Wells Fargo Bank Review

Wells Fargo

Blueprint Rating

Products

Checking, savings, MMAs, CDs, personal loans, mortgages, credit cards

Fees

Monthly service fees, out-of-network ATM fees, Insufficient funds fees

ATM network size

12,000

What you should know

One of the largest national banks, Wells Fargo offers a robust roster of banking products and services, including thousands of physical branches throughout the U.S.

Its checking and savings options, however, leave something to be desired, since these accounts come with monthly fees and low yields. Although you can have monthly fees waived by jumping through some hoops, the fact that some jumping is required means not everyone will qualify.

If you love in-person banking, Wells Fargo could be for you. Otherwise, online banks offer more competitive checking and savings accounts.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Large network of physical branches
• Huge range of financial products
• Relationship rates available

Cons

• Low savings rates
• Overdraft fees
• Recent scandals involving mismanagement of accounts

One of the largest national banks, Wells Fargo offers a robust roster of banking products and services, including thousands of physical branches throughout the U.S.

Its checking and savings options, however, leave something to be desired, since these accounts come with monthly fees and low yields. Although you can have monthly fees waived by jumping through some hoops, the fact that some jumping is required means not everyone will qualify. 

If you love in-person banking, Wells Fargo could be for you. Otherwise, online banks offer more competitive checking and savings accounts.

Account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate as of April 4, 2024 and were found using the ZIP code 33966.

Wells Fargo Bank basics

• Checking accounts: Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking℠, Wells Fargo Prime Checking, Wells Fargo Everyday Checking and Wells Fargo Premier Checking.
• Savings accounts: Wells Fargo Way2Save® Savings and Wells Fargo Platinum Savings. 
• Money market accounts: None.
• Certificates of deposit (CDs): Five traditional CDs with terms from three months to one year and a minimum deposit of $2,500 to $5,000.
• Other accounts: Credit cards, home loans, personal loans, auto loans, IRA accounts, brokerage accounts, small business and corporate accounts.
• Bank branches or online only: Wells Fargo has more than 4,900 branches and 12,000 ATMs across the U.S. It doesn’t have a physical presence in 13 states, including Louisiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Hawaii. 

Pros

• Large network of physical branches. In the digital age, when many financial institutions are shrinking their physical footprint, Wells Fargo has more than 4,900 branches.
• Huge range of financial products. This bank could be your one-stop financial shop. Wells Fargo offers many financial products such as savings, loans and retirement investment services.
• Relationship rates available. You can qualify in several ways for Wells Fargo Relationship rates, which typically garners you greater yields on deposit accounts and lower costs on other banking products.

Cons

• Low savings rates. The savings rates here are very low compared to other banks, especially online-only banks.
• Overdraft fees. Wells Fargo still charges a $35 overdraft fee; many other large banks have eliminated the fee or reduced the fee. 
• Previous fraudulent practices. In December 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Wells Fargo to pay $3.7 billion in fines and penalties for repeatedly mismanaging accounts.

About Wells Fargo Bank

Wells Fargo was founded in 1852 and is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets. It offers banking for individuals, small businesses and corporations. 

Focusing on the personal banking accounts, you can choose between four checking accounts, two savings accounts and five CDs. Whichever checking or savings account you choose, you’ll need a $25 opening deposit and, if you want to avoid monthly fees, you’ll need to jump through at least one hoop.

Checking accounts

The Wells Fargo Everyday Checking account is the bank’s most popular checking option. It provides the standard things you’d expect, such as bill pay, mobile deposit, Zelle integration, optional overdraft protection, a contactless debit card and even a checkbook.

The downsides include a monthly service fee of $10 monthly fee which can be waived by maintaining a $500 minimum daily balance, having at least $500 in total qualifying electronic deposits, linking a Wells Fargo Campus ATM Card or Campus Debit Card to the account, receiving a qualifying monthly non-civilian military direct deposit with the Wells Fargo Worldwide Military Banking program or if the primary account owner is 17 to 24 years old.

The Wells Fargo Clear Access Banking℠ account is a slightly pared down version of the Everyday Checking account. It doesn’t offer overdraft services or checks and is meant for kids and people who need second-chance banking. There’s a monthly fee of $5 which can be waived if the primary account owner is 13 to 24 years old, if a Wells Fargo Campus ATM card or Campus Debit card is linked to the account or with a qualifying monthly non-civilian military direct deposit with the Wells Fargo Worldwide Military Banking program.

The Wells Fargo Prime Checking account helps you to qualify for fee waivers and better rates on other other Wells Fargo products, and lets you earn a small amount of interest — the current rate is 0.01% on all balances.

There is a monthly fee of $25 which can be waived by maintaining a $20,000 minimum balance across Wells Fargo deposit and investment accounts. 

The Wells Fargo Premier Checking account is geared for depositors who maintain higher balances. It offers 24/7 priority customer service, few service fees, and relationship rates — which means discounted fees on services such as investment advising and higher yields on deposits like CDs. 

The yield on this account is minimal, with a 0.01% APY. There’s also a monthly service fee of $35 which can be waived each fee period with $250,000 or more in statement-ending qualifying linked consumer bank deposit account balances and investment account balances at Wells Fargo.

Savings accounts

The Wells Fargo Way2Save® Savings account offers 0.01% APY on any balance and features automatic savings tools. There is a monthly service fee of $5 monthly fee (which can be waived with a $300 minimum daily balance, one automatic transfer each fee period of $25 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account, one automatic transfer each business day within the fee period of $1 or more from a linked Wells Fargo checking account, one or more Save As You Go® transfers from a linked Wells Fargo checking account or if the primary account owner is 24 years old or under).

The Wells Fargo Platinum Savings account allows you to access your money through checks and ATM withdrawals and provides a tiered interest rate schedule, starting at: 0.25% APY on balances between $0 to $99,999.99, 1.01% APY on balances between $100,000 to $499,999.99, 2.00% APY on balances between $500,000 to $999,999.99 and 2.50% APY on balances of $100,000 or more. Note that both yields are considerably lower than what you can find with the best no-fee savings accounts.

This account comes with a monthly service fee of $12 which can be waived with a $3,500 minimum daily balance each fee period.

Certificates of deposit (CDs) 

Wells Fargo offers five fixed-rate CDs with terms from three months to one year.

The Wells Fargo Standard Fixed Rate CDs — which come in three-month, six-month and one-year term options — can be opened with a minimum deposit of $2,500, but they have less-than-stellar yields. The three-month CD offers a 2.50% APY and the six-month term offers a 2.50% APY on all balances — whereas the one-year term only offers 1.50% to 2.00% APY, depending on the deposit amount.

The four-month, seven-month and 11-month Wells Fargo Special Fixed Rate CDs require a minimum deposit of $5,000 but have a competitive non-relationship rate of 4.75% and 4.25% APY.

You could increase the rate on a Standard CD by 0.01% APY (or by 0.26% APY on a Special CD) if you qualify for the Relationship APY, which requires you to link a Wells Fargo checking account to the CD. Though the increase is larger for the seven-month option.

CD TERM	RELATIONSHIP APY	MINIMUM BALANCE
3 months	2.51%	$2,500
6 months	2.51%	$2,500
7 months*	5.01%	$5,000
11 months	4.25%	$5,000
12 months	1.51% to 2.01%	$2,500

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^{*Special Fixed Rate CD}

Other accounts

Wells Fargo offers a plethora of personal banking products, including five types of credit cards and five types of loans: home purchase, home refinance, home improvement, auto and personal loans. The bank doesn’t offer student loans and has temporarily paused its home equity loans due to market conditions.

How Wells Fargo stacks up

Wells Fargo Bank vs. Ally Bank

Wells Fargo and Ally Bank could both meet your banking needs. Both provide checking, savings, loans and investment products. If you’re OK going without branches however, Ally is more competitive overall. 

As an online-only bank, Ally doesn’t have any minimum balances or monthly fees and it offers much more competitive interest rates: 0.10% APY on balances under $15,000 and 0.25% APY on balances of $15,000 or greater with the Ally Bank Spending Account and 4.20% APY on all balances with the Ally Bank Savings Account. And, while you’re bereft of branches, you’re spoiled for ATMs. Ally is part of the Allpoint ATM network, which has 43,000 ATMs (better than Wells Fargo’s 12,000 ATMs).

Wells Fargo Bank vs. Capital One 360

As two of the largest brick-and-mortar banks in the nation, Wells Fargo and Capital One are natural competitors. Capital One has fewer banking products — it doesn’t offer home loans or investing services — but it does have more competitive deposit accounts and a larger ATM network with 70,000 ATM machines. 

The Capital One 360 Checking Account and Capital One 360 Performance Savings don’t charge monthly fees or require a minimum balance and, respectively, pay 0.10% APY and 4.25% APY. On top of that, its checking account includes early direct deposit and no-fee overdraft coverage.

Wells Fargo Bank vs. Discover® Bank

Discover is an online-only bank with more than 60,000 free ATMs in-network. And while it doesn’t have multiple types of checking and savings accounts like Wells Fargo, its rates are competitive and its simplified approach can be appealing. 

The Discover® Cashback Debit Checking offers 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases (see website for details), while the Discover® Online Savings Account rate is 4.25% APY. Neither requires a minimum balance or monthly fees.

Regarding other banking services, Discover offers credit cards and a range of loan options including personal, student and home loans.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)