M&T Bank Review 2022: Community-Minded Full-Service Banking (2024)

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M&T Bank Overview

M&T Bank is headquartered in Buffalo, New York. The company was founded in 1856 as the Manufacturers and Traders Bank and has had plenty of time to grow its footprint both at home and in surrounding states. After merging with People’s United Financial, Inc. in April 2022, M&T Bank currently operates more than 1,000 branches from Maine to Virginia and in Washington D.C.

M&T Bank still bills itself as a community-oriented bank, even as its community keeps expanding due to a series of acquisitions and mergers. The company offers a wide range of checking and savings accounts, as well as loans, retirement accounts, credit cards, debit cards and investment products and services. M&T Bank stands out because it makes banking accessible to all. The minimum opening deposits it requires are affordable for the most part.

GOBankingRates ranked M&T Bank as one of the Top Banks of 2023.

Key Features

The following M&T Bank review breaks down the top features most individuals consider when in search of a new bank.

Checking Accounts

There are several checking accounts available.

EZChoice Checking

The EZChoice Checking account requires a $25 minimum opening deposit and has no monthly maintenance charge or minimum balance requirement. It also includes free monthly paper or electronic statements and overdraft protection plan options.

MyWay Banking

MyWay Banking is a checkless account, which means overdraft fees are nonexistent. It requires a $25 minimum opening balance and has a monthly maintenance charge of $4.95. However, the bank will waive the fee if you have at least one deposit, withdrawal or debit payment each monthly service charge cycle.

This account is also available for minors 13 to 17 with a parent or guardian as a co-owner.

MyChoice Plus Checking

The MyChoice Plus Checking account has the option of earning interest — currently APY — and requires a $25 opening balance. A $14.95 monthly maintenance charge does apply to this account. However, the bank will waive the charge if you have direct deposits of at least $1,500 each month or at least a $2,500 average daily balance.

The account comes with free monthly electronic or paper statements, discounted personal loan rates and ATM surcharge rebates of up to $2 per transaction.

MyChoice Premium Checking

Finally, the MyChoice Premium Checking account has a $25 minimum opening deposit and also offers interest. But it has a much higher monthly maintenance charge of $24.95. The charge can be waived by maintaining at least a $7,500 average daily balance or $25,000 or more in combined balances across eligible M&T accounts.

Benefits of this account include no M&T Bank fee for out-of-network ATM transactions, plus refunds of other banks’ fees; no fee for overdraft protection transfers; no fee for standard checks or incoming wire transfers; safe deposit box discount and free monthly paper or electronic statements.

Savings Accounts

M&T Bank offers two savings account options.

Relationship Savings

The Relationship Savings account has a $7.50 monthly service charge. However, the bank will waive the charge each month you maintain a minimum daily balance of at least $500, have a personal checking account with M&T Bank or make at least one deposit. The account pays APY no matter the balance.

Starter Savings

The M&T Starter Savings account is designed for kids and teens under 18 and has no monthly maintenance fee or minimum daily balance requirements. The account pays APY no matter the balance.

CD Accounts

M&T Bank’s CD options offer higher interest rates than standard savings accounts but more restrictions in terms of accessing money. M&T Relationship Bankers can offer more information on rate offers.

CDs have fixed or variable rates, and terms range from 32 days to 72 months. CDs must be opened at your local M&T Bank branch and a minimum opening deposit of $1,000 is required. Rates vary based on your ZIP code, so contact the bank to learn more.

Banking Experience

M&T Bank’s customer service is very accessible. To contact M&T Bank with questions, dial 800-724-2440, which is the general service number. For online and mobile banking questions, representatives are available to speak with you Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.to 9 p.m. EST and Saturday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

You can also schedule an appointment online to see a dedicated Relationship Banker in person at your local branch. Or you can log in to your M&T Online Banking account to send the bank a secure message.

Digital Banking

M&T Bank also offers digital banking, with apps for both Android and iOS users. You can send and receive money with Zelle, deposit checks and monitor your spending all from your smartphone.

Comparable M&T Bank Options

Now that you know more about M&T Bank, here’s how it stacks up to its competitors.

M&T Bank vs. Citizens Bank

Citizens Bank’s app for Android users rates higher than M&T Bank’s Google Play app, meaning it probably offers a better user experience.

However, M&T Bank offers a higher APY on its CDs than Citizens does.

M&T Bank vs. KeyBank

M&T Bank doesn’t require minimum opening deposits on its savings accounts, while KeyBank does.

KeyBank also has much higher monthly maintenance fees on its checking accounts than M&T Bank does — up to $50 versus $25.

Final Take

M&T Bank’s products are diverse enough to offer something for everyone. The low minimum opening deposits on its checking accounts and no minimum opening deposits on its savings accounts make it easy to open more than one account at a time.

If you live in M&T Bank’s service area and can conveniently reach one of its branches or ATMs, there’s plenty to like about M&T: personalized service, a range of checking and savings accounts and numerous loan options.

But if you don’t live near an M&T Bank branch or are in search of higher yields and more investment choices, you might want to consider another bank.

Vance Cariagaand Cynthia Bowman contributed to the reporting for this article.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Dec. 18, 2022.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

To discover the Top Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the top national institutions (excluding credit unions) with over $100 billion in total assets. To determine rankings, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors: (1) checking product minimum deposit; (2) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (3) savings product minimum deposit; (4) savings product APY; (5) Bauer rating (out of 5 stars); (6) products/services offered (auto loans, mortgage loans, credit cards, investment services and insurance); and (7) the average mobile app rating between the Android and Apple app stores. All factors were then scored and combined, with the lowest score being best. Factors (1) and (3) were weighted 0.5 times, factor (4) was weighted 2.5 times, and factor (6) was weighted 1.5 times.