Citizens Review: Savings and CDs

With high rates and no fees, Citizens is a good contender for a place to park your savings, but it doesn’t offer a checking account.
Ruth Sarreal
Alice Holbrook
By Alice Holbrook and  Ruth Sarreal 
Edited by Tim Manni

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Citizens
  • Savings
  • Certificates of deposit
  • Customer experience

Overall institution rating

4.0

NerdWallet rating 
The bottom line:

Citizens, formerly Citizens Access, is the online-only division of Citizens Bank. It offers an FDIC-insured savings account and certificates of deposit with no fees and solid interest rates across the board. But there are some inconveniences: The bank doesn’t offer a checking account and its CDs have a relatively high minimum opening deposit of $5,000.

Best for: Those who want a competitive savings rate and don’t need a checking account or in-person assistance.

Pros

  • No monthly fees on savings accounts.
  • Competitive rate on savings accounts and CDs.
  • Low minimum opening deposit on some savings accounts.
  • Extended phone customer service hours

Cons

  • High minimum opening deposits for CDs.
  • No checking account offered.
  • High minimum balance to earn strong CD rate.

Full review

Savings

Citizens Access Savings
Citizens Access Savings

Savings

Member FDIC

4.5

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
APY
4.50%
With $0.01 min. balance for APY

With an annual percentage yield of 4.50%, Citizens offers a strong online savings account and there are no monthly fees. The minimum opening deposit is just $0.01.

» Want to comparison shop? Check out rates from the best high-yield online savings accounts

Certificates of deposit

Citizens Online CD
Citizens Online CD

CD

Member FDIC

3.0

/5
 NerdWallet rating 
1-year APY
5.00%
3-year APY
3.35%
5-year APY
3.45%
Minimum deposit
$5,000

Citizens offers CDs with various term lengths and strong rates. There's a fairly high $5,000 minimum to open. However, it has yields higher than what you’ll find at some traditional banks. For more high yields, see our list of the best CD rates.

Customer experience

4.0

NerdWallet rating 

Citizens offers multiple channels of customer support, including live phone help seven days a week, chat support and some help through X (Twitter). The bank also offers highly rated mobile apps.

Bear in mind that it does not offer checking accounts, so if you like to keep all your accounts under one roof, Citizens won’t be for you. Nor are wire transfers available; you can move money out of Citizens via account-to-account transfers or have a check mailed to you. You also can’t fund the account with cash — you can only deposit money into your accounts through an online transfer from a different bank account or by mobile check deposit.

How does Citizens compare?

NerdWallet rating 

4.5

/5
NerdWallet rating 

4.5

/5

APY 

4.60%

With $0 min. balance for APY

APY 

5.05%

With $5,000 min. balance for APY

Bonus 

$400

Up to $300 cash and $100 in rewards points. Terms apply.

Bonus 

N/A

Learn more

at SoFi Bank, N.A.

Learn more

at CIT Bank

Methodology

NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.