Ally Bank Launches New Ad Campaign for 4th National Online Bank Day Encouraging Consumers to Expect More from Their Banks

Top online banks offer savings rates 20 times the national average

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Oct 08, 2018, 15:42 ET

SANDY, Utah, Oct. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ally Bank, the banking subsidiary of Ally Financial Inc., is celebrating National Online Bank Day in a big way with the launch of a bold, new ad campaign. Designed to heighten consumers' awareness, it shows how some of the nation's largest banks have been shortchanging customers billions of dollars in interest by paying near zero rates on their hard-earned money.

Ally established National Online Bank Day in 2015 to emphasize the value, ease and convenience of banking with online-only institutions on Columbus Day, a day when most traditional banks are closed. More importantly, on average, online-only banks pay significantly higher rates on savings. According to the FDIC, the average interest rate on savings accounts is 0.08 percent, with many of the largest financial institutions paying as little as 0.01 percent. Conversely, the average interest rate among the top online banks is 20 times higher than the national average of all banks as outlined in the attached video.

"Ally Bank is passionate about 'Doing It Right' for our customers," said Diane Morais, president of Consumer and Commercial Banking Products at Ally Bank. "As an online bank with no physical branches, we are able to pass that savings on to our customers through consistently competitive rates while offering quality service plus leading online and mobile functionality. And that's our goal, to help our customers make their savings work harder while providing an exceptional client experience."

"However, the reality about the disparity in rates on saving accounts has not been coming across to consumers given we estimate there is $3 trillion in retail bank accounts earning a relatively low interest rate," she said. "Consumers are missing out on more than $50 billion of interest they could be earning every year. That's not right. This National Online Bank Day, we're sounding a rallying cry to launch a movement for consumers to expect more from their banks."

"Better is out There"

This newest campaign, which is the first conceived and executed by the trio of new agencies Ally brought on board earlier this summer, underscores the fact that few Americans love their bank, and most don't bother to look elsewhere for a better option. The campaign includes full page "Letter to America" print ad in national media outlets as well as a myriad of billboards, broadcast hits and social posts to let consumers know that "better is out there."

To keep the momentum going beyond National Online Bank Day, the campaign will have several phases with the company announcing a compelling, consumer-facing initiative on Oct. 15 to emphasize how it intends to "put its money where its mouth is."

"At the heart of our Ally Bank marketing strategy is a desire to emphasize that we are a true ally for our customers' financial well-being," said Andrea Brimmer, chief marketing and public relations officer at Ally Financial. "From our 'Lucky Penny' and 'Hardest Working Dollar' initiatives to 'Big Save,' all our campaign messages have been centered on the importance of saving and money mindfulness. This campaign in particular takes that messaging a step further with some thought-provoking and startling comparisons between Ally Bank's value proposition compared with most other banks in America."

Ways Online Banks are Better

In addition to making a consumer's money work harder through consistently competitive rates, as an online-only bank, Ally offers a number of additional consumer-friendly benefits and features:

Fast, convenient access: No waiting in line, or for the bank to open. Ally Bank is open 24/7 – even on U.S. bank holidays – such as the second Monday of October, the annual recognition of Columbus Day.
Flexible, frictionless experience: Consumers can conduct their banking transactions securely without leaving the comfort of their home. Ally Bank offers live, 24/7 agent-assisted customer care, by phone or by chat, to suit anyone's schedule.
Customer-friendly fees structure: A pain point for many customers is the fees banks charge them for using their own money. The most common services and transactions (monthly maintenance fee, standard or expedited ACH transfer, domestic & international incoming wires, postage-paid deposit envelopes, official / cashier's checks) are free with Ally Bank.
It's fast, easy and safe to move money: Transfers are easy and free whether at home, on a mobile device or via voice using Amazon Alexa.
Easy access to cash: Customers enjoy access to cash back and ATM locations across the U.S. using any Allpoint® ATM in the U.S. for free, or they can request cash back during checkout when making purchases using their debit card. Ally Bank never charges an ATM fee and reimburses up to $10 per statement cycle for fees charged at other ATMs nationwide.
Free bill pay, P2P payment services: Customers can make quick, secure payments online or at their favorite stores with Apple Pay®, Google Pay™, Samsung Pay™, Masterpass™ or Microsoft Wallet, as well as Zelle®.

About Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial services company with assets of $171.3 billion as of June 30, 2018. As a client-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, Ally is relentlessly focused on "Doing it Right" and being a trusted financial partner for its consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. Ally's award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including CDs, online savings, money market and checking accounts, and IRA products. Ally also promotes the Ally CashBack Credit Card. Additionally, Ally offers securities brokerage and investment advisory services through Ally Invest. Ally remains one of the largest full-service auto finance operations in the country with a complementary auto-focused insurance business, which together serve more than 18,000 dealer customers and millions of auto consumers. Ally's robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures.

Contact:

Gene King
Phone: 980-312-8439
[email protected]

SOURCE Ally Financial