Wells Fargo is one of the oldest and largest banks in the US. It offers multiple checking and savings accounts — many of which include fee waivers — and certificates of deposit, business banking, lending and investing services. It also boasts one of the largest branch networks in the US, making it great for those who prefer in-person support. However, its APYs aren’t the most competitive, and most of its bank accounts charge monthly fees. On top of that, Wells Fargo has faced significant issues with regulators and has paid billions of dollars in fines in the last few years.
Best for: Those who prefer a large, traditional bank.
Wells Fargo is notorious for scandals and run-ins with regulators.
In 2023, the bank was required to pay $125 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission after employees used personal devices to conduct business. Also in 2023, shareholders sued the bank, alleging that Wells Fargo mishandled a cleanup of its previous account scandal in 2020. The bank agreed to pay $1 billion in a class-action lawsuit.(1)
In 2022, Wells Fargo was required to pay over $2 billion in redress to consumers and a $1.7 billion civil penalty for violations. In short, Wells Fargo illegally charged fees and interest on homes and auto loans, wrongfully repossessed vehicles, charged surprise overdraft fees and opened fake accounts to meet sales goals.(2)
The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra stated, “Wells Fargo’s rinse-repeat cycle of violating the law has harmed millions of American families.”
Wells Fargo is a large global bank, one of the Big Four, along with Chase, Bank of America and Citibank.
Wells Fargo has branch locations in over 30 states, offers dozens of products and services and boasts a long history since its inception in 1852. If you prefer a bank with physical locations and a variety of account options, it could suit you just fine. However, historically, its rates on savings products have been low, and it often charges fees to maintain deposit accounts.
If you like account variety and physical branches, Wells Fargo has that going for it. But if you need high APYs on savings or aren’t a fan of monthly fees, you may want to look elsewhere.
Wells Fargo is a traditional bank with traditional perks.
Wells Fargo’s downsides are hefty.
As expected from a long-standing bank, Wells Fargo offers a few checking accounts to choose from. However, plan on paying a monthly maintenance fee and meeting a $25 opening deposit requirement.
Most of the time, waiving a Wells Fargo monthly service fee means meeting a balance requirement.
| Account | Monthly fee | Fee waiver options |
|---|---|---|
Everyday Checking | $10 |
|
Clear Access Banking | $5 |
|
Prime Checking | $25 | Maintain a statement-ending balance of at least $20,000 across eligible Wells Fargo accounts, such as checking, savings, and investments. |
Premier Checking | $35 | Maintain a statement-ending balance of at least $250,000 across eligible Wells Fargo accounts, such as checking, savings, and investments. |
There are two savings accounts from Wells Fargo — one with a very low APY and the other with a decent APY but high balance requirements for the best rates.
Wells Fargo CDs have decent rates, often above national averages. However, you need at least $2,500 to open a standard one, and the special-rate CDs require at least $5,000.
It also offers relationship rates, meaning you could get a higher APY on your CD if you have a Wells Fargo Prime, Premier or Private Bank account.
| Term | APY | Opening deposit requirement |
|---|---|---|
3-month standard | 2% | $2,500 |
4-month Special Fixed CD | 4% | $5,000 |
6-month standard | 2% | $2,500 |
7-month Special Fixed CD | 3.75% | $5,000 |
11-month Special Fixed CD | 3.5% | $5,000 |
12-month standard | 2.75% | $2,500 |
Aside from personal checking and savings, Wells Fargo has many other services to check out:
The Finder Score crunches over 250 savings accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees, opening deposit and features - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of savings accounts against FDIC-reported national averages as a baseline. Accounts with rates well over the national average are scored the highest, while accounts with rates well below are scored low.
The Finder Score analyzes hundreds of CDs from more than 100 institutions. It takes into account the product's interest rate for available terms and opening deposit requirements - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
Different banks and credit unions offer CDs for various lengths of time, ranging from as short as seven days to as long as 20 years. For our ratings, we consider the term lengths that the FDIC uses in its monthly updates on national rates.
If a bank or credit union doesn’t offer a CD for a specific term used by the FDIC, we don’t penalize it: Instead, we simply don’t rate it. Each of the standard term lengths has its own APY rating based on the FDIC’s average rates.
The Finder Score crunches over 300 checking accounts from hundreds of financial institutions. It takes into account the product's monthly fees, overdraft fees, opening deposit, customer support options, ATM network and features — this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, Finder’s banking experts analyze hundreds of checking accounts against what we consider is the best option: no monthly fees, no overdraft fees, a large ATM network of 50,000 or more, additional features outside of typical banking services, and the optional perk of earning interest. Accounts that are nearly free to maintain and use are scored the highest, while accounts with costly fees and few features are scored the lowest.
| BBB accredited | No |
|---|---|
| BBB rating | F |
| BBB customer reviews | 1.7 out of 5 stars, based on 940 customer reviews |
| Trustpilot score | 1.3 out of 5 stars, based on 1,291 customer reviews |
| Apple App Store Score | 4.9 out of 5 stars, based on 9,500,000 customer reviews |
| Google Play Score | 4.8 out of 5 stars, based on 2,580,000 customer reviews |
| Customer reviews verified as of | 14 January 2025 |
Aside from Wells Fargo’s mobile app reviews, the bank has scathing reviews.
As expected from a large institution, the bank has thousands of Better Business Bureau (BBB) complaints and hundreds of negative reviews on Trustpilot. Many complaints cite issues with account fees, suspended accounts, poor customer service, drawn-out fraudulent charge resolutions and dissatisfaction with fees on banking services.
Among positive reviews, most are reports of good customer service at select branch locations. As Wells Fargo has thousands of locations, it makes sense that reviews in that realm vary.
All user-submitted reviews must meet our review guidelines. These set out our standards and expectations, including that the review is from by a genuine user of the relevant product or service and that it is honest, authentic and respectful. We explicitly prohibit fake or otherwise misleading reviews and we check all submissions, but we make no guarantee as to the authenticity of any published review or reviewer. Some reviews may be submitted (regardless of sentiment) in exchange for entry into any competition(s) for which we are the promoter.
Wells Fargo’s new Clear Access Banking account can help teens learn to manage their money.
A second-chance checking account to help you start banking again.
An everyday checking account that provides easy access to your money.
Earn interest just for maintaining a balance of at least $500.
Savings tools to help your money grow and overdraft protection to your linked Wells Fargo savings account.
Explore Wells Fargo’s versatile lineup of CDs with guaranteed rates.
Make automatic contributions to your savings account with Way2Save.