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Email this6:32 pm
Its been awhile since much has been posted on this entity. It seems like there were some initial problems, but how is it working for those with accounts now? Has anyone opened one recently with good experience? Thanks,
7:08 pm
November 8, 2009
Offline
i havent had any problems except for an occasional security warning when I log onto the website. The transfers sometimes take a bit longer than I would like but overall it is fine. The interest rates are holding at 2% for daily savings and I did manage to snag a 4% rate for a GIC a few months ago.
8:10 am
no problems here... transfers are posted within 24h, interest is being credited monthly (still at 2% which is near the top of the industry heap), online chat function with Ally works and is actually quite effective... nothing bad to say about them (yet)...
5:59 pm
I have weekly electronic transfers of funds going into my Ally account and they've been working like a charm. Ever since I've opened my account a year ago I've yet to encounter any sort of problem. Linking accounts was/is seamless and any time I change/delete/start transfers there's no issues. Perhaps the lack of commentary about Ally is simply because nobody's running into problems...I've been very happy.
My only complaint is I just wish their TFSA had a 3% rate of return instead of 2% because if it doesn't go up, I'm going to end up doing the end-of-year switcheroo and moving my TFSA money into Canadian Direct Financial for 2011.
I hope somebody at Ally is listening because I really like Ally. 😎
4:11 pm
I bank with AcceleRate Financial,why not get the 0.20% more? I have been with CDF,PT and now AF, all these banks offer the same service.I am not going to say one is better then the other, they are not,so go with the highest rate...
But I am going to do the end of the switcheroo with my TFSA from CTF 2.5%
To PT 3% 15,000 in 2011
5:41 pm
I've had an Ally account since July, with no troubles. Once you have your first account linked via the cheque you send in, connecting other accounts is particularly easy. You can just enter the transit and account numbers for whatever external account you'd like to link to. Ally will make two tiny deposits (a few cents each) into the account, and you confirm the link by entering the amounts. No cheques to send in, so it is easier and often faster, and especially good for linking to other savings accounts. I've transferred money in and out from ING, Canadian Tire, BMO and TD.
We'll see how long they keep the current premium over the general online bank rates. I'd suspect that once they've built up their deposit base they may sink back to the pack, much like Canadian Tire did. But good while it lasts.
BTW, for those shopping for TFSA, make sure you check bank transfer fees (and the rules on TFSA withdrawals and recontributions). There's a reason the various banks give higher rates to TFSAs - they are stickier and harder to switch out of!
6:41 pm
November 8, 2009
Offline
one slightly annoying thing I find is the website doesnt have a single page or link that shows all the current interest rates on all the products offered. You have to dig your way thru seperate pages and most other sites have a one page list giving quick info if youre looking for specific products.
5:35 am
I opened up an Ally High Interest Savings Account about 6 months ago to take advantage of the 2.0% rate. Setting up the account on-line was painful so I ended up doing it by phone. This took several weeks to finalize but now everything is running smoothly.You can easily check account balances on-line quickly.
Money transfers from my banking account are very quick.
I am now considering switching this to a higher rate account like AccelRate at .20 % higher. I mentioned this to an ALLY rep last week but got no response as to any rate increases that might be imminent.
10:57 am
It's fully normal for institutions to pay a premium when they need capital. ING did it for a while when they first opened, then again when they had to cover European losses in 2008. As with buying insurance, you can't count on any institution to keep being the best deal - and their transfer fees make it harder for you to move about.
I look for the best rates for months before money matures out of deposits, and try to get the best return I can for as long as possible. At times a weaker rate will be better if for a longer term - when rates are expected to fall. 1-to-5-year offered rates will tell you what the banks are thinking.
In 2008, seeing the financial problems coming (by February Europe was firing people like crazy, mortgages were tanking and energy prices were killing auto sales - don't say you weren't warned!) I faced 4.65-4.75% 5-years and some promotional 12 to 18 month 5-5.25% terms. I put half my free cash in each, as a hedge against the meltdown turning into rampant inflation, and as it turned out the 4.75% stuff is doing me good in an environment where we probably will not see better returns of the next two and a half years. The 5.25% stuff rolled over in 18 months at 3.5% until Ally needed to puff up cash and offered 4% for five years.
But that short-term deposit did pay well and early in the cycle (better compounding) and offered me a chance to reinvest if inflation went crazy. Including stuff with other maturity cycles, my current full-portfolio return is just 3.9%. But that's fine for me because I'm retired and can't handle risk; my taxable income is fairly low and as always I carry zero debt.
A word of warning on "Escalator" deposits: they can be worth it but they are often misleadingly marketed by the "average interest rate," which is meaningless. The lower early interest rate means less compounding. To evaluate them, you must calculate the actual amount of interest earned in every year; the longer term with a fixed rate is almost (but not always) going to yield more money, particularly if compounded. Many escalator offer the chance to reinvest at anniversary dates, but in that case you have already suffered the low-rate portion AND you won't be able to shop for the best rate at re-investment time, as you will be restricted to that institution's products (and often only specific ones).
I've really liked dealing with ING but they don't need cash right now, and are not offering much of a rate. The TFSA/TF-GIC issue is a pain - nobody's offering good long-term rates, and the savings deposits will ALWAYS crash after new year. They all do it, so they'll get away with it. On the other hand, it's only been a few years, so nobody has much cash in them yet. Go to the highest rate, but remember that for only $15K even a $25 transfer fee will eat into your interest differential - on a year's $5K contribution, even a 1% increase in interest rate is only $50.
RetirEd
12:53 pm
October 17, 2012
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Horrid, Horrid, Horrid. I have cancelled my account and will probably go with CanadianDirect. They have higher interest rates anyway. Ally.ca can't seem to tell the difference between a '1' and a '2' when entering account information and as a result my money has been tied up in limbo for weeks on end. I do not trust this bank and neither should you.
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