Ally Bank Removed Online Early Withdrawal From No-Penalty CDs

[fsrph]

Received article from The Finance Buff (a frequent poster on this forum) regarding Ally bank. It seems they are making it harder to break no penalty CD's. A must read if you hold these NP CD's.

https://thefinancebuff.com/ally-bank-ea ... ty-cd.html

Francis

[Blue456]

Received article from The Finance Buff (a frequent poster on this forum) regarding Ally bank. It seems they are making it harder to break no penalty CD's. A must read if you hold these NP CD's.

https://thefinancebuff.com/ally-bank-ea ... ty-cd.html

Francis

That’s a shame. I really liked how easily everything could be done online with Ally bank. Oh well. We are transitioning to I bonds either way.

[ridebikeseveryday]

Yep, I can confirm. Really too bad, this is the first negative thing I've experienced with Ally in the last four years.

[Startled Cat]

It's been like this for a few months and it's a very negative change for me. I've had to call a few times already to do early withdrawals. The last time the call took over half an hour, and I was passed to a different representative due to technical difficulties. When they finally got past the technical issues, I had to confirm details individually for each CD and state a reason for the withdrawal. Very disappointing.

[radiowave]

That was one of the main reasons I went with Ally, the ease of working with CDs online. Oh well, I do have other choices and perhaps it is time to consider another online bank.

OP thanks for posting.

[tibbitts]

That is disappointing. Not enough for me to move. Is there still a way to specify online what to do when the CD matures or does it reinvest automatically?

[atdharris]

Pretty disappointing. I won't close my CD right now, but it will be frustrating if I actually need the cash and I am forced to jump through 15 hoops to get access to it. Once this CD matures though, it looks like I may just move all my cash to my main big bank

[ridebikeseveryday]

That is disappointing. Not enough for me to move. Is there still a way to specify online what to do when the CD matures or does it reinvest automatically?

Yes, that still works.

[HueyLD]

That is disappointing. Not enough for me to move. Is there still a way to specify online what to do when the CD matures or does it reinvest automatically?

You can choose maturity options such as rollover, partial withdrawal and total withdrawal.

[123]

Another disappointed fan of Ally Bank here. They had the best web interface for handling bank accounts and I actually looked forward to using it whenever I had to do something with our accounts.

So I would suspect that the change is motivated most by some kind of hacking issue or threat and the customer service roadblock might be the most effective way of dealing with it.

[SmileyFace]

Another disappointed fan of Ally Bank here. They had the best web interface for handling bank accounts and I actually looked forward to using it whenever I had to do something with our accounts.

So I would suspect that the change is motivated most by some kind of hacking issue or threat and the customer service roadblock might be the most effective way of dealing with it.

I am guessing it has nothing to do with account security but rather to do with the fact they want to make you think twice before doing an early withdraw and making it harder for you to execute is one way there. Next step might be for them to stop offering this product going forward.

[femgineer]

I refuse to jump through hoops for such a low interest rate. I set my no-penalty Ally CDs to transfer to my brokerage at maturity. Very disappointed in what feels like shady tactics at Ally. How can an online-only bank justify forcing a customer to call for a common service?

[atdharris]

Another disappointed fan of Ally Bank here. They had the best web interface for handling bank accounts and I actually looked forward to using it whenever I had to do something with our accounts.

So I would suspect that the change is motivated most by some kind of hacking issue or threat and the customer service roadblock might be the most effective way of dealing with it.

I am guessing it has nothing to do with account security but rather to do with the fact they want to make you think twice before doing an early withdraw and making it harder for you to execute is one way there. Next step might be for them to stop offering this product going forward.

Yes. I am sure that is the reason, not security. Banks are obviously not going as well as they once did, and they don't want people to withdraw cash from products. Thus, adding an extra step before you can do it adds another layer of effort to the task.

[HueyLD]

Very unfortunate indeed.

As with other changes in life, we each will adapt and everyone will have his/her own solution.

[Katietsu]

Given that they are paying me 1.5%, I would think they would want me to withdraw.

[Rob5TCP]

You would think with interest rates FALLING, they would make it even easier to close a no penalty.
My no penalty CD's pay 1.5% -- current ones only pay .6%
This doesn't make economic sense. I am getting 2.5x the current rate and have 5 more months to go.

And with the problems with the pandemic, you would think they would make it easier for people
that are experiencing problems (to withdraw).

[TravelGeek]

I refuse to jump through hoops for such a low interest rate. I set my no-penalty Ally CDs to transfer to my brokerage at maturity. Very disappointed in what feels like shady tactics at Ally. How can an online-only bank justify forcing a customer to call for a common service?

I have $50k in CDs maturing in a few days that I was going to renew into NP CDs and then use to fund living expenses over the course of the next year (this breaking one every few months). I am not going to spend time talking with (or worse, explain my reasons) to a CSR. I will put them into Savings and look for alternative options.

It’s worth reading the article linked in the OP. Calling Ally to get the transaction done may actually be more difficult than you think.

[mptness]

You would think with interest rates FALLING, they would make it even easier to close a no penalty.

Yes but if rates should rise even a few basis points, many who rushed to lock their rate before it could drop will be rushing to swap their NP CDS for better ones. This may be what they want to make more difficult. Too bad, I took advantage of that in the past, and it was very easy to upgrade an existing NP CD to the better rate.

[TravelGeek]

Marcus are (currently/still) advertising

“Easy online withdrawal with no penalty, beginning 7 days after funding“

https://www.marcus.com/us/en/savings/no-penalty-cds

Might move some CDs there next year as they mature on Ally. Too bad, I was hoping to avoid the added complexity of another account.

[hoffse]

I closed one over the phone a couple weeks ago. It was a little annoying but took 1 phone call and maybe 15 minutes of time in total. The money was in my account the next business day. It wasn’t a large enough hassle to prevent me from opening new ones or closing others early if warranted.

[arf30]

Wonder if it's worth changing the auto renewal settings to send the money to a savings account instead of rolling it over into another 11 month NPCD. The rates between savings and CDs are so close now it doesn't seem worth locking the money up.

[TravelGeek]

Wonder if it's worth changing the auto renewal settings to send the money to a savings account instead of rolling it over into another 11 month NPCD. The rates between savings and CDs are so close now it doesn't seem worth locking the money up.

That’s what I am doing for the ones expiring later this month.

[ccf]

The post says:

The message makes it sound like it’s only temporary, maybe during system maintenance, but it’s not. The change is permanent.

...but I don't see any reason to believe that the change is permanent, at this time at least?

[tfb]

The post says:

The message makes it sound like it’s only temporary, maybe during system maintenance, but it’s not. The change is permanent.

...but I don't see any reason to believe that the change is permanent, at this time at least?

Permanent as in it's not only in the evenings or weekends, not only when their online sub-system is down. They can always bring it back but if someone made the decision to remove it, it probably will stay that way. As another poster reported, it's gone for a few months already.

It's been like this for a few months and it's a very negative change for me. I've had to call a few times already to do early withdrawals. The last time the call took over half an hour, and I was passed to a different representative due to technical difficulties. When they finally got past the technical issues, I had to confirm details individually for each CD and state a reason for the withdrawal. Very disappointing.

[boater07]

Tried to give maturity instructions just now. It does not work to close at maturity and transfer to my bank.
They tell me it exceeds their transfer limit.
Guess I'll have to deal with it next y ear

[TravelGeek]

Tried to give maturity instructions just now. It does not work to close at maturity and transfer to my bank.
They tell me it exceeds their transfer limit.
Guess I'll have to deal with it next y ear

Do you have an Ally checking or savings account? I just changed my instructions for CDs maturing on 10/24 to have them closed and the funds deposited into my Ally Savings account. Might then open some Marcus CDs.

[bogledogle]

Great way to drive your customers away I guess.

[radiowave]

I'm considering moving my Ally NP CDs to a short term bond fund, any suggestions?

[nalor511]

They made this change months ago. They also manually cancelled my EW request, stating that the rep had not put in a "reason" for the EW, and never told me. They must be hurting for cash. Highly recommend staying on top of your transfer, if you do get an EW in. Can be done via chat or phone, but stay on top of it.

[MikeG62]

Marcus are (currently/still) advertising

“Easy online withdrawal with no penalty, beginning 7 days after funding“

https://www.marcus.com/us/en/savings/no-penalty-cds

Might move some CDs there next year as they mature on Ally. Too bad, I was hoping to avoid the added complexity of another account.

Six months ago I had more money in NP CD's at Ally than Marcus. That situation has flipped since then, as Marcus NP CD's (especially their AARP special) was more attractive than what Ally was offering. Marcus OLS account is currently 10bps higher as well (AARP special rate). Marcus has free wire transfers. Marcus also has officially waived the six WD limit for their OLS account (Ally still charges $10 for each transfer above six, but then reimburses you for it after sending out a nastygram).

Moves like this by Ally will result in my doing little business with them going forward. I'll keep my account open for when they want to be more friendly to deal with or when they decide to run another transfer bonus special.

[jeff1949]

FWIW, I just asked Ally chat about this and here was their response:

Hi Jeff, I can certainly understand your concern. For extra security measures we are only processing early withdrawals by phone right now. This is for the protection of your account.
12:55 PM

My response:
Nicole - 12:55 PM
I know a lot of your customers are unhappy about this. There are many other financial transactions I do online with Ally that do not require a phone call so I think this is a very poor excuse. I will be doing business with Marcus in the future because of this.

[Scooter57]

Marcus has a surprising number of negative reviews at depositaccounts.com.

For now Ally is a nonissue for me because I got in when they were still paying something. So those are the last CDs I'd close. But I will make sure the proceeds will go onto my Vanguard-linked checking account when they mature.

[SmileyFace]

Marcus has a surprising number of negative reviews at depositaccounts.com.

For now Ally is a nonissue for me because I got in when they were still paying something. So those are the last CDs I'd close. But I will make sure the proceeds will go onto my Vanguard-linked checking account when they mature.

Many of the reviews on these sites are user-errors or one-off individual issues so you need to take them with a grain of salt.

Over the last several years I've used Ally, Synchrony, and Marcus - and my experience with Marcus has been much better than my experiences with either Ally or Synchrony. CDs open instantly (have had them stuck at Ally for one reason or another) - ETF transfers complete within a day (Ally can take up to 3-4 per my experience and the SLA they have; similarly for Synchrony) - and the website has never been a problem for me (never had an issue with Ally either here). Similarly to Ally - you can set the disposition directions (withdraw/reinvest/etc.) of a CD online well ahead of time. The one time I called Marcus I had a great experience. The one time I called Ally to clarify something they provided me incorrect information and I ended up having to correct them.

[Scooter57]

My experience with Marcus was similar to yours but it was several years ago and ended shortly after GS Bank became Marcus (a dreadful choice of name.) I'm maxed out with their broketrd CDs so I can't buy more there for a while. Ally screwed up a transfer for me this spring, too.

I wonder if someone orchestrated a negative comment campaign, because I have never seen anywhere near as many very negative comments on DA as I saw for Marcus.

[anon_investor]

Received article from The Finance Buff (a frequent poster on this forum) regarding Ally bank. It seems they are making it harder to break no penalty CD's. A must read if you hold these NP CD's.

https://thefinancebuff.com/ally-bank-ea ... ty-cd.html

Francis

That’s a shame. I really liked how easily everything could be done online with Ally bank. Oh well. We are transitioning to I bonds either way.

Yeah, I too am transitioning to I Bonds. I used to have my entire emergency fund in Ally NP CDs, but since interest rates dropped, I started buying I Bonds with the funds from the expiring CDs.

[johnanglemen]

My experience with Marcus was similar to yours but it was several years ago and ended shortly after GS Bank became Marcus (a dreadful choice of name.) I'm maxed out with their broketrd CDs so I can't buy more there for a while. Ally screwed up a transfer for me this spring, too.

I wonder if someone orchestrated a negative comment campaign, because I have never seen anywhere near as many very negative comments on DA as I saw for Marcus.

You can buy Marcus CDs as brokered CDs? Is the rate the same as the retail rate? What's the max you reference? Thank you.

[xenial]

I'm going to be a little paranoid here. I just checked my accounts online, and I see that telephone-only early closure applies not only to no penalty CDs, but also to regular CDs. Ally's deposit agreement does not guarantee the customer's ability to close a CD before maturity.

Certificate of Deposit (CD) — This account allows you to make your account-opening deposit by check, ACH transfer, transfer from another Ally deposit account or wire transfer. By opening a CD, you have contracted to keep the deposited funds on deposit until the maturity date of the CD. A partial withdrawal of principal before maturity is not permitted on any CD. While an actual certificate is not issued, you will receive a funding letter with all the pertinent information about the CD. Except for the Ally No Penalty CD, a withdrawal of the entire principal before maturity will be permitted only with Ally’s consent and an interest penalty that is described in More About Certificates of Deposit and IRA CDs, Section I.B.6, will apply.

Might Ally be laying the groundwork to deny early withdrawal requests during a period of rising interest rates?

[anon_investor]

I'm going to be a little paranoid here. I just checked my accounts online, and I see that telephone-only early closure applies not only to no penalty CDs, but also to regular CDs. Ally's deposit agreement does not guarantee the customer's ability to close a CD before maturity.

Certificate of Deposit (CD) — This account allows you to make your account-opening deposit by check, ACH transfer, transfer from another Ally deposit account or wire transfer. By opening a CD, you have contracted to keep the deposited funds on deposit until the maturity date of the CD. A partial withdrawal of principal before maturity is not permitted on any CD. While an actual certificate is not issued, you will receive a funding letter with all the pertinent information about the CD. Except for the Ally No Penalty CD, a withdrawal of the entire principal before maturity will be permitted only with Ally’s consent and an interest penalty that is described in More About Certificates of Deposit and IRA CDs, Section I.B.6, will apply.

Might Ally be laying the groundwork to deny early withdrawal requests during a period of rising interest rates?

Yikes. I should change the maturity instructions on my CDs. I Bonds just got even more attractive.

[Scooter57]

You can buy Marcus CDs as brokered CDs? Is the rate the same as the retail rate? What's the max you reference? Thank you.

Several yeas ago, when rates tose briefly, Vanguard was selling Goldman Sachs CDs with attractive rates. Marcus is just a brand name for Goldman Sachs so the FDIC limits apply to all deposits at GS. You can't select a beneficiary for the brokered CDs to extend the limits.

Right now brokered CD rates are so pathetic there is no reason to bother with them. But I snagged 3% to 3.55% when they were available.

[nps]

I'm going to be a little paranoid here. I just checked my accounts online, and I see that telephone-only early closure applies not only to no penalty CDs, but also to regular CDs. Ally's deposit agreement does not guarantee the customer's ability to close a CD before maturity.

Certificate of Deposit (CD) — This account allows you to make your account-opening deposit by check, ACH transfer, transfer from another Ally deposit account or wire transfer. By opening a CD, you have contracted to keep the deposited funds on deposit until the maturity date of the CD. A partial withdrawal of principal before maturity is not permitted on any CD. While an actual certificate is not issued, you will receive a funding letter with all the pertinent information about the CD. Except for the Ally No Penalty CD, a withdrawal of the entire principal before maturity will be permitted only with Ally’s consent and an interest penalty that is described in More About Certificates of Deposit and IRA CDs, Section I.B.6, will apply.

Might Ally be laying the groundwork to deny early withdrawal requests during a period of rising interest rates?

Yikes. I should change the maturity instructions on my CDs. I Bonds just got even more attractive.

For what it's worth, that "only with Ally’s consent" language has been in the deposit agreement for years.

[Willmunny]

Given that they are paying me 1.5%, I would think they would want me to withdraw.

I wager that they do, but only if you invest the proceeds in the much lower yielding Ally Online Savings.

[anon_investor]

I'm going to be a little paranoid here. I just checked my accounts online, and I see that telephone-only early closure applies not only to no penalty CDs, but also to regular CDs. Ally's deposit agreement does not guarantee the customer's ability to close a CD before maturity.

Certificate of Deposit (CD) — This account allows you to make your account-opening deposit by check, ACH transfer, transfer from another Ally deposit account or wire transfer. By opening a CD, you have contracted to keep the deposited funds on deposit until the maturity date of the CD. A partial withdrawal of principal before maturity is not permitted on any CD. While an actual certificate is not issued, you will receive a funding letter with all the pertinent information about the CD. Except for the Ally No Penalty CD, a withdrawal of the entire principal before maturity will be permitted only with Ally’s consent and an interest penalty that is described in More About Certificates of Deposit and IRA CDs, Section I.B.6, will apply.

Might Ally be laying the groundwork to deny early withdrawal requests during a period of rising interest rates?

Yikes. I should change the maturity instructions on my CDs. I Bonds just got even more attractive.

For what it's worth, that "only with Ally’s consent" language has been in the deposit agreement for years.

At least there is a carve out for the no penalty CDs. So they will still have to let you withdraw, but they have just installed a barrier to do so. This just seems weird, since rates now are lower than any current existing NP CD and interest rates are expected to stay low for the next few years.

[trigger08]

This is very disappointing to see, I was able to close a no-penalty CD online back in mid-July and it was quite smooth. I will go ahead and set my other CDs to not automatically renew…

[MikeG62]

This is very disappointing to see, I was able to close a no-penalty CD online back in mid-July and it was quite smooth. I will go ahead and set my other CDs to not automatically renew…

I always set up my NP CD's at maturity to place the funds in our online savings account (at the same bank). I just re-checked that to be sure it was set that way after reading this thread. Really annoying Ally would remove the ability to cash out the NP CD online. I've done that many times before and it could not have been easier. Their assertion that they are doing this for customer security reasons rings really hollow to me.

[tenkuky]

This is very disappointing to see, I was able to close a no-penalty CD online back in mid-July and it was quite smooth. I will go ahead and set my other CDs to not automatically renew…

I always set up my NP CD's at maturity to place the funds in our online savings account (at the same bank). I just re-checked that to be sure it was set that way after reading this thread. Really annoying Ally would remove the ability to cash out the NP CD online. I've done that many times before and it could not have been easier. Their assertion that they are doing this for customer security reasons rings really hollow to me.

Trigger and Mike:
Agree with you and doing the same now. To confirm: change the rollover instructions to "close at maturity"?
Or change the "disbursement instructions"?
I am a little confused if one means the entire thing and other just means the interest earned.
Thanks!

[Blues]

First I've heard of this and color me disappointed as well. I will change all of my CDs instructions from rollover to deposit in the money market fund.

I agree this hurdle seems an impediment created simply to dissuade clients from removing funds.

[MikeG62]

This is very disappointing to see, I was able to close a no-penalty CD online back in mid-July and it was quite smooth. I will go ahead and set my other CDs to not automatically renew…

I always set up my NP CD's at maturity to place the funds in our online savings account (at the same bank). I just re-checked that to be sure it was set that way after reading this thread. Really annoying Ally would remove the ability to cash out the NP CD online. I've done that many times before and it could not have been easier. Their assertion that they are doing this for customer security reasons rings really hollow to me.

Trigger and Mike:
Agree with you and doing the same now. To confirm: change the rollover instructions to "close at maturity"?
Or change the "disbursement instructions"?
I am a little confused if one means the entire thing and other just means the interest earned.
Thanks!

Log in. Click on the NP CD. Then click on “renewal options” at top left of screen under the name Ally. You will then see how your CD is set up at maturity and you can change it if you desire.

[HawkeyePierce]

Ran into this last week when I needed to break one of my Ally NPCDs. When the other matures next year I will move the funds elsewhere.

[Scooter57]

I have to wonder what is going on, as far as security breaches go. Several of the institutions and merchants I sell through have upped their security over the past month and added layers of crap I have to go through now to log into my account. We don't hear about important systems that get compromised, sometimes, until long after the fact.

I can't see where Ally would be doing this to keep people from closing their CDs. Surely they would love it if I closed my 1.75% CD. My guess is that they have had a bunch of customers click on phishing emails that gave criminals access to their account passwords. I have seen a couple really clever phishing attempts of late.

[MikeG62]

According to comments from two different people on the Deposit Accounts site in the last 24 hours, funds from closing a NP CD take a minimum of 1 or 2 business days to show up in online savings account. While not a long time, this actually bothers me more than having to call to close it out. I've always viewed the NP CD as being just as liquid as my OLS account. That is apparently no longer the case.