Is Citizens Access FDIC insured?

Yes, Citizens Access is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and all deposits are insured up to the coverage limit.

How long does it take to open a Citizens Access account?

You can open an account online in as little as five minutes.

Is Citizens Access a legitimate bank?

Yes, Citizens Access is FDIC insured and has been a well-reputed online bank since July 2018.

Is Citizens Access a good online bank?

Citizens Access has many positive features, such as high interest rates and no monthly fees. GOBankingRates has also named it among the Best Online Banks of 2024.

What is the difference between Citizens Bank and Citizens Access?

Citizens Access is the online-only banking division of Citizens Bank.

How do I withdraw money from Citizens Access?

You can link your Citizens Access Savings account to another account at a different financial institution. You can then set up a one-time or recurring electronic transfer to the other bank account.

Advertiser Disclosure

Citizens Access Review: High APYs and No Monthly Fees

Name: Citizens Access Review: High APYs and No Monthly Fees
Item: Citizens Access
Rating: 4.6

January 17, 2024

6 min Read

Written by Caitlyn Moorhead

Edited by Susan Kim

Commitment to Our Readers

GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.

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GOBankingRates Score

Citizens Access

4.6

SCORE

Quick Take: Citizens Access is an online bank dedicated to low costs, high rates and outstanding customer service. The bank has a limited product line, but it excels in what it focuses on, which is rates and fees.

Savings Accounts

4.6
CD Accounts

4.5
Banking Experience

4.8

How did we calculate this?

Pros

High interest rates
No monthly fees

Cons

No checking account
No physical branches

Citizens Access Overview

Citizens Access opened for business in July 2018, but its parent company, Citizens Bank, has been in the banking industry for over 190 years. The bank has total assets worth over $22.7 billion. With its solid savings options for customers, GOBankingRates has ranked Citizens Access as one of the Best Online Banks of 2024. As an online bank, Citizens Access does not have physical branches but is top-rated in its services and offerings.

Citizens Access Review

Here is a look at some of the best features of Citizens Access.

Savings Accounts

Citizens Access offers a single savings account, dubbed Citizens Access Savings. Although there are no promotional or teaser rates for this account, it does come with a major APY. The bank attributes this high APY to being an online-only bank, which allows it to save money and pass the savings on to its customers. Other features of the account include direct deposit and automatic transfers. This account also comes backed with FDIC insurance and absolutely no fees, which means that you won’t lose any of your earnings to pay for maintaining the account.

CD Accounts

Citizens Access offers CD accounts that have a guaranteed fixed rate of interest, flexible interest payment options, high APYs across all terms and no fees. Its online CDs come in terms of one to five years. The one-year CD offers the highest APY of . With Citizens Access, you have the option of cashing out monthly payments or reinvesting them to earn more. CDs require a $5,000 minimum deposit to open.

Banking Experience

There’s an advantage to not having immediate access to money you’re saving for a specific purchase or goal. Citizens Access is a good option for anyone prioritizing saving. You get top rates without the temptation of an ATM card.

Customer Service

You can contact Citizens Access customer service via secure online message or at 888-201-6505. The bank responds to secure online messages within 24 hours. No live chat is currently available. However, the bank has customer service hours seven days per week. You can reach someone Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-12 a.m. ET; Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET; and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. ET.

Online and Mobile Experience

You can access your account information on the website anytime you use your Citizens Access online login. Additionally, you can manage your account via the Citizens Access mobile app, which currently has a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars on the App Store and 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google Play.

Comparable Online Bank Options

Citizens Access is not the only top-rated online bank on the market. Before opening an account, it helps to see how Citizens Access stacks up to its competitors.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

Both Citizens Access and Marcus by Goldman Sachs, Member FDIC, are online banks backed by bigger financial institutions. But Citizens Access prioritizes keeping fees low and rates high. Marcus by Goldman Sachs requires a minimum balance of $500 to open a CD, meaning it may be a better choice if you can’t meet the minimum deposit requirement of $5,000 for a Citizens Access CD.

Ally Bank

Citizens Access and Ally Bank meet different banking needs. You can stow away money in a Citizens Access account and keep it out of sight. Ally Bank offers a full range of banking products, including a checking account, making it a better choice for someone who prefers doing all of their banking in one place.

Final Take

The bottom line is that what Citizens Access does, it does very well. Citizens Access gets high marks for certain features. Specifically, you won’t pay any fees for banking with Citizens Access, and you’ll earn solid APYs on savings and CD accounts. As such, GOBankingRates has named it one of the Best Online Banks of 2024.

If you’re just looking for a no-cost place to stash some extra cash and earn high yields, Citizens Access fits that bill to a T.

Citizens Access FAQ

Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about Citizens Access.

Is Citizens Access FDIC insured?
- Yes, Citizens Access is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and all deposits are insured up to the coverage limit.
How long does it take to open a Citizens Access account?
- You can open an account online in as little as five minutes.
Is Citizens Access a legitimate bank?
- Yes, Citizens Access is FDIC insured and has been a well-reputed online bank since July 2018.
Is Citizens Access a good online bank?
- Citizens Access has many positive features, such as high interest rates and no monthly fees. GOBankingRates has also named it among the Best Online Banks of 2024.
What is the difference between Citizens Bank and Citizens Access?
- Citizens Access is the online-only banking division of Citizens Bank.
How do I withdraw money from Citizens Access?
- You can link your Citizens Access Savings account to another account at a different financial institution. You can then set up a one-time or recurring electronic transfer to the other bank account.

Compare to Other Institutions

Cynthia Measom and John Csiszar 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. 16, 2023.

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 determine rankings for the Best Online Banks, GOBankingRates looked at the following factors across exclusively online banks: (1) total assets as sourced from the FDIC; (2) monthly checking fee ratio (percentage based on the minimum to avoid the fee compared to the monthly fee itself); (3) savings APY; (4) 1-year CD 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 Google Play (Android) and Apple app stores. Factors (1) and (2) were weighted 0.5 times, and factors (3) and (7) were weighted 2 times. For all savings and checking account data, only the basic accounts/products offered at each institution were analyzed.