Wells Fargo Bank Review 2024
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At a glance
CDs
Checking
Savings
MMA
About Bankrate Score
Overview
Wells Fargo may be a good fit for those who want access to a large network of branches and ATMs as well as a full-featured mobile banking app. Those seeking out high savings rates, however, may want to consider other options.
Highlights
- Digital Leader
- Large Branch Network
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These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.4/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.4/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account.
Bankrate Savings rating = 5/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Offers featured here have been sponsored which impacts how, where, and in what order the products appear. Not all offers are displayed on this page.
Overall
Wells Fargo is one of the biggest banks with locations in 39 states and the District of Columbia. But the bank has also faced heavy scrutiny by regulators in recent years for opening fake accounts and other offenses. While you won’t find attractive yields here, Wells Fargo’s checking account scores highly in our analysis.
Pros
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Fees on checking accounts can easily be avoided.
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Wells Fargo has eliminated non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees.
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Wells Fargo offers early direct deposit.
Cons
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Yields on certificates of deposit and savings accounts are generally low, like many big banks.
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The money market account has a steeper monthly fee if a specified balance isn’t maintained.
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Wells Fargo still charges a $35 fee for overdrafting your account on most of its checking accounts.
Wells Fargo banking products
APY last updated between 11/14 and 11/20.
Wells Fargo savings overview
Wells Fargo’s Way2Save savings account has a $25 initial deposit requirement and a $5 monthly service fee.
A few ways to avoid the fee are by:
- Keeping at least $300 in this savings account.
- Having one recurring transfer of at least $25 from your Wells Fargo checking account automatically transferred into your Way2Save Savings account.
- Being under 25 years old and the primary person on the account.
The account’s APY is below the national average and well below the best rates offered by other banks.
Pros
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Just $25 is needed to open an account.
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An ATM card is available.
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There are multiple ways to avoid the monthly fee.
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The account comes with automated savings tools.
Cons
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Higher APYs are available at other banks and credit unions.
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There are options to waive the monthly maintenance fee, but other banks offer higher APYs with fewer or no requirements to earn them.
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See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.
Wells FargoAPYAPY last updated between 11/14 and 11/20.APYAPY last updated between 11/14 and 11/20.National average APYHow do we get this data?Bankrate independently tracks hundreds of APYs and product details for banking institutions nationwide. We retain the historical data of every rate we track in our database. If there are any gaps where we weren’t actively tracking a rate at the time, the graph will reflect the missing data.
Bank fees
Fee | Charged? |
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Overdraft fee | $35 |
Non-sufficient funds fee | None |
Monthly maintenance fee | $5 - $35, depending on the account |
Out-of-network ATM fee | $2.50* |
Excessive transaction fee | None |
Customer experience
Customer support
Physical presence. Wells Fargo has more than 4,000 branches across 39 states and the District of Columbia, allowing customers to take advantage of in-person banking in most states. There are also plenty of ATM locations, with over 12,000 ATMs across the country.
Customer service. Wells Fargo offers 24/7 support over the phone and social media chat.
Low customer satisfaction. Wells Fargo consistently scores below average in overall customer satisfaction, according to J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study. Of note, the bank scored last among other big banks in the Northwest region and the New York Tri-State area for the second year in a row.
Digital experience
Highly rated mobile app. The Wells Fargo mobile app has high reviews from users on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. In addition to helpful budgeting tools, debt-to-income reports and spending reports, the app makes it easy to deposit checks, retrieve your monthly FICO score, and send money through Zelle. Moreover, Wells Fargo’s app lets you send money to non-Wells Fargo accounts easily, as you can add external accounts right on the app.
Fee notifications. Wells Fargo’s app doesn’t notify you when you’ll be charged a monthly fee. “Once, my savings account dipped below the minimum threshold to avoid the monthly account fee,” said a Bankrate staff member who uses Wells Fargo personally. “There was no notification that the account balance was lower than necessary to avoid the fee, which would’ve been helpful to know given it’s difficult to remember what fee rules are.
The above images were last updated on April 17, 2024.
Complaints
CFPB enforcement action. In 2022, Wells Fargo was fined $1.7 billion by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Among other things, the CFPB found that Wells Fargo “unfairly froze multiple consumer accounts in instances of suspected fraud when lesser restraints were available; made deceptive claims as to the availability of waivers of monthly service fees; and unfairly charged overdraft fees even if the consumer had enough funds available in their account to cover the amount of the transaction at the time they made it.” In addition to the fine, Wells Fargo was ordered to pay more than $2 billion in redress.
Bankrate staff insights
"Overall, banking with Wells Fargo is stress-free, and I trust the security of my accounts and money,” said a Bankrate staff member with an account at Wells Fargo. “It’s my primary bank for paying my expenses, and the ability to transfer money to other sources makes it great for this. But as with most big banks, the interest rates are, no pun intended, uninteresting. The 0.15% rate on the savings account has driven me to utilize a separate online bank for my actual savings account to earn a competitive rate."
Disclosure: To enhance our product reviews, Bankrate employees often open accounts and provide feedback. They may have been compensated for their time and account maintenance, but this does not affect the integrity of their review.
About Wells Fargo
Founded in 1852 as a bank and express delivery company, Wells Fargo offers a full range of banking services, including checking accounts, savings accounts, CDs, money market accounts, mortgages and other loans.
In 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Wells Fargo $100 million for the widespread illegal practice of secretly opening unauthorized accounts. The violation forced the bank to amend its approaches to sales, such as by sending an email confirmation to customers after the opening of a deposit account.
With branches in 39 states and the District of Columbia, Wells Fargo may be a good fit if you value nearly nationwide access to your accounts. The bulk of its 4,000 branches are in California, Texas, Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Georgia.
How Wells Fargo compares to other banks
Compare different account types offered by Wells Fargo. Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown were updated between Nov. 14, 2024 and Nov. 20, 2024.
Selected bank
Wells Fargo savings account
Bankrate score
2.9
Bankrate Savings rating = 2.9/5 Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Annual percentage yields (APYs), minimum opening deposit requirements and minimum balances to avoid monthly service fees are some of the things that make up Bankrate’s score. |
Most comparable
Chase Bank savings account
Bankrate score
2.9
Bankrate Savings rating = 2.9/5 Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Annual percentage yields (APYs), minimum opening deposit requirements and minimum balances to avoid monthly service fees are some of the things that make up Bankrate’s score. |
Search for or select a bank:
Bankrate score
Bankrate Savings rating Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Annual percentage yields (APYs), minimum opening deposit requirements and minimum balances to avoid monthly service fees are some of the things that make up Bankrate’s score. |
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APY
APY, or annual percentage yield, is the yearly return on a bank or investment account. APY includes the effects of compounding interest. APYs last updated between Nov. 14, 2024 and Nov. 20, 2024.
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0.01% | 0.01% | |
Minimum balance for APY
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$25.00 | $0.00 | |
Estimated earnings
Interest earned calculation based on a $50,000 deposit amount for a period of 1 year and is rounded to the nearest dollar. Exact earnings are dependent on calendar year, balance, and compounding frequency. Minimum deposit rules may apply.
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$5 | $5 | |
The Wells Fargo Platinum Savings account has check-writing privileges. That might give you more payment flexibility than with other savings accounts. The bank doesn’t offer a debit card for this account. | The Chase Savings account is the bank’s standard savings account. It offers a yield well below the national average for savings accounts. The Chase Savings account has a $5 monthly maintenance fee. Starting every day with at least $300 or automatically transferring at least $25 per month from your Chase checking account to this savings account are two ways to waive the fee. | |
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Wells Fargo FAQs
Review methodology
We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.
Wells Fargo customer reviews
Wells Fargo has 23 reviews
Dive into community reviews below and see what others think about Wells Fargo.
In July 2024, Bankrate collaborated with a third-party vendor to survey 1,200 bank account holders nationwide. Bankrate and our vendor collected and summarized account holder responses to five rating questions on a 5-point scale as well as open-ended reviews of the banking experience. Responses are based on individual account holder product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Reviewers received an incentive for their feedback. Their ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by the associated bank or credit union, nor do these responses reflect Bankrate's own expert review of these banking products.
Community Reviews
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