Truist Mobile

Review by eFreeware

If you already bank with Truist, this app is the obvious way to reach your accounts without driving to a branch or waiting on a phone call. Truist Mobile is free, and it gathers the tasks people do most often, such as checking balances, moving money, depositing a check and locking a card, into a single place on your phone. Most routine banking errands can be handled from the app.

The numbers behind it are strong for a finance app: more than a million installs and a 4.8 average from over 388,000 ratings. That tells me a large group of people keep it installed, which is what you would expect from something tied to their everyday accounts. It first appeared in April 2021, so it has had several years to settle, and the most recent update covers bug fixes and enhancements.

What appeals to me most is the breadth. This is not a single-purpose tool for one task; it is a hub for accounts, cards, transfers, deposits, rewards and support. If your banking life already runs through Truist, having all of that in one app is the main reason to install it.

The daily essentials are all here

At its core, the app shows your account details and transactions, lets you view statements and set alert preferences, and gives you control over overdraft options. You can order checks and supplies when you run out, and you can show, hide or reorder accounts so the ones you check most often sit where you want them. Quick links for frequently used tasks work along the same lines, cutting down the taps between you and the thing you came to do.

Card management is handled here too. You can lock and unlock your cards, and set spending and region limits. For anyone who has ever misplaced a card or wanted a tighter leash on where it can be used, those controls are the kind of thing that makes a banking app worth opening rather than tolerating.

Sign-in can use fingerprint or facial recognition for quick access, and you can change your user ID and password from inside the app. There is also a record of sign-in history and remembered devices, which is useful if you want to keep an eye on where your account has been accessed.

Moving money, including checks

Transfers work between Truist accounts and external accounts. The developer notes that transfers to other U.S. financial institutions may carry fees, that setup is required and that verification can take one to three business days. Your mobile carrier's message and data rates may also apply. None of that is unusual for bank-to-bank transfers, but it is worth planning around if you are moving money to an outside account on a deadline.

Zelle is built in for sending and requesting money. Enrollment through Truist online or mobile banking is required, and you need a U.S. checking or savings account to use it. Truist states plainly that neither it nor Zelle offers a protection program for payments you authorize, which is the standard arrangement for this kind of person-to-person payment and a good reason to reserve it for people you actually know.

Mobile deposit covers checks, with deposit history kept in the app. Deposit limits and other restrictions apply, so a large check may not clear through the phone in one go. For the ordinary paycheck or birthday check, though, photographing it beats a trip to the branch.

Insights, budgets and rewards

Beyond the transactional side, the app also shows how your money moves, with views of spending, trends, cash flow and unusual activity. You can link external accounts, which means the picture is not limited to what sits with Truist, and set spending budgets to track against. Comparing spending habits and monitoring savings goals round out the planning tools.

There is a rewards side as well. Rewards include cash back at selected merchants on everyday purchases, offers from places you shop, dine and travel, and the ability to view and redeem credit card rewards. It is a familiar setup for a bank app, and it gives the rewards section a reason to be checked rather than ignored.

The app also carries a customized investment portfolio experience. Investment and insurance products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed and may lose value, as the disclosure puts it. That is standard language, but it is a reminder that the portfolio view is not the same as a deposit account.

Support and account admin

When something needs a person, the app offers ways to reach Truist support, locate a branch, ATM or bank service, read help and FAQs, book an appointment and open your Truist inbox. That combination covers most of the reasons you would otherwise reach for a phone or a search engine.

You can also browse and apply for other Truist accounts from within the app, and upload receipts to attach to transactions. Neither is glamorous, but both save a separate trip to a website or a branch.

What it asks of you

This is an app for Truist customers. The accounts, transfers, deposits and rewards all run through Truist, so the value depends on already having a relationship with the bank. Someone shopping for a standalone budgeting tool that pulls in any account would find the planning features here tied to the same institution.

Statements call for paperless enrollment, and mobile deposit comes with limits and other restrictions.

The app is free, so there is no upsell layered over the banking itself. Your carrier's message and data rates still apply when you use it, which is a cost of any banking app rather than something specific to this one.

Who gets the most from it

The clearest fit is an existing Truist customer who wants the routine parts of banking on a phone: checking balances, moving money between accounts, depositing a check, locking a card and keeping an eye on spending. The app is built for that rhythm, and its features cover a checklist of everyday errands.

It also suits people who like their financial picture in one place. Linking external accounts, setting budgets and tracking savings goals mean the app can show more than a single balance, and the insights on trends and unusual activity give you something to check beyond the transaction list.

If you want cash back and merchant offers without a separate rewards app, that side is here too, along with credit card reward redemption. Between the account tools, the planning features and the support options, the app covers a lot of ground for something that costs nothing to install.

A practical pick for Truist customers

Truist Mobile does the job a bank app is supposed to do, and it does a fair amount beyond it. Balances, transfers, mobile deposit, card controls, spending insights, budgets, rewards and support are all in one place, and the install and rating numbers suggest a large, settled user base.

If you bank with Truist, this is the app to install. It is free, and it puts the daily work of managing your accounts within reach. If you are not a Truist customer, the core of what it offers runs through accounts you would not have here.

What's new

• Bug fixes and enhancements