jane 8 reviews | March 29, 2022
General Review
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CIT Bank Review
Summary
- Savings Connect is one of the highest in the market at 4.60% APY
- There are no monthly fees for savings accounts.
- Platinum Savings account offers up to 4.95% APY
- No-Penalty 11-month offer on CD accounts with an APY rate of 4.90%
- The checking account earns interest.
What is CIT Bank?
If you want to avoid paying high fees for online banking services, CIT Bank is a good online banking solution. They don’t have any local branches but offer an easy application to high-yield savings accounts that require a small opening deposit.
CIT Bank is a division of First Citizens Bank and offers some of the most competitive rates on the market.
The bank is a great choice for people who want to make online banking transactions through their phones or computers, as customers can access their accounts from almost anywhere at any hour of the day.
CIT Bank is ideal for customers who want high returns, and low account fees and are not bothered by not having access to physical branches.
The checking, savings, and money market accounts have no monthly fees and low opening deposit requirements. Once the accounts are opened, there is no minimum balance required to avoid fees.
In addition to this, there is a no-penalty CD option for customers to earn a higher rate without locking in their money for an extended period.
This review focuses on CIT Bank’s personal banking services, but the bank also provides business and commercial banking solutions for small businesses.
In this CIT Bank review, we’ll take a closer look at CIT Bank’s offerings and how they compare to other banking options.
As of June 14, 2023, account details and APYs are accurate.
Products Offered
CIT Bank offers a range of financial products, even though it has no physical bank branches. With attractive rates and great APYs, it has no monthly fees for banking services and offers savings accounts, checking accounts, custodial accounts, certificates of deposits, and more.
When you open a new checking or savings account, you’ll receive a free debit card with EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) chip technology.
CIT Bank never charges any ATM fees and will reimburse its customers for up to $20 per month in other banks’ ATM fees. However, CIT Bank doesn’t have its own ATM network.
Platinum Savings
CIT Bank’s new Platinum Savings account offers up to 4.95% APY and you can open an account with as little as $100.
There are no account opening or maintenance fees and your deposits are FDIC insured. You’ll earn 0.25% APY on balances under $5,000 and up to 4.95% APY with a multiplier of 12x on balances of more than $5,000.
Here are the features:
- No monthly fees
- $100 to open
- Maintain a $5,000 daily balance to receive top-tier APY
Savings Builder
CIT Bank offers a two-tiered savings account called the Savings Builder account. This CIT Bank high-yield savings account has specific earning requirements:
- Maintain a minimum balance of $25,000, or more.
- Make at least one monthly deposit of $100 or more.
Customers can earn up to 1.00% APY with a CIT Savings Builder account.
With Savings Builder accounts, there are no opening or maintenance fees. They only require a minimum opening deposit of $100. With a balance of $25K, it might not be realistic for everyone.
But having an option of a $100 monthly deposit for online savings accounts makes earning higher rates more likely for Savings Builder account holders.
CIT Bank high yield savings accounts are well suited for building an emergency fund or other savings goals, like a Vacation Fund or saving for a new car.
Savings Connect
With the Savings Connect option from CIT Bank, you can get a linked interest-bearing checking account and savings account with a competitive interest rate.
Customers earn up to 12x the national average with a Savings Connect account, online banking, and a mobile app, as well as the ability to deposit checks remotely.
Customers earn 4.60% APY on Savings Connect accounts – one of the highest in the market.
There is no monthly service fee with Savings Connect but it requires a $100 deposit to open each account. You can apply online in minutes.
Money Market
Another account option is CIT Bank’s Money Market Account, which earns 1.55% APY. You don’t need to maintain any balances to receive this interest rate. It has a $10 minimum opening deposit and no service fees.
You can use the Bill Pay feature to make payments to third parties using any CIT Bank Money Market account.
Like the Savings Builder account, Money Market accounts are subject to monthly transaction limits. You can withdraw up to six times per statement cycle for the CIT Money Market Account, after which a $20 withdrawal fee applies.
Certificates of Deposit (CDs)
Customers have four options with CD accounts from CIT Bank.
Term CDs
Term CDs require a minimum opening deposit of $1,000. Terms range from six months to 60 months and APYs go up to 5.00%. A term rate CD lets you lock in a rate for an agreed-upon period.
You’ll get more interest if you borrow for longer periods, which makes sense. Term CDs require a minimum opening deposit of $1,000.
Jumbo CDs
Jumbo CDs require a $1,000,000 minimum opening deposit. There are no monthly fees for maintaining an account.
Also, Jumbo CD loans have longer terms, ranging between two and five years. Jumbo CDs offer variable rates up to 0.50% APY, depending on the term length.
Note: The only drawback of Jumbo CDs is that they do not offer the same flexibility as other types of CD accounts. For example, you can’t use your Jumbo CD balance to purchase stocks or bonds. You also cannot make withdrawals.
Penalty-Free CDs
These 11-month CDs allow access to funds before maturity without any withdrawal penalties. The fear when investing money into a bank account is not being able to withdraw it if there’s an emergency.
CIT’s No-Penalty CD eliminates this, while still offering an earning rate of 4.15%.
They have no opening or monthly maintenance fees. You need at least $1,000 to open an account with them. You can access your fund, if needed, so far as it’s seven days after they’re received.
RampUp CDs
RampUp and “RampUp Plus” CDs are not available for new accounts. Customers could raise their interest rate once during the term of the RampUp CDs if CIT Bank increases its interest rate on these CDs.
Mortgages
CIT offers fixed-rate mortgages with loan terms that range from 10 to 30 years. Customers with a Savings Builder account can also get relationship pricing. After closing on a new CIT home loan, customers can get $525 cashback.
Savings Builder account holders can benefit from these mortgage rate reductions:
- 0.10% with 10% of the loan amount in new deposits
- 0.20% with 25% of the loan amount in new deposits
CIT Bank Rates and Fees
CIT Bank offers a very competitive APY of 0.10% on checking accounts with balances below $25,000 and an APY of 0.25% on checking accounts with balances above $25,000.
You can also earn an APY of up to 4.95% on your savings account, but it depends on the balance.
CIT Bank doesn’t charge any monthly maintenance or service fees for its checking, savings, money-market, or CD accounts. It also charges relatively low fees for wire transfers, returns, and deposits.
Other Benefits
Refunds ATM fees up to $30 per month – Because CIT bank doesn’t have its own network of ATMs, it doesn’t charge customers to use other banks’ ATMs. If you use another bank and they charge a fee, CIT will refund you up to $30 per month.
Tiered interest rates for higher account balances – If you grow your savings account balance, CIT will also increase the interest rate on the account. This aims to encourage customers to save and deposit more.
No monthly fees on deposit accounts – There are no monthly fees on CIT Bank’s money market, checking, and savings accounts.
Here’s a summary of CIT Bank rates as of June 14, 2023:
- Savings Connect – APY Rate: 4.60%, Multiplier: 12x
- Money Market Account – APY Rate: 1.55%, Multiplier: 3x
- Savings Builder – APY Rate: 1.00%, Multiplier: 4x
- No-Penalty 11-month CD – APY Rate: 4.90%
Easy Online Access
Since CIT is a strictly online bank, access to its accounts is handled either online via the CIT website or by using CIT’s smartphone app. Customers have access to their accounts 24/7.
With many of CIT Bank’s accounts, its customers have access to mobile deposit checks. With checking accounts, they can also make payments using services like Zelle, bill pay, Samsung Pay, and Apple Pay.
If you have a CIT Bank account, you can download CIT Bank’s mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. You can also sign up for online banking, which lets you check your bank balance and transaction history.
How to Bank with CIT
You can open an account with CIT Bank online or via the app. CIT Bank doesn’t have any physical branches so you can’t visit a branch to open an account.
Our CIT Bank Review
Pros
- 4.95% APY is among the highest in the market
- No monthly fees
- 24/7 online and mobile access
- FDIC insured
- Mobile check deposits
Cons
- No physical bank locations
- No IRAs
- No credit cards
- No auto loans
If you’re looking for bank accounts with greater earning potential, CIT bank may be a great option. The combination of competitive interest rates and low minimum opening deposits allows CIT Bank to be an attractive option for online banking.
If having access to real human help at a local bank is desired, CIT Bank isn’t the right choice for you. Sometimes banking in person offers a better experience than sending text messages or waiting on the telephone for customer service help.
However, not having physical stores means that CIT Bank can save money on overhead costs. This allows them to offer the most competitive rates they can.
Overall, CIT Bank is a good alternative to traditional banking. They offer competitive rates while providing flexibility and several solutions to meet most people’s financial needs.
Banking Experience
CIT Bank has a great mobile app that allows you to deposit checks, pay bills, check balances, and manage your savings.
The app also includes free bill payment services and access to real-time account alerts. You can also link your CIT Bank credit card to the app so you can track spending.
As an online-only bank, there are no physical locations to go to, like traditional brick-and-mortar bank options.
If you need help or want to speak to a representative, you can call CIT Bank at any time of the day or night via a toll-free telephone number.
Customer Service
CIT Bank has live phone agents available from Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST. You can reach them via phone at 1-855-762-2652.
Customers can also access their accounts through telephone banking or by visiting the CIT Bank website or using its mobile app.
The CIT mobile application is available for both iOS and Android devices. It has strong third-party reviews. With the app, you can:
- Check your account balances
- Remotely deposit checks
- Pay bills
- Transfer money between CIT accounts or external institutions
- Use Zelle to send money to friends or family
- Make payments online or in-store with Apple Pay or Samsung Pay
You can also text an alphanumeric code to a phone number and receive a response via SMS for some basic information.
You can access a summary of available account balances, recent transactions per account, and a few “help” links.
Are you an existing customer? Leave your CIT Bank review below.
First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company and its CIT Bank division are the same FDIC-Insured Institution. Deposits held under each name are not separately insured but are combined to determine whether a depositor has exceeded the $250,000 federal insurance deposit limit, per depositor for each ownership category. For purposes of calculating aggregate deposits, you should include deposits held in First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company and CIT Bank.
FAQs
Is CIT bank safe?
Yes. Security is a top priority with the bank and accounts are protected with SSL encryption, antivirus protection, firewalls, and account monitoring, among others.
Is CIT Bank FDIC insured?
Yes. CIT Bank is FDIC insured (FDIC# 58978) and customers’ money is guaranteed by the government for up to $250,000 for each account ownership category.
