With interest rates still terribly low by historical standards, it seems stocks are the only place to get any type of return. Even the 10-year U.S. Treasury note (despite rebounding quite a bit from its 2020 all-time lows) is still yielding less than 1.5%.
But the rates offered by large institutions such as Citibank, Chase, and Wells Fargo are much, much worse (the national average deposit rate is currently 0.06%). Plus, many of these megabanks have fairly high initial deposits and often charge a fee if certain deposits aren’t met.
Then there are what’s called high-yield savings accounts. These types of accounts are very different: much better rates, low deposits, and no fees. They;re often banks you've probably never heard of and keep most of their activity online (i.e., no branch offices). One such bank is CIT bank, not to be confused with Citibank.
Check out our CIT Bank review and see why it's currently #1 on our list of high-yield savings accounts and is usually in our top 10 money market account list.
Quick Summary
- Online bank with some of the best yields available
- Top-notch savings and money market accounts
- They offer one of our favorite CD products
CIT Bank Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | CIT Bank Money Market |
Min Deposit | $100 |
APY | Up to 0.50% APY |
Account Types | Checking, Savings, Money Market Accounts, CDs |
Promotions | Up To $300 Bonus |
Who Is CIT Bank?
As mentioned above, CIT Bank isn’t associated with Citi. They even have two different stock tickers: CIT Bank = CIT and Citi = C. The CIT ticker actually belongs to CIT Group Inc., which owns CIT Bank.
CIT Bank has been around for quite a while and provides a wide range of services. From their website:
Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with approximately $50 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2017. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has approximately $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. CIT provides financing, leasing, and advisory services principally to middle-market companies and small businesses across a wide variety of industries. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A.
In other words, they’re not a fly-by-night operation by any means. You can feel confident your money will be safe with them.
What Does It Offer?
Whether you're looking to move all of your accounts over to a new bank or you're just wanting to earn a better yield on your savings, CIT Bank can meet your needs. Here's a closer look at the checking and savings products that it offers.
eChecking
eChecking is an online checking account that also pays interest on the amount in your account.
You can use any ATM with an eChecking debit card without paying any CIT fees and receive up to $30 per month to offset other bank’s ATM charges. CIT eChecking also offers online payments from eChecking with Zelle, Bill Pay, Samsung Pay, and Apple Pay.
Right now, CIT eChecking earns the following interest:
- Balance less than $25,000: 0.10% APY
- Balance of $25,000 or more: 0.25% APY
This makes the account compelling and puts it on par with our best free checking accounts. There is a $100 minimum to open this account.
A another cool feature with eChecking is Savings Connect which we'll discuss next
CIT Savings Connect
With CIT Savings Connect, you can earn even more interest on your money by bundling checking and savings together.
Savings Connect is a tiered interest rate account dependent on the account holder opening a linked qualifying eChecking concurrently and makes periodic qualifying deposits. Right now, you can earn the following:
- Base Tier: 0.40% APY. A minimum qualifying deposit of $200 is not deposited each month into the linked eChecking or the eChecking account is closed.
- Upper Tier: 0.50% APY. Earn this rate when a qualifying deposit of $200 or more is deposited into the linked eChecking account each month.
Both accounts will earn the Upper Tier rate for the first month as a special introductory rate. There's a minimum of $100 for both the Savings Connect and eChecking to open ($200 total).
All of the benefits and requirements of the eChecking product, listed above, are included in this bundle. There are no opening or monthly fees on either product.
Open a CIT Savings Connect Account here >>
CIT Savings Builder
Don't want to switch your checking over to CIT Bank? That's ok, you can still earn a great rate on your savings with the CIT Bank Savings Builder account. Currently, it offers an APY of 0.40%. That's one of the highest interest rates we're seeing right now.
The cool thing with this product is that you can earn that high rate by either depositing $25,000, or by ensuring that you deposit at least $100 per month.
If you can't make that commitment, you still earn a decent rate of 0.28% APY. However, in this case, you might be better served by one of their other products.
Plus, CIT Bank Savings Builder usually has a great bonus offer.
Check out the CIT Bank Savings Builder here.
Money Market Account (MMA)
CIT Bank also offers one of the most competitive money market accounts (MMAs) out there. They always make our list of the best money market accounts.
Right now, the CIT Bank MMA earns 0.45% APY.
If you can't meet the requirements of the Savings Builder account, their MMA might make the most sense to save your money in. With no commitments required, and rates that are consistently competitive, CIT Bank has a great money market product.
CD Products
Finally, CIT Bank has one of our favorite Certificate of Deposit products available. They offer an 11-month penalty-free CD, which makes our list of the best CD rates available.
This product is awesome because, unlike most CD products that charge a penalty if you withdraw your funds early, this CD product from CIT Bank doesn't charge a penalty after 7 days. Plus, it offers a really competitive interest rate for an 11-month CD.
The current APY on the 11-month penalty free CD is 0.30%. That's awesome. The minimum to open an account is $1,000
They also have a range of other certificate of deposit products that might match your goals. These include Term CDs, Jumbo CDs, and RampUp CDs.
How Does CIT Bank Compare?
We love CIT Bank because they consistently offer some of the best rates on savings products out there. But if you're hoping to earn cash back on your debit card transactions, you'll need to look elsewhere. Here's a quick look at how CIT Bank compares:
Header | |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
Rating | |||
Top APY | 0.50% | 0.61% | 0.50% |
Interest-Earning Checking | |||
Cashback Checking | |||
FDIC Insured | |||
Cell |
We consistently rate the CIT Money Market as one of the best money market accounts currently available. Check out the CIT Money Market here >>
Are There Any Fees?
As mentioned above, there aren’t any monthly fees for maintaining a CIT Bank savings account. There are also no fees for opening an account. The initial deposit for most accounts is only $100; however, it can be higher for some of its CDs.
CIT Bank doesn't charge domestic ATM fees itself and will reimburse up to $30 of fees that you're charged by ATM providers. That's a good thing too because CIT Bank is one of the few banks today that doesn't have an ATM network. That means you can expect to be charged a third-party fee each time you use an ATM as a CIT Bank customer.
If you use an international ATM, you'll be charged a 1% fee by CIT Bank in addition to whatever fee the ATM provider may charge. Here are a few additional transaction fees that customers may encounter:
- Debit card replacement: $10 (rush delivery: $45)
- Returned Deposit: $10
- Overdraft: $30
- Outgoing wire transfer: $10 (free for accounts with balances of $25,000 or more)
- Bill stop payment: $30
The website does not mention anything about fees if the balance drops below $100. But given they prominently print that there are no fees at the top of the savings account page, it’s a good indication that you won’t need to be concerned if the balance falls below $100.
How Do I Open An Account?
To get started with CIT Bank, simply visit their website and click the big green "Open Account" button. The application only takes about 5 minutes to complete and will ask for the following information:
Is My Money Safe?
Security is always a concern with any financial institution, especially one you’ve probably never heard of. Rest assured, CIT Bank is an FDIC member which means its accounts are protected by FDIC insurance up to $250,000 per depositor.
CIT Bank also takes account security very seriously, as it should given all of the federal regulations required of financial intuitions in the U.S. On their security page, they discuss in detail the measures the bank takes to ensure customer data is safe. Some notable features include:
- Antivirus protection of their computers
- 128-bit encryption
- Automatic sign-out
As well, communication with the bank is secure through their message portal. On the same page are links to their policies on privacy and fraud protection.
How Do I Contact CIT Bank?
You can reach CIT Bank by phone at 855-462-2652. Their customer service hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM-9:00 PM (ET) and Saturday from 10:00 AM-6:00 PM (ET). Paper forms can be mailed to:
CIT Bank, N.A.
P.O. Box 7056
Pasadena, CA 91109-9699
CIT Bank currently has a "Great" rating on Trustpilot with an average customer review score of 3.9/5 from over 280 reviews. The bank also has an A- rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) although it is not BBB accredited.
Is It Worth It?
Currently, CIT Bank's interest rates are at or near the top for nearly every product that it offers. If the Fed raises interest rates, you're likely to see savings account rates increase as well (although with some lag).
But banks offering savings rates in the top tier now should continue their trend up and remain right at the top even after the average rate moves up. For this reason, we anticipate that CIT Bank should continue to be one of the best offerings out there for high-yield savings.
If you’d like to open a CIT Bank high-yield savings account, just click here.
CIT Bank FAQs
Here's some of the most common questions we see about CIT Bank.
Is CIT Bank FDIC Insured?
Yes! CIT Bank is FDIC insured. Their FDIC Certificate is shared with their partner bank OneWest Bank. It's FDIC Certificate #58978.
What products and services does CIT Bank offer?
CIT Bank offers checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. They are most well-known for their savings and money market products.
Does CIT Bank offer loans?
CIT Bank does not offer lending products such as home loans or auto loans.
Does CIT Bank have a network of ATMs?
No, CIT Bank does not have any of their own branded ATMs, and they do not participate in any networks. However, their checking account does reimburse ATM fees up to a certain amount.
CIT Bank Features
Account Types | Checking, Savings, Money Market, CDs |
Minimum Deposit | $100 |
Minimum Balance Requirements | None |
APY | Up to 0.50% |
Maintenance Fees | CIT Bank does not charge monthly maintenance fees. |
Overdraft Fee | $30 |
Branches | None (online-only bank) |
ATM Availability | No fee-free ATM network |
Customer Service Number | (855) 462-2652 |
Customer Service Hours | Phone: M-F 9A-9P ET, Sat 10A-6P ET |
Web/Desktop Account Access | Yes |
Mobile App Availability | iOS and Android |
Bill Pay | Yes |
FDIC Certificate | 58978 |
Promotions | None |
CIT Bank Review
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Summary
CIT Bank is a full-service online bank offering a variety of savings products. They are most known for their high yield savings and money market accounts, which are typically always near the top for paying high interest rates.
Pros
- Top-yielding savings accounts and MMA
- Competitive CD rates
- Interest-earning checking
- Easy to use online bank
Cons
- Online banking only, no branches
- No ATM Network
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
