The Ally Money Market Account is a strong money market account with good rates, low fees, and an easy-to-use online interface.
Ally provides you with both checks and a card when you set up a money market account, whereas the Ally high-yield savings account comes with neither. This could make a money market account a more convenient place for your savings. Find out if Ally's money market account is right for you.
Ally Money Market Account Overview
The Ally Money Market Account is a money market account offered by the online-only bank Ally Bank.
Like many of Ally's products, there aren't many fees associated with this account; it doesn't have a minimum opening deposit or any monthly service fees. It also comes with a good interest rate, although it isn't high enough to compete with the best money market accounts.
no monthly service fee
3.80%
$0
- No opening deposit or minimum account balance
- No monthly service fee
- Access to a debit card
- Access to paper checks
- Out-of-network ATM reimbursements of up to $10 per month
- 24/7 customer service
- Easy-to-use mobile app
- Link to other Ally bank accounts
- Not the highest money market account APY
- No physical branch locations
- Limits transactions to 10 per statement cycle across both Ally Savings and Ally Money Market Accounts
- Access to checks and a debit card
- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- FDIC insured
Ally Money Market Rates
You'll always get a good interest rate for your Ally Money Market Account. It pays a flat 3.80% APY for all account balances. If you don't want to worry about keeping a certain amount of money in your account, this might be a plus for you.
Interest is compounded daily and paid monthly, which is ideal for a deposit account; you can see how big of a difference it would make for your savings with a compound interest calculator.
While Ally offers a higher rate than you'll find at many national, brick-and-mortar banks, the most competitive money market accounts from online banks have stronger interest rates.
You may like the Ally Money Market Account if you already bank with Ally and have had a positive experience, but if the interest rate is a big priority for you, then you can find higher rates elsewhere.
Ally Money Market Pros and Cons
Ally Money Market Pros
- No minimum opening deposit
- No monthly service fees
- Offers a debit card and paper checks
- Reimbursed up to $10 monthly for out-of-network ATM fees
- 24/7 customer service
- No excess transaction fees
Ally Money Market Cons
- Online-only bank
- Not the highest money market interest rate
- Limits on how often you can withdraw money
Features of Ally Money Market Account
Ally Money Market Account Interest Rates
Unlike many money market accounts, the Ally Money Market Account doesn't give different interest rates depending on tiers. Usually, the tier you're in depends on how much money you have in the account, and many money market accounts limit their best rates to people in higher tiers. Ally doesn't do that; instead, it offers the same annual percentage rate no matter which tier you're in, making it easy to work towards savings goals no matter how much money you have.
That being said, you can earn higher interest rates in other money market accounts, especially if you're willing to put enough money in them to qualify for a higher tier.
No Ally Money Market Monthly Maintenance Fees
An Ally Money Market Account has no monthly fees or minimum opening deposits, so it's easy to avoid bank fees.
It's low on other fees, too; it doesn't charge overdraft fees or ATM fees, it lets you make ACH transfers for free, and it doesn't charge for withdrawing from your account too many times in a cycle.
Access to Ally Money Market Account Funds
When you set up an Ally money market account, you'll receive a debit card and paper checks, making it simple to access your savings when necessary. You can use your debit card for free at over 75,000 MoneyPass and Allpoint® ATMs, and if an out-of-network ATM charges you a fee, Ally will reimburse you up to $10 per month. This makes it a great bank for avoiding ATM fees.
Ally Money Market FDIC Insurance and Security
Like most banks, Ally Bank is FDIC-insured. This means that the money in your Ally Money Market Account is insured up to $250,000 per person, per account ownership category. Ally also uses two-step authentication and encryption to protect your account against fraud.
How to Open an Ally Money Market Account
Step-by-Step Guide to Opening an Ally Money Market Account
You can open an Ally Money Market Account either over the phone or online. Unfortunately, since Ally Bank is online-only, you won't be able to go into a physical branch to open an account. Luckily, opening an account is pretty easy, and is similar to opening a savings account; You'll either fill out a form online or over the phone, and you're usually accepted within minutes.
Documents Needed to Open an Ally Money Market Account
What you need to open an Ally Money Market Account is similar to what you need to open a bank account in general. You'll need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident with a U.S. address, you'll need your Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, and you'll need to provide your name and birthdate.
Managing Your Ally Money Market Account
Online and Mobile Banking Features for Your Ally Money Market Account
Ally doesn't have any physical branch locations, so you'll do all your banking online, through its mobile banking app, and over the phone. Ally's mobile banking app is rated well on the Apple App Store, with a score over 4.5. However, on the Google Play store, it has less than a 2.5 star rating, so be aware of that if you have an Android and plan on doing a lot of mobile banking.
Tips for Maximizing Savings with Your Ally Money Market Account
The Ally Money Market Account is easier to use than most money market accounts in that you don't need to keep a certain amount of money in the account to avoid monthly service fees or to get the best interest rate. You can still maximize your savings, however, by having a plan for how to budget your account and by working towards savings goals. You can also set up automatic transfers into your account to make sure you're always building up your savings.
How the Ally Money Market Account Compares
Ally Money Market Account vs. Synchrony Money Market Account
Ally and Synchrony Synchrony Money Market Account are both online banks, and neither requires an initial deposit to open a money market account. Both banks send you a debit card and paper checks when you set up your account.
Both companies reimburse ATM fees charged by out-of-network ATM providers; Ally refunds up to $10 per month, and Synchrony refunds up to $5 per month. If you think you'll use out-of-network ATMs frequently, you may prefer Ally.
Ally Money Market Account vs. CIT Bank Money Market Account
Like Ally, CIT Bank (Member FDIC) is an online banking institution. Neither bank requires an opening deposit for a money market account, and neither charges a monthly fee.
CIT Bank Money Market Account pays a lower interest rate than Ally. If earning interest is important to you, Ally is one of your best options for a money market account.
The CIT Bank Money Market Account doesn't provide you with paper checks or a debit card. However, it still makes accessing your money somewhat easy by connecting your money market account with PayPal and Zelle.
If you make a lot of payments digitally, you may like CIT Bank, but if you prefer checks or a debit card, you might like Ally. If you plan to keep your emergency fund in your money market account, it might be more practical to have access to checks and a debit card than Zelle or PayPal.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Review the Ally Money Market Account
At Business Insider, we use our bank account rating methodology to review all banking products, including money market accounts. For money market accounts, we rate an account's minimum opening deposit, monthly service fees, interest rate, ATM fees, miscellaneous features, and monetary access from zero to five, along with the bank's ethics, customer support, security, and mobile app ratings. We use a weighted average to get our star rating, which can be anywhere from one to five stars.
Ally Money Market Account FAQs
The Ally Money Market Account comes with both checks and a debit card, making it easy to take money out of your account. It also has a decent interest rate and doesn't charge many fees.
You can open an Ally Money Market Account over the phone or on Ally's website. You'll need to be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and you'll need to provide a physical U.S. address, along with your Social Security number or taxpayer identification number.
The Ally Money Market Account currently offers a flat interest rate of 3.80% APY.
The Ally Money Market Account doesn't come with many of the standard fees, such as monthly service fees or minimum opening deposits. It also reimburses $10 worth of out-of-network ATM fees per month. There is a $20 outgoing domestic wire transfer fee, though.
To maximize your earnings with the Ally Money Market Account, you'll want to have a strong grasp on how to budget and what savings goals you're working toward. Consider setting up automatic transfers into the account and make sure to add money to the account regularly.
