Truist Bank Review [2024]: Should It Be Your Bank?

BANKING - BANK REVIEWS
Truist Bank might be the largest U.S. bank you haven’t heard of, and it deserves your consideration.
Updated April 5, 2024
Fact checked
Bank teller handing his client cash

We receive compensation from the products and services mentioned in this story, but the opinions are the author's own. Compensation may impact where offers appear. We have not included all available products or offers. Learn more about how we make money and our editorial policies.

We recommend Truist for people who live in one of the 17 states (or Washington, D.C.) where its more than 2,000 branches are located.

Although not as popular as megabanks like Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo, Truist Bank is one of the largest banks in the U.S. by assets. We like that it’s a full-service bank with plenty of products, including Truist One Checking and Truist One Savings. It also offers money market accounts, loans, credit cards, and more.

That said, we think that its annual percentage yield (APY) rates1 on interest-bearing accounts aren’t as high as some of its competitors.

Let’s explore our Truist Bank review to see if this is the right bank for you.

4.3
info

Truist One Checking Benefits

  • New checking clients can earn a $400 bonus with qualifying activities2
  • No overdraft fee to worry about
  • Minimum opening deposit is just $50
  • $100 Negative Balance Buffer3 for eligible clients
  • Ways to waive the monthly maintenance fee4
  • Member FDIC
Open a Truist One Checking account here

In this Truist review

Key takeaways

  • We recommend Truist Bank, a brick-and-mortar bank based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, if you want easy-to-use everyday bank accounts, especially if you live near a Truist branch.
  • We like that many Truist checking and savings accounts avoid overdraft-related charges, but we think the APY rates could be better.
  • It has branches in Washington, D.C. and 17 states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
  • While Truist only has branches in certain states, you can still open a Truist bank account online from other locations. For example, ZIP codes in California, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, and Utah worked during the application process, while a ZIP code in New York didn’t work.

Truist Bank overview

Pros
  • In-person branch locations
  • Highly rated mobile apps
  • Multiple accounts with no overdraft fees
Cons
  • Branches only available in 17 states
  • Low APY rates on standard savings accounts

With over 2,000 branch locations and more than 3,000 ATMs, Truist is a major bank that offers multiple financial products and services, including bank accounts, loans, and credit cards.

Truist Bank was founded in 2019 as a merger between BB&T and SunTrust. This merger immediately made Truist one of the largest banks in the U.S., with over $535 billion of assets.

We recommend Truist checking and savings accounts and think that they can appeal to a wide range of people for everyday money management and transfers. Many Truist accounts have monthly maintenance fees, but you can typically waive them by meeting certain requirements.

Perspectives
Yahia Barakah, CEPF
Yahia Barakah, CEPF
Editor

Yahia Barakah, CEPF, has created finance-focused content since 2011. As a Certified Educator of Personal Finance, he has a background in institutional investment and asset management, as well as a deep passion for financial literacy.

WHY I LIKE TRUIST

I’ve been a long-time customer with SunTrust and, subsequently, Truist Bank. I like Truist’s simple and intuitive online platform and my in-person banking experience is always great as Truist’s employees are always friendly and quickly address my requests or questions.

Truist Bank checking accounts

Checking account Description Minimum to open Monthly maintenance fee
Truist One Checking Checking with benefits that grow with your balance $50 $12 (can be waived)4
Truist Confidence Simple checking with no paper checks or overdraft fees $25 $5 (can be waived)

Truist offers two checking accounts. Neither account charges overdraft fees, making them excellent choices if you tend to maintain a low balance. We also like how you can waive the monthly maintenance fees for either account, which is one reason Truist makes our list of the best checking accounts.

Note that these aren’t interest-bearing accounts.

Truist One Checking

Annual percentage yield (APY) None
Minimum deposit requirement $50
Monthly maintenance fees $12 (can be waived)
ATM access Fee-free access to over 3,000 Truist ATMs
FDIC insured Up to $250,000

Truist One Checking offers multiple convenient benefits, including no overdraft fees and a low $50 minimum deposit requirement.

There’s a $12 monthly maintenance fee, but that can be waived in one of five different ways:

  1. Make $500 or more in total qualifying direct deposits per statement cycle.
  2. Maintain a combined monthly average balance of $500 or more across eligible Truist bank accounts.
  3. Have an eligible personal Truist credit card, mortgage, or consumer loan.
  4. Have a linked small business checking account.
  5. Be a student under 25 years old.

An interesting feature of Truist One Checking is that you can receive more benefits as your combined monthly average balance increases5. There are five incremental levels with decent benefits, such as free paper checks and unlimited no-fee ATM transactions from non-Truist ATMs.

However, reaching some of the better benefits requires keeping high balances, including over $100,000 for the best perks. In general, keeping that much money in a checking account won’t make sense for most people.

4.3
info

Truist One Checking Benefits

  • New checking clients can earn a $400 bonus with qualifying activities2
  • No overdraft fee to worry about
  • Minimum opening deposit is just $50
  • $100 Negative Balance Buffer3 for eligible clients
  • Ways to waive the monthly maintenance fee4
  • Member FDIC
Open a Truist One Checking account here

Truist Confidence

Annual percentage yield (APY) None
Minimum deposit requirement $25
Monthly maintenance fees $5 (can be waived)
ATM access Fee-free access to over 3,000 Truist ATMs
FDIC insured Up to $250,000

The Truist Confidence checking account makes sense if you want a simple account for everyday purchases and transactions.

This account doesn’t offer paper checks, but you won’t be charged overdraft fees and it has a low $5 monthly service fee. You can avoid this fee by meeting one of the following requirements:

  • Make $500 or more in total deposits per statement cycle.
  • Make 10 or more qualifying transactions per statement cycle.
  • Be a student under 25 years old.

Truist Bank savings accounts

Savings account Description Minimum to open Monthly maintenance fee
Truist One Savings Simple savings to help reach specific goals $50 $5 (can be waived)
Truist Confidence Savings Simple savings with low fees $25 $0
Truist One Money Market Savings with the most benefits $50 $12 (can be waived)

Truist offers three types of savings accounts. The Truist One Savings and Confidence Savings are similar because they are both simple accounts with low requirements.

Truist One Money Market has higher requirements and fees but could also provide more value with its benefits, such as overdraft protection for a linked personal checking account.

If these savings accounts don’t seem like the right fit for you, check out our list of the best savings accounts.

Truist One Savings

Annual percentage yield (APY) 0.01% (as of 07/01/24)
Minimum deposit requirement $50
Monthly maintenance fees $5 (can be waived)
ATM access Fee-free access to over 3,000 Truist ATMs
FDIC insured Up to $250,000

Truist One Savings makes sense if you want a simple savings account to help you reach specific financial goals.

This account doesn’t have any overdraft-related fees, but there’s a $5 monthly maintenance fee. You can waive this fee by meeting one of the following requirements:

  • Maintain a minimum daily ledger balance of $300 or more.
  • Schedule a recurring preauthorized internal transfer of $25 or more per statement cycle into your Truist One Savings account.
  • Be a minor under the age of 18.
  • Have any related Truist checking product.

Truist Confidence Savings

Annual percentage yield (APY) 0.01% (as of 07/01/24)
Minimum deposit requirement $25
Monthly maintenance fees $0
ATM access Fee-free access to over 3,000 Truist ATMs
FDIC insured Up to $250,000

Truist Confidence Savings account is a basic account with no monthly maintenance fees and a low $25 minimum deposit requirement.

This account makes sense if you simply need a place to store some money and want to avoid as many fees as possible, including overdraft-related fees, returned item fees, and negative account balance fees.

Truist One Money Market

Annual percentage yield (APY) 0.01% (as of 07/01/24)
Minimum deposit requirement $50
Monthly maintenance fees $12 (can be waived)
ATM access Fee-free access to over 3,000 Truist ATMs
FDIC insured Up to $250,000

Truist One Money Market accounts make sense if you frequently carry a high balance, as maintaining at least a $1,000 minimum daily ledger balance will waive the $12 monthly fee. However, Truist may offer promotional APY rates from time to time. For example, this account offered higher APY rates exclusively for new Truist clients in March 2024.

Additional Truist Bank products

As a full-service bank, Truist also provides other financial services in addition to its checking and savings accounts. These services include:

  • Credit cards: Truist offers a mix of different credit cards, including cash back, travel, balance transfer, and secured cards.
  • Loans: Truist can help you qualify for home loans, home equity lines of credit, personal loans, auto loans, and more.
  • Retirement accounts: Truist offers traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
  • Investing services: Truist investment accounts and services include Truist Trade for self-directed investing and Truist Invest for automated investing.
  • Insurance: The Truist insurance team can help you find home insurance, pet insurance, auto insurance, and more.
  • Small business: Truist small business products and services include credit cards, bank accounts, loans, merchant services, and insurance.
  • Wealth management: The Truist Wealth team can help with your wealth management needs, including finding an advisor to help with your strategy and other financial guidance.
  • Commercial services: Leverage Truist for your commercial and corporate banking needs.

What we like about Truist Bank

  • In-person branches: You can visit one of over 2,000 Truist branch locations in the U.S., making it easy to get face-to-face customer support.
  • Various products and services: In addition to its checking and savings accounts, Truist also offers credit cards, loans, and retirement accounts.
  • Member FDIC: Receive protection from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on applicable Truist accounts, such as checking accounts and savings accounts.
  • No overdraft fees: Multiple Truist accounts don’t charge overdraft-related fees, including both Truist checking accounts.
  • Waive monthly fees: Multiple Truist accounts provide ways to waive monthly maintenance fees.
  • Minimum deposit requirements: The minimum deposit requirements on Truist checking and savings accounts are generally low.
  • Highly rated mobile apps: Truist Mobile has a 4.8 out of 5 rating on the App Store with over 700,000 ratings. On Google Play, it has a 4.7 out of 5 rating with over 220,000 ratings.

What Truist Bank could improve

  • Not a nationwide footprint: Truist is a large bank and has thousands of in-person branches, but you can only find those branches in 17 states. That leaves a lot of states without access to in-person customer support.
  • Low APY rates: The APY rates on the Truist One Savings and Truist Confidence Savings accounts are less than competitive compared to what’s available from other financial institutions.

What users are saying about Truist Mobile

Check out some of the Truist Bank reviews for the Truist Mobile app on the App Store and Google Play.

App Store - 4.8 out of 5 rating Google Play - 4.7 out of 5 rating
5 out of 5

“The best to keep track of my spending and use the mobile deposits instead of going to the bank.”

chmebemee - February 24, 2024

5 out of 5

“I use this for check deposits, account transfers, and viewing transactions. It's great not needing to go to the bank. The only issue is with the check deposit. I usually have to press the 'Take Manually' button and take the photo myself. It just takes a couple extra seconds when it happens.”

Bud Wimer - September 19, 2022

5 out of 5

“I love the app. I am able to see all my accounts and make transfers easily.”

Kath L DeMaris - February 25, 2024

5 out of 5

“They updated the check deposit, and it is much more seamless with fewer bugs now! Thanks! For our business mobile deposits (which is primarily why I use the app), the back of the check does not auto-capture. I constantly have to wait until the menu pop up says "manual capture" to manually take the back of the check photo.”

Caroline B. - May 26, 2023

1 out of 5

“I spent time on the phone today with Truist online support and Apple support trying to figure out why the Face ID in the app will not enable. It worked fine with my iPhone XR, but since I’ve upgraded to the 14, I can’t get Face ID to work.”

CarrieJ54 - May 22, 2023

1 out of 5

“The app used to work fine until the update at the end of August. Now, it crashes at the splash screen as soon as it opens. The app apparently no longer works on Graphene OS, a security-hardened version of Android. Imagine being a bank but not allowing your app to be used on a high-security OS.”

Steven Mainor - October 9, 2023

Who is Truist Bank best for?

Truist Bank makes sense if you want access to various financial products and services, as well as highly rated mobile apps and thousands of in-person branches.

For some, the in-person locations could be what sets Truist apart from online-only banks. But remember, you can only find Truist branches in 17 states.

We don’t think the APY rates that Truist offers on its checking and savings accounts are good enough to compete with many other banks and credit unions. However, we like that you can avoid overdraft-related fees on many Truist accounts. That makes them excellent options if you often carry a low bank account balance.

If you’d rather use a bank that helps you earn more interest, check out our list of bank accounts with high APY.

How to open an account with Truist Bank

To open a Truist account, you need to gather your personal information, including:

  • Name and phone number
  • Email address
  • Social Security number
  • Two years of address history
  • Employment and income information

Once you have your information ready, follow these steps to open a Truist checking account online:

  1. Visit Truist One Checking and click on “Open now” to start the application process.


  1. Select the “Start application” option.


  1. You might have the option to add other types of Truist accounts, such as a savings or money market account, during the application process.
  2. Once you’ve filled out the application, including funding options, you can submit it to complete the process.

Alternatives to Truist Bank

Bank of America

Bank of America Advantage Banking6 offers multiple account options, including the Bank of America Advantage Plus Banking® account. This account gives you the flexibility to pay with your debit card, a digital wallet, or Zelle. And there are multiple ways to waive the $12 monthly maintenance fee each statement cycle, including having at least one qualifying direct deposit of $250 or more.

Visit Bank of America

…or read our full Bank of America review.

SoFi®

With a SoFi Checking and Savings account, you get no monthly maintenance fees and no minimum opening deposit requirement.7 Even better, this account provides up to 4.00% APY with direct deposit and up to $2 million in FDIC insurance8. SoFi is a Member, FDIC. 9

Note that this is an online-only account.

Visit SoFi®

…or read our full SoFi® review.

Truist Bank FAQ

Is Truist a real bank?

Truist is a legitimate bank based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. It has over 2,000 branch locations and more than 3,000 ATMs in its 17-state and Washington D.C. footprint. With over $535 billion in total assets, Truist is one of the top 10 largest banks in the U.S.

What bank took over Truist?

Truist is a new bank that was formed as a merger between BB&T; and SunTrust in 2019. The merger made Truist one of the largest banks in the U.S. Headquartered in North Carolina, Truist has over 2,000 branches in 17 states and Washington, D.C. You can find Truist locations in states like Alabama, Florida, and Virginia.

Is my money safe at Truist?

Truist is a Member FDIC, providing up to $250,000 in FDIC insurance for funds in applicable accounts. That could include checking and savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit. FDIC insurance doesn’t typically cover investment and insurance products.

Truist Bank review: bottom line

Truist is a large bank with various financial products and services. We like that you can manage all your different accounts under the same roof, including from well-rated mobile apps if you prefer online banking.

We think Truist offers a decent range of checking and savings accounts, though we wish the APY rates were more competitive. However, the accounts are more than adequate to serve their purpose as everyday money management tools, especially if you live near a Truist branch.

If Truist doesn’t seem like the right fit for you, check out our list of the best banks for more options.

4.5
info

Discover® Cashback Debit Benefits

  • Earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in debit card purchases each month10
  • No minimum deposit, no minimum balance, and no account fees
  • Easily switch direct deposit via the Discover mobile app or online for Early Pay (get your paycheck up to 2 days early!)
  • 60K+ fee-free ATMs and make cash deposits at Walmart stores nationwide
Open Account

Author Details

Ben Walker, CEPF, CFEI® Ben Walker, CEPF, CFEI®, is credit cards specialist. For over a decade, he's leveraged credit card points and miles to travel the world. His expertise extends to other areas of personal finance — including loans, insurance, investing, and real estate — and you can find his insights on The Washington Post, Debt.com, Yahoo! Finance, and Fox Business.