Truist Account Basics
Truist Financial product details, rate and fee information may vary by location. We used North Carolina for the purposes of this review, as that’s where the bank is headquartered. This review focuses on Truist’s personal banking services. Account details and annual percentage yields (APYs) are accurate as of June 6, 2023.
Checking
The primary bank account for transactions is your checking account. Truist offers two checking accounts to meet varying customer needs: Truist One Checking and Truist Confidence Account.
Truist One Checking. After the merger, this became Truist’s flagship checking account. With Truist One Checking, you can get the $12 monthly fee waived by meeting one of the following requirements:
- Receive at least $500 in direct deposits per statement cycle
- Maintain a combined balance of at least $500 across all Truist deposit and investment accounts
- Open and link a Truist small business checking account
- Have a personal Truist credit card, mortgage or qualifying loan
- Be a student under the age of 25.
This account charges no overdraft fees, offers a $100 Negative Balance Buffer and comes with additional perks—like a loyalty bonus on credit card rewards and ATM fee waivers—as your balance grows.
Truist Confidence Account. This is Truist’s second-chance bank account, designed for people who have trouble qualifying for a standard checking account. This account has limited features, such as no paper checks, and requires a minimum opening deposit of $25. It charges a $5 monthly fee that can be waived if you receive at least $500 in direct deposits per statement cycle, make 10 or more qualifying transactions per statement cycle or are a student under the age of 25.
Savings
Truist offers two primary savings accounts for its customers: Truist One Savings and Truist Confidence Savings.
Truist One Savings. Truist’s main savings account earns minimal interest (a 0.01% APY) and requires a minimum opening deposit of $50. It charges a $5 monthly fee to account holders age 18 or older, but this fee can be easily waived by holding an eligible Truist checking account, maintaining a minimum daily balance of $300 or scheduling a preauthorized internal transfer of at least $25 per statement cycle.
Truist Confidence Savings. This basic savings account is designed to be paired with the Truist Confidence Account, a checking account designed for people who can’t qualify for standard bank accounts. This account earns interest and charges no monthly fees or overdraft fees. It requires a minimum opening deposit of $25.
Money Market
Truist is also home to the Truist One Money Market Account. A money market account (MMA) is a type of bank account that typically offers competitive rates, like a high-yield savings account, plus popular features of a checking account, like a debit card and check-writing privileges.
The Truist One Money Market Account currently earns 0.01% APY on all account balances, well below what you can find with the best money market accounts. Opening a money market account requires a $50 minimum deposit. There’s also a $12 monthly maintenance fee attached to the account, although you can get it waived by keeping a $1,000 minimum balance. This account allows up to six fee-free withdrawals per month, after which you’re charged $15 per additional withdrawal.
CDs
There are several available Truist certificates of deposit (CDs), depending on your needs. Unfortunately, Truist doesn’t currently publish its CD rates online, and you can only open a Truist CD account by visiting one of the bank’s branches.
- Personal CDs. Truist offers CDs with terms ranging from seven days to five years. CDs require a minimum deposit of $1,000. CDs with terms of seven to 31 days require a higher minimum deposit, but longer terms require a lower amount.
- Can’t Lose CDs. Can’t Lose CDs allow you to deposit up to $10,000 in additional funds after the first 12 months of your term have passed. They also allow for one penalty-free withdrawal after the first 12 months of the term.
- Stepped Rate CDs. This CD option comes with a guaranteed interest rate increase once a year, every year during your term. You can also add one additional deposit, up to $10,000, per year. Another perk included with Stepped Rate CDs is one penalty-free withdrawal 24 months after the initial deposit.
Other Accounts and Services
Besides its personal deposit accounts, Truist also offers the following financial products and services:
- Health Savings Account (HSA)
- Prepaid cards
- Credit cards
- Mortgage loans
- Home equity loans
- Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOCs)
- Auto loans
- Personal loans
- Investment products and services
- Retirement accounts
- Personal insurance
- Small business banking and lending
- Commercial banking and lending
- Wealth management services
Access on the Go
Truist accounts are accessible online or through its mobile app, Truist Mobile. The highly rated app is available on the App Store and Google Play. The app offers many of the banking app features you would expect, including:
- Account management
- Mobile check deposit
- Bank transfers
- Bill pay
- Email and text payments
- Card lock
- Budgeting
- Branch and ATM locator
Online account management includes helpful tools like free credit score monitoring, transaction categorization, budgeting tools and goal setting and tracking.
General phone support is available for Truist customer service by calling 844-4TRUIST (844-487-8478) during business hours. Customers can also log in to their accounts online and send a secure message.
Truist Banking Fees
Following BB&T’s merger with Suntrust, Truist reduced and streamlined fees across accounts. Here are the fees for Truist’s personal checking accounts.
Truist Confidence Account Fees
- Monthly Maintenance Fee: $5, waived if you meet any of the following requirements:
- Receive $500 in monthly direct deposits
- Complete 10 or more transactions per statement cycle
- Under age 25
- Monthly Paper Statement Fee: $2, or waived with e-statements sign-up
Truist One Checking Fees
- Monthly Maintenance Fee: $12, waived if you meet any of the following requirements:
- Receive $500 in monthly direct deposits
- Maintain a minimum $500 balances across all personal accounts
- Have a Truist personal credit card, mortgage or consumer loan
- Open and link a Truist small business checking account
- Under age 25
- Monthly Paper Statement Fee: $3, or waived with e-statements sign-up
Savings account fees are similar, but CDs incur zero monthly maintenance fees.
Truist One Savings Fees
- Monthly Maintenance Fees: $5, waived if you meet any of the following requirements:
- Maintain a $300 minimum daily balance
- Set up $25 in monthly automatic transfers into savings
- Hold a Truist checking account
- Under age 18
- Paper Statement Fee: $3 or waived with e-statements sign-up
- Excess Withdrawals Fee: $5 per withdrawal over six monthly with a maximum of six withdrawal fees per statement cycle
Truist Confidence Savings Fees
- Monthly Maintenance Fees: $0
- Paper Statement Fee: $2 or waived with e-statements sign-up
- Excess Withdrawals Fee: $5 per withdrawal over six monthly with a maximum of six withdrawal fees per statement cycle
Truist One Money Market Account Fees
- Monthly Maintenance Fees: $12, waived with daily balance of $1,000 or more
- Paper Statement Fee: $3 or waived with e-statements sign-up
- Excess Withdrawals Fee: $15 per withdrawal over six monthly with a maximum of six withdrawal fees per statement cycle
Miscellaneous fees apply to all accounts:
How Truist Stacks Up
Truist, formerly BB&T, is a good choice for individuals looking for a bank that offers in-person and online banking in areas where Truist does business. None of its deposit accounts offer competitive interest rates, but the bank provides a full assortment of accounts that serve a wide range of customer needs. Many of Truist’s accounts feature low monthly fees and ways to waive fees easily. But those looking to build savings through higher interest rates may want to look elsewhere.
Truist vs. Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo is among the oldest banks in the U.S. The national bank offers various banking products along with other financial services for consumers and businesses. Like Truist, most bank accounts feature monthly fees that can be avoided by meeting certain requirements. None of its savings products offer competitive rates that compare with what you might find at an online bank.
Truist and Wells Fargo offer account options for kids and students that include waived monthly fees up to a certain age. With 4,900 retail branches and over 12,000 ATMs, Wells Fargo casts a wider net for banking in person.
Truist vs. Chase
Chase offers a full suite of banking and other financial services. Similar to Truist, Chase offers low interest rates on its deposit products. Chase charges monthly fees on most of its accounts but offers a few ways to dodge those fees.
Both banks offer full-service banking with online and in-person support. Chase has a much larger footprint, with 4,700 branch locations and more than 15,000 ATMs. Depending on where you live, Chase may offer more opportunities for banking in person.
What Happened To BB&T Bank?
In December 2019, BB&T and SunTrust Bank merged and now operate under the name, Truist Bank. Truist slowly upgraded branches and services over a two-year integration period. Now, all products, services and locations are branded as Truist. The merger made Truist the sixth-largest U.S. commercial bank at the time, with over 10 million consumer customers plus business accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How much does Truist charge to open an account?
There is no charge to open a Truist checking, savings or money market account. However, every account has a minimum opening deposit requirement of $25 to $50 for checking and savings accounts and $1,000 for CDs. Accounts also charge a waivable monthly maintenance fee.
What is the minimum balance for Truist?
There is no minimum balance requirement for Truist checking or savings accounts, but maintaining a certain balance can help you avoid account monthly maintenance fees. Certificates of deposit (CDs) require a minimum of $1,000 to open.
Does BB&T, now Truist, have local branches?
Truist, formerly BB&T, has more than 2,000 branches located across the South, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest. You can find local branches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
When did BB&T and SunTrust become Truist?
BB&T and SunTrust completed a merger of equals on Dec. 6, 2019. The two banks now operate under the name Truist Bank. The merger helped Truist become one of the 10 largest U.S. commercial banks with over $564 billion in assets.
