. This defies logic. Yes I am overdrawn, THATS WHY IM DEPOSITING MONEY. Also, I don’t appreciate feeling like a child being punished. If you want to charge me because you allowed something to come out and I didn’t have the money, fine. Don’t leave me in the negative and without money for an extra week because you created an idiotic, illogical policy. I’m finding a new bank..HekenfjemsnwkwVersion: 21.11.0
Horrendous Customer ServiceI made a decision to try Ally for both a high yield savings and rollover IRA from another online broker I’ve not been pleased with. I initiated the rollover 2 months ago and it was supposed to be a simple ACAT (automatic) transfer. These are supposed to only take a couple weeks. Not hearing from Ally and sensing a potential issue with the transfer after a month, I called to see what was happening. I called multiple times and sat on hold for over an hours time - each time - before I finally reached someone. He put me on hold several times as he went to “check with the ACAT Team” and others, each time coming back and assuring me there were no issues, that sometimes they take up to 4 weeks, and that I should soon see the transfer complete. It’s now been 2 months and nothing, nor any word from Ally. I’ve tried calling back again only to have to sit on hold each time for more than 2 hours until I’ve now given up. As a busy man running a business, I do not have time to sit on the phone for hours and have even had my admin sit on hold for me. At this point I just want the transaction cancelled and move my money elsewhere. Be forewarned, Ally has some attractive components on the surface, but if you need servicing help you’re in for a very, very frustrating and disappointing experience..TheRealCraigBVersion: 21.04.0
Getting worse.Be careful! A bug with this app drained my non-Ally checking account when I attempted to transfer to Ally and initially received an error message the transfer failed, so I tried again. The second attempt worked, AS DID THE FIRST I was told didn't work, so 2x what I wanted came out. Upon realizing the error, I transferred some rescue funds back to my non-Ally account , and received the same (false!) error message with the money going the other way. This rescue transfer worked the first time even though I AGAIN received the same error message telling me it didn't. Also, on the Snapshot page, there's no 'Account Activity Summary' under Total Balance as shown on the App Store ads. In the actual app, it's replaced by an annoying, delayed ad for an Ally Invest managed portfolio that loads slightly later than everything else, so multiple times now when I go to click on my Account Details I'm actually taken to the Invest page instead. I don't use Ally Invest, nor do I plan to, so being rerouted when I'm about my business is a pain. The screenshots they use to advertise the app are misleading - the APY hasn't been 1.70% for a long time. We've been stuck at 0.50% for awhile even as the economy bounces back. I guess they're hoping we don't notice..SCarp25Version: 21.07.1
Used to be good, but not anymoreI have been with Ally since December 2016. I have only ever had checking and savings accounts - nothing too crazy.
My final straw was that the last few months, I have been unable to login through the mobile app which is a huge problem for me. I sometimes get physical reimbursement checks from my work and this is how I deposit them. Can’t really do that if I can’t login to a device with a camera! I kept the savings accounts open for a bit, but honestly the inability to transfer money to/from them from a mobile app to a different bank is very inconvenient and I have decided to fully move elsewhere.
I did leave a few years ago and come back for my checking accounts earlier this year. I didn’t have an awful reason to leave the first time, but I ultimately left my checking accounts here earlier this year because 1. I could not link my debit card to Apple Pay. When I called to ask about it, I was told it’s just an issue they were having and had no plans to fix it. I do not know of a single other big bank in 2022 that has such a problem. 2. Pending charges just show up as the city and state of the store/seller and they set like that for a day or two. This is difficult to monitor my accounts for fraudulent or duplicate charges..ImmortalmoonchiVersion: 22.07.3
Locked my account and hung up on meAfter a friend’s glowing review, I signed up for Ally Banking. After a month of things going okay, I remotely deposited a check from a friend, and even though it was made out to me, she put my Instagram handle on the address line. Without so much as a call, Ally locked my funds and closed my account for “suspicious activity” (causing my rent check to bounce!) When I called to ask what happened, the first person I got couldn't tell me anything saying someone would call me in a few days. Only after intense pleading did she forward me to someone else who then tricked me into saying I was using the account for business, told me all the money in the account and the “business” check were frozen until the check cleared and (after however long that takes) they’d mail me a check, and then hung up on me. Every call I made after that I was polite and cool, but they were rude and short and didn’t seem to care that they were holding all the money I had to my name and wouldn’t give me an approximate date that would get my money after the check cleared. I feel betrayed and bamboozled, and I praying they send me my money because it’s literally all I have and I won’t be able to pay my rent (which is now late) until I get that check!.SamBrowningVersion: 22.05.0
I can’t access my account due to a problematic registration process.I downloaded the app, when opened, the app prompts you to open a bank account. I went through the process, a few hours later I get an email saying my accounts are open and can be accessed by logging in. I never made an account, there wasn’t any registration process when I was opening the accounts, and you can’t even register in the app. I couldn’t find any information on signing up and logging in the app’s “Help & FAQ” section, so I had to resort to reddit, they said you have to register on the website. So I head to the “Enroll in Bank and Invest Online Services” page and enter all of the required information, but every time I enter my info It says “We’re sorry. We’re unable to complete your enrollment online.” I guess I’m gonna have to call them, this whole situation is absolutely ridiculous, and I can’t be the only one who has had these issues. Very rough start to what should be a smooth experience.
I just downloaded Capital One, went to the website and registered with a checking account without any problems in like 5 minutes, not even exaggerating. All I have to do is add funds to activate the checking account. Way, way more intuitive..JaredEN2Version: 6.20.0
If Negative were an option I’d rate -7Very bad experience banking with this Bank, first my account was suspended from sending Zelle payments simply because the receiver was of Latino decent therefore “ suspected fraudulent activity” so I had to call and my money was held in limbo over 24 hours before it would even send. Then, I tried to transfer funds between accounts that I did verify and via the app it did not show the transaction was completed, however, on the bank end it looked as if I had overdrawn my account which I did not, but I was drilled like I was a criminal!? Then a deposit I made was held over two weeks while they conducted their “investigation” and my online access was denied and I had to upload all kinds of proof of identity, even insisting I include a bank statement from my other bank!? That Shouldn’t even be legal due to privacy rights?! So, if your considering using this bank, think twice, Unless you enjoy being on hold 25 min at a time only to be referred to a “specialist” and hold another 30 min, just to be treated like a crook!? I verified all my info but nobody bothered to contact me or offer me any apologies, nor to inform me that my held deposit was finally being released as my online access is still blocked!? It’s ridiculous!?.MommmioVersion: 22.06.2
Happy with the bank - awful appI’ve had Ally for years and it’s been a pretty good bank. I’ve only ran into a few issues over the years. Couldn’t access a larger amount of cash ($2700) due to the lack of brick and mortar locations as well as a few issues with customer service.
All in all though way better than my experiences with Bank of America.
My main issue is the app, I’ve sent in messages (only to get a response that they “looked into it” and didn’t find an issue) mostly on log in screen. It used to shut down and close out the app 3-4 times before it would let me in. Now, for the last 3 weeks or so it’s just loads and loads and never opens so I can’t access my account. I’m only able to get in about once in every 8-10 times I try. Yes, I’ve deleted and redownloaded, and everything is up to date.
This is the only app (and I have 3 bank apps) that I have any issues with logging in and consistent issues over the years.
They also often have down time. It’s unacceptable for a bank to have this much time where I don’t have access to my money. It’s obvious you need a better technical team to support your product..Cmoore1887Version: 23.1.0
Slow deposits - zero notifications about late depositsI opened my account in the hopes of transitioning my main income and pay my bills all through Ally. I have had nothing but problems accessing and moving money, it’s been extremely frustrating. After my immediate deposit of 10,000, I couldn’t take it back out in full for 90 days, without being limited to $500 per day (or $1000 per day, I don’t recall).
My most recent example is trying to deposit a check for $500 that was received for Christmas. It was submitted via mobile check deposit at 10am on 12/31, it shows as deposited in my account, but not in my balance. The deposit was apparently placed on an extended hold. I didn’t receive any notifications, no emails, I had to call customer service to get an explanation. I have several other checks to deposit and would have loved to be able to get this one back if I would have known this. The only option when this happens is to use a brick and mortar bank and transfer it.
Perhaps I didn’t setup my account correctly or it may be user error on my end, but since I’ve had consistent issues depositing and getting my money back through this bank, I would only consider Ally to be a secondary money moving option..Remote does not workVersion: 20.12.0
Update: horrible back & app is extremely buggyUPDATE: Ally is consistently the worst institution I’ve ever banked with. They MUST be buying positive reviews because there’s no way thousands of people have a 5-star experience. Not only does the app continue to be horrible (regularly crashes, “cannot display” my accounts, can’t login, can’t use the “request a debit card” feature…literally nothing works lol), but service is terrible well. There is a chat feature but the agents can’t do anything, so you’re ultimately pushed to call - which is only available 8am-5pm ET and regularly has hold times of over an hour (despite the app displaying wait times of ~10 minutes). Also, they randomly suspended my checking account without a valid reason and then couldn’t find a record of that suspension to reverse it. So the tl;dr is, if you like your banking to be hard, Ally is for you. Otherwise, steer clear.
So far it’s been relatively easy to manage my money - except the app is INCREDIBLY buggy. This is my first experience with an online-only bank and I expected way better. Routinely crashes while I’m using it, signs me out, and resets my login preferences. This stuff never happens with any of my other banking apps. Bizarre..C3n001Version: 23.3.1
Stay awayI have so many complaints about this app but I’ll only mention a few so I have time to do other things today. I’ve ‘enabled’ faceId maybe 30 times in the last 2 years I’ve had the app. It takes forever to load. When it finally does load everything on the page jumps around and you have to wait 5 seconds to load or risk pressing the wrong thing, which I have annoying done many many times. But this one, and this is to illustrate just how little thought they put into their app, when you go to the trade tab of the stock section, the find the stock ticker option is hurried half way down the page and is a link to a search page. I came to that page to search!!! Like what were they think? I should also mention one time, when I went to look at my savings and checking account, they weren’t there. I was emailing and calling and trying to chat through the app for half an hour panicking. Not one response. No follow up either. They re-appeared after half an hour, but No one should have to go though that. This is simple stuff that is just mind boggling that they got there..Aamana33Version: 22.05.0
Horrible serviceI’ve had my ally account for 3+ years now as a 20 year old investors , today my tesla stock went up 14% pre market and so I sold for cash , the unsettled funds of the trade I used on another purchase of tesla as it seemed to keep going up. It slowly and I mean slowly started to drop and so I decided to sell my shares at a 200$ loss on my 1500$ gain from earlier. This is where the unsettled funds screwed me over as I was met with rejected contracts to sell and a phone number to call. With absolutely no override for the selling of the stocks any other way. I don’t care if my account is suspended for 90 days as I can just switch brokers and so this seemed so dumb for the investor to only have the option to call for the brokerage to sell my shares. This comes hand in hand with the horrible response times of their customer service and I have been on the phone waiting for 75 minutes as of right now and 45 this morning, all while tesla stock goes down nearly 200$, provide an option for stock sellers to sell and have their accounts reprimanded I’d rather not be able to buy any stocks for 90 days than lose my money. I’ve been waiting forever and continuing to watch as my 1500 gain is now -350. Use a different broker..Horrible service workVersion: 6.18.0
Big BrotherInitially, I hated Ally because it was so complicated to open an account. After I finally got the account set up, things were great.
Lately, I have had some negative experiences. A few months ago, I tried to make an online purchase, and Ally declined it. When I contacted Ally through their chat feature, which is a mess (more on that later), they said that it was a high risk site. It wasn’t. Then they informed me that users are prohibited from using their debit cards on betting/gambling sites. While I wasn’t using my card on a betting/gambling site, who does Ally think they are being the moral police? It’s MY money. If I want to gamble it away, that’s MY choice. The chat feature is a mess. I couldn’t send a message until I closed the app and reopened it. Because of this glitch, it took forever to convince Ally to let ME use MY money.
There is a bug in the current version. I have reported this through the chat feature, to no avail. When I log in, it tells me that I need to update my iOS to 10.5.1 or higher. I’m already using 10.6. Maybe reporting this issue here will get somebody’s attention..PartyLady09Version: 23.14.0
Failed to pick up check they made us mailWe have used Ally for years, and we have never had an issue.
However, when we sold our house, the title company gave us a paper check. The amount of the check was greater than the electronic deposit limit, so we called Ally and they told us we had to mail it to their PO Box.
We sent it via certified mail, and (according to the USPS tracking) it has been sitting in their PO Box, waiting to be picked up for DAYS. I reached out to customer service today to ask when (or if…) they were going to get it. It took over an hour and a half of back and forth with customer service. At the end of the ordeal, they basically told me that they had no way of knowing when they would check their PO Box, and after it was picked up, it would take another TWO WEEKS to process.
Allowing for timely deposit of money is like, the most basic function of a bank and Ally is completely failing. Their failure to execute this most basic of banking tasks is costing us real money and risking our ability to buy our next home.
I think once we clear this hurdle, we will switch banks. This is entirely unacceptable..Gtmgt12Version: 23.7.1
Horrible bankDont be fooled by other reviews, Ally will screw you any chance they get. I deposited a check from a very large school corporation. They refused to deposit it in a timely manner by saying they have “inside knowledge” the check might not be paid. I messaged into a rep and she essentially accused the school district of being bad check writers (which is absolutely and unequivocally false). This is slander and I told her that. I forwarded all of this to the school district and they've sent it to their District Attorney for further action. Bottom line? DO NOT TRUST THIS BANK WITH YOUR MONEY! They will lie to keep your money for longer. Why you ask? Because the longer they hold onto it, the more they can use it and make money off it, before releasing it to you. In the meantime they have NO PROBLEM slandering huge organizations. I wouldn't trust them with anything beyond direct deposit. Anyone who trusts Ally is a fool. Find a better bank. Ally is just out for themselves. And I hope they get sued by the school district for slander. If there were ever a class action against these thieves I’d be the first in line to sign up. I’d give them -0000 stars if I could. I wouldn't recommend them to my worst enemy..Sarasays...Version: 20.12.0
Worst Bank I’ve Ever Had ….UnfortunatelyI tried so hard to love this bank and gave them many chances but I’m done. I have had problems accessing my money, been charged fees for same day payments that I didn’t request and been locked out of my accounts for days on end… that’s just to name a few of the issues! The people are nice but I have had to call on numerous occasions for literally hours each time to try and correct the above mentioned issues. The final straw for me was when I scheduled a bill pay for a few days away. There was no notification of a fee. They paid the bill and charged me a $9.95 fee. I called and they kept me on the phone for almost 2 hours. They said they couldn’t refund the fee because there was no proof I didn’t know about the fee. So disappointing! I come from a time when if a customer called and shared a concern you took care of the customer. I will be going back to my old bank where in 15+ years I never had any of these issues. I don’t expect them to care. Clearly they have enough customers and enough of their customers money that they don’t care about me and my money..CaliluluVersion: 21.07.1
Out of control loss prevention policiesI opened an account on the basis of their many positive reviews, and have really regretted the decision. I wired a significant amount to them immediately on opening. Then I had the audacity to deposit checks that were also significant amounts - a tax refund from the State of Illinois and a dividend from a well known REIT. I never withdrew any funds. Somehow, my account got flagged by their loss prevent algorithm which shut down all access to my account. I called them and was told it could take up to 10 days to clear. While I would understand if they would put a hold on the checks until they cleared, I don’t understand the complete lock on my account. The wired funds have been removed from my other account so are completely unavailable. This is horrible policy on Ally’s part and horrible customer service. As far as I can tell, Ally’s policy is that your funds are their funds until they say otherwise. I am only grateful that I don’t need those funds soon. If you want any actual control over your money, I highly recommend you skip this impersonal, online bank that clearly puts all risks on its customers..SychouVersion: 20.12.0
GME & AMC Outage (6 total days)Unable to log into my brokerage account on Wed & Thurs last week during the height of the GME & AMC stock craze. On Friday I was able to log into my account, however all my balances were incorrect, showing stocks I owned 5 yrs ago. I nearly had a heart attack. At this point 3 days had passed and Ally had not reached out to provide any info or updates. After reading angry comments left on Ally’s FB & Twitter page I came to the conclusion that this was a system wide issue affecting mostly their older accounts. When all was said and done, I had gone 6 straight days without account access. During this time I lost a lot of money on trades I couldn’t make. Ally finally sent an email on 2/1 at 4am...about 4-5 days too late but I guess better late than never. I can maybe understand that their infrastructure was ill equipped to handle the huge traffic surge. I can’t, however, forgive their lack of transparency & accountability during this whole time. I’m done. I’ll be closing out my account and moving it either to Fidelity or Charles Schwab shortly. I never take the time to write reviews, but this whole experience really rubbed me the wrong way..EvanfishesVersion: 20.12.0
Super glitchy for the last few months - what is happening?I’ve been using and loving the ally app for years, but over the last few months, periodic glitches have made it completely unusable about half of the time.
Beginning a few months ago, I regularly have issues logging in. Sometimes, the app freezes on the purple loading page and never brings up the login screen. Other times, I can input my credentials, but either nothing happens when I click submit, or I get an error message saying, “We can’t take you to your account right now.”
I’ve tried uninstalling and reinstalling the app, disconnecting and reconnecting from Wi-Fi, and restarting my phone. It happens on new and trusted Wi-Fi networks, and when I’m not on Wi-Fi at all. It seems to happen mostly after updating the app, and previously, it returned to normal after a few days.
I spoke with an ally rep a while ago who said there are no known issues with the app. My husband and I got home today from a two week trip, and we have had no access to our online banking for over three days on either of our phones. We were able to login twice in the week before that, and ended up using a credit card for most of the trip because we couldn’t check balances and make transfers in our checking account. As of this writing, I still cannot get to the login screen on my mobile app.
My husband and I both have the iPhone 12. So far I can’t confirm if this is an issue on other devices, but I will update this review as things change..Stacey.Bee.64Version: 22.09.1
Checks take forever to clearIf you need you check to clear quickly, this is not the bank for you. They take at least 7 days to clear which is a very long time when you need your money. They also make you jump through hoops to get direct deposit. You can not just give your employer your bank info and be done. You have to clear it with ally first.
I am going to add to this and take away stars. First of all, the fact that it takes about 9 days for a check to clear is absolutely ridiculous. I live off the grid with nothing but limited internet service. I can not call. I don’t get cell phone service so I can not receive the stupid text verification to send them an email. I don’t make a lot of money so the fact that it takes up to 9 days for a check to clear literally causes my family to starve. They need to change this. Other banks clear their checks within 24 hours. They make customer service easy to contact and they make sure you are satisfied. I have revived no response ti any of the emails and messages I have sent. Do not use this bank..TagalongdoggieVersion: 6.16.3
Poor Customer ServiceI have been waiting for a feature like the spending buckets since I joined Ally Bank a few years ago. We finally get them, I set them up, and they no longer work for my account. After calling and reporting this issue for an entire month to Ally and asking for an update, I was told today that my issue had not been assigned to anyone and I would “just have to wait to be called”. They have been telling me they were working on the problem and that I should expect a call in 1-2 days but no one ever called and no one has been trying to fix the problem but me! I’m so disappointed in this poor customer service, especially after referring others to this bank who have opened accounts. Also, their app is super glitchy. There have been times when I could not login via the app only the website. There’s also been times where I logged in and my accounts could not be shown forcing me to log out and log back in. I’ve had issues with automatic transfers not working correctly as well..ThisNicknameShouldNotBeTakenVersion: 23.5.0
Lousy Customer ServiceI have attempted to open a checking and savings account with Ally twice. Both times I was denied because they “couldn’t validate my identity”. I spoke to Quisha at Ally customer service who refused to tell me why my application was denied. I mentioned I have all the necessary identification documents that will verify my identity and was willing to send copies of all of them, if need be, and she refused that as a solution and said she could not be any more specific as to why my measly checking and savings account application was denied. She then attempted to clock an attitude with me as I pressed on for a reason. How can I fix the identify issue Ally is having with me without Ally specifying what I can do to help solve it???? And why all the secrecy??? If you can’t trust someone’s identity then Ally should probably get out altogether from the online banking business. Point blank, this is one shady bank with straight up rude and inept customer service. I ultimately took my mobile banking business elsewhere after this sham with Ally and was approved right away with zero issue..Eddiehou77Version: 22.04.0
Horrible Customer ServiceI have been banking with Ally for a full decade and overall have been happy with them. HOWEVER… I recently used the app to order “free basic checks” and within a week a $26 charge for Deluxe Checks appeared on my account. I had to waste my time calling customer service to have the charge removed. And now for the WORST part of this review… Two weeks ago, I decided to open a self-directed investment account with Ally Invest and it has been a nightmare. I’ve had to call them about 5 times due to trading errors on their platform and each time I’ve been told things like “that shouldn’t have happened and we have no idea why it happened” and I’ve been straight up LIED to multiple times by their agents regarding when they would fix a trading issue that was 100% their fault and not mine. If you are looking to open an investment account, DO NOT use Ally Invest. I very likely am moving my money to Fidelity or another platform more reliable than Ally and their dishonest, gaslighting customer service representatives..MyiOSAppReviewsVersion: 23.8.0
Soooo disappointing👎🏼If I could give 0 stars I would.
All is well until a non- routine event happens— in my case, a change of phone number. Suddenly, your account is locked— despite being able to answer all of the security questions, and you are told someone from the fraud department will contact you in 1-2 business days. Literally ZERO access to your money for 2 days while they determine whether or not you should have access. (This happen today, so truthfully, I have no idea how long it will actually take for them to decide to unlock my account).
Let’s talk about the phone wait. I had two 30 minute waits on the phone being switched around from person to person who pretended they cared— always pleasant, but no resolution or real help from any of them.
You are better off with an in person bank. They will resolve your concerns same day and they won’t hold your money hostage until they decide they want to call you.
What a huge disappointment. Bank with them at your own risk..AliMc1265Version: 22.05.0
Constant issues with bucketsOverall, the app is fine, but the quirks are dealbreakers (so much so that I’m moving my money to another bank). First, the buckets constantly have issues. Usually, it’s that you can’t transfer money, specifying which bucket you want the $$ to come from (what’s the point of the buckets then?!?). Customer service is no help. They acknowledge the issues, but can provide no timeline for when it will be resolved. At one point, you couldn’t access some buckets because you couldn’t scroll to the side to see all of them (that was finally fixed). Another ongoing issue is that when you schedule a transfer between your usual bank account and Ally, when you select the bucket you want $$ to deposit/withdraw, and then choose the date (a field that comes AFTER the bucket), it removes the bucket designation. If you’re not paying attention to fix it, the $$ arrives/leaves from a default bucket. It’s a pretty bad app..HappyGemini40Version: 24.3.1
Glitchy app makes me nervousI truly like the bucket system in their bank accounts but the app it self has multiple glitches. Face ID doesn’t work, the app randomly logs me out when I am using it, the buckets in my savings account don’t scroll past the 3rd bucket, the animation of the graph that displays the money in the accounts glitches, the text that displays the money amount allocated to the buckets gets cutoff. Many bank apps have iOS instant push notifications for transactions, transfers, low balance, deposits, etc and they happen live as soon as theirs any money movement in the account. Instant PUSH notifications are essential for online banking! It time consuming having to check your email for notifications, text also get missed but a push notification is most effective (add this asap). Also add a widget for iPhone that displays the account balance. Having to login every single time to see you balance is time consuming..M popsVersion: 23.26.1
Please bewarePlease don’t bank here. I would definitely get a bank that has a physical location. Look up reviews on Reddit. I have had fraudulent activity in my account. Instead of just investigating it, they locked my whole account! I have had no access to my pay checks or funds for 21 days now. Every time I call they tell me it’s under review. Of course this happens around the end of the month so now all my bills are past due. Can’t pay my rent and basic living expenses. Now when I call, I get hung up on because they are tired of me calling for updates. This is what the last customer service rep said, “ we told you it’s in review. You need to wait for a call. No we don’t have a time frame. This call is going to disconnect now”. Hangs up. Looking through Reddit, I can’t believe how many others have faced what I’m going through with this bank. I will be pulling all of my money out as soon as I’m granted access to my account. Hopefully it’s before I’m evicted out of my house or my children starve!.Kay1221112246799Version: 23.8.0
Avoid at all costsAlly does not work right. I can’t say it any other way. The site is down, the app is down, their “work arounds” are down. It’s hard to believe that these are not planned “tech issues” to keep people from buying and selling. But let’s live in a world where that might be true. Maybe they really are having server issues. I think that’s fair, plenty of companies we love have those problems. The three BIG differences here are 1) they are providing no updates to when we can expect this to be fixed 2) we’re talking about people’s money here, not picking out an imposter 3) this trading platform has been completely down most days this week. That’s an incredible amount of time to be having “tech issues”. Regardless if this is collusion or not, it doesn’t really matter. This company is complete trash. Worst case scenario they’re intentionally shutting down to keep people from interacting with their own money. Best case scenario, all of their data is stored and handle on a single computer running windows 95..Zachbrown29Version: 20.12.0
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Ally Financial Inc.
