Citizens Bank offers three savings accounts for its customers, but you can likely find better options on the market. The advertised yields on these accounts are all less than the national average and two of its options require you to to jump through hoops to avoid a monthly service fee.
Annual percentage yields (APYs) and account details are accurate as of November 7, 2023.
Are Citizens Bank savings account interest rates worth it?
In short, no, Citizens Bank doesn’t offer competitive interest rates for its savings accounts.
The national average savings account yield was 0.46% APY in October 2023 according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the best high-yield savings rates currently top 5.00% APY. The highest savings account interest rate advertised at Citizens is 0.07% APY on the Citizens Quest® Savings account.
If your primary goal is working with a bank that offers high savings rates, this one won’t help you meet that target.
Overview of Citizens Bank interest rates
Citizens Bank offers three savings accounts, all with low yields.
One Deposit Savings from Citizens. You can open this basic savings account with any amount of money, but in order to avoid the $4.99 monthly fee, you’ll need to either make one deposit a month or maintain a balance of at least $200. If you’re under 25 or older than 65, this fee is automatically waived.
Citizens Quest Savings. While there’s no minimum deposit requirement and no monthly maintenance fee, you must open a Citizens Quest Checking account to have a Citizens Quest Savings account. The paired checking account has a $25 monthly service fee, which can be waived only if you make $5,000 in deposits each month or maintain a balance of $25,000 across your Citizens deposit and investment accounts.
The payoff is that you don’t pay anything for a slew of account services, including money orders, paper statements, foreign currency exchange and more. Plus, you’re enrolled in the loyalty program CitizensPlus, which provides higher yields, loan discounts and up to $1,000 in investment matching.
This account could be worth it, depending on how you bank, but be sure to understand the small print. The yield of 0.07% APY, while higher than 0.01% APY, isn’t something that you would stand up and applaud for.
Citizens Private Client Savings. Like the Quest accounts, the emphasis here is on the paired checking account. To qualify for both, you’ll need to maintain at least $200,000 in deposit and investment balances. You receive all the same benefits as Citizens Quest Savings, plus refunded ATM fees and potentially greater loyalty rewards.
The interest on this savings account is only advertised as at least 50% greater than what the One Deposit account offers, which would put the yield at 0.015% APY, however the paired checking account offers 0.07% APY on all balances.
How much can you earn?
At Citizens, interest compounds daily and is paid monthly. There isn’t a tiered system, so you’ll earn the same APY whether you have $1 or $1 million in your savings account.
How Citizens Bank compares
It doesn’t take much sleuthing to find better high-yielding and no-fee savings accounts on the market.
Other savings options at Citizens Bank
There are some better savings options to consider, including two certificates of deposit (CDs).
The 10-month option for the Citizens Bank Certificates of Deposit comes with a 5.50% APY, which is on par with the best CD rates available today. The catch is that you’ll need $25,000 in new money to open it. The 14-month CD is more accessible with just a $1,000 minimum deposit, but it comes with a much less competitive rate of 2.75% APY.
There are also three money market accounts (Citizens Bank Personal Money Market Account, Citizens Quest® Money Market, Citizens Private Client™ Money Market) available with rates starting at 0.01% APY for the Personal MMA account and going up to 3.00% APY for Private Client customers.
About Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank is the 14th largest bank in the nation by assets and offers a full suite of banking services to individuals, small businesses and corporations. Whether you’re looking to open a deposit account, a credit card or a mortgage, or get help with investing and wealth management, you can find multiple options here.
Currently, Citizens Bank has 1,100 branch locations across 14 states. It serves New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Midwest.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Citizens Bank offers three savings accounts, each with different APYs. One Deposit Savings from Citizens comes with a 0.01% APY, and Citizens Quest® Savings 0.07% APY. The APY for Citizens Private Client Savings is not disclosed online.
No, not when it’s compared to other banks. It’s possible to find a high-yield savings account over 5% these days.
Citizens Bank saving accounts earn interest that compounds daily and is paid monthly.
Citizens Bank doesn’t offer a 12-month CD. Its 10-month CD offers a 5.50% APY, but it requires a $25,000 minimum balance. Its 14 month CD offers a 2.75% APY, with just a $1,000 minimum balance.
