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Wells Fargo Bank Review 2024

Updated January 2, 2024
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At a glance

3.6
Rating: 3.6 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down

CDs

Rating: 3.1 stars out of 5

Checking

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

MMA

Rating: 2.6 stars out of 5

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 may want to consider other options.

Highlights

  • Digital Leader
  • Large Branch Network
Compare offers
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$1
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC.
Savings Account
5.25
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: No fees. Easy deposits and quick withdrawals.
Bank logo
Member FDIC
CD
5.05
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
$500
Minimum deposit
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: Expires 4/17/24. APY may change before CD is opened & funded.

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

  • Checkmark

    Fees on checking accounts can easily be avoided.

  • Checkmark

    Wells Fargo has eliminated non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees.

  • Checkmark

    Wells Fargo offers early direct deposit.

Cons

  • Yields on certificates of deposit and savings accounts are generally low, like many big banks.

  • The money market account has a steeper monthly fee if a specified balance isn’t maintained.

  • Wells Fargo still charges a $35 fee for overdrafting your account on most of its checking accounts.

Wells Fargo banking products

3.0
/5
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
See methodology Compare savings rates

SCORE BREAKDOWN

APY offering:
0.01%
Rating: 1 stars out of 5
1/5
Info
Minimum balance to earn interest:
$25.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$25.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info
Access to funds:
Great
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info

FEATURES

Invest Rate
0.01% APY
Info
Loan
$25 minimum deposit to open

Wells Fargo savings overview

Wells Fargo offers two savings accounts: Way2Save and Platinum Savings. This review covers the former.

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.
Some helpful savings tools are built into the account, including one that automatically transfers $1 into savings whenever you make a debit purchase.

The account’s APY is below the national average and well below the best rates offered by other banks.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    Just $25 is needed to open an account.

  • Checkmark

    An ATM card is available.

  • Checkmark

    There are multiple ways to avoid the monthly fee.

  • Checkmark

    The account comes with automated savings tools.

Cons

  • Higher APYs are available at other banks and credit unions.

  • There are options to waive the monthly maintenance fee, but other banks offer higher APYs with fewer or no requirements to earn them.

  • See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

    Wells Fargo
    APY
    APY
    Info
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info
Compare Offer
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.35
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 3/18/2024
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Info
$1
Min balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer:

Bank fees

Fee Charged?
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
*Non-international withdrawals

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 2023 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. 

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. 

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. 

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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."

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

Wells Fargo vs. Bank of America

Wells Fargo and Bank of America are both large, brick-and-mortar institutions with branches and ATMs easily found across most states. However, they both tend to offer paltry yields on their savings products, making neither a good choice for customers looking to grow their savings.

However, if you’re looking to open a CD with one of these banks, Bank of America offers a wider range of terms, giving you more options to choose from.  

But if you’re looking for a checking account, Wells Fargo may be the better choice. Its accounts are generally cheaper than Bank of America’s and Wells Fargo offers one more checking account option.

Wells Fargo FAQs

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

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.