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CFG Bank Review 2022
Member FDIC
Savings account
Member FDIC
Savings account
Member FDIC
CD
Member FDIC
CD
Member FDIC
CD
Overall
4.4
Bankrate Score
CFG Bank is a community bank in Maryland that offers good to highly competitive rates on CDs and a money market account.
What we like
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CFG Bank offers decent to top-tier interest rates.
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The minimum deposit to open a CD is reasonable.
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The CFG Mobile Money app gets good to excellent reviews.
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Customers can make person-to-person payments through Zelle.
What we don't
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CFG Bank has only two branches, both in Maryland.
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Its ATM network through M&T Bank is not very big.
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A fee schedule is available only through email request.
CD rates
4.8
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
CD
CFG Bank offers five CD terms, ranging from six months to five years. The APYs are very competitive. Moreover, the CDs require a minimum deposit of just $500, making them available to most savers.
What we like
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Interest rates are very competitive.
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Minimum deposit requirements are low.
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Terms of six months to five years give savers a range of options.
What we don't
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Higher yields can be found elsewhere.
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Bump-up and no-penalty CDs aren’t available.
Savings accounts
3.0
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
Savings account
CFG Bank's Statement Savings account offers an unenticing APY and requires a $1,000 minimum balance to earn interest. The minimum balance requirement to avoid a $2 monthly service charge is only $100, which is not onerous for most savers. The bank also offers two other savings accounts, Standard Savings and YouthSaver, for customers under age 18, but for this review, Bankrate looked at the Statement Savings account.
What we like
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There is a fairly low minimum balance requirement of $100 to avoid a monthly fee.
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The monthly service charge is only $2 if you can't maintain the required minimum balance.
What we don't
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A $1,000 minimum deposit is required to earn interest.
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You can find much better APYs at other banks.
Checking accounts
4.9
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
Checking account
CFG Bank's Community Checking account is a noninterest-bearing account that you can open with just one penny. There is no minimum balance to maintain to avoid a service charge, but watch out for overdrafts because the nonsufficient funds/overdraft fee is $37, which is higher than the national average. Community Checking affords customers access to online banking, including online bill payment, and telephone and mobile banking, including mobile deposits. This account does not come with a debit or ATM card unless it's opened in a branch. There are no out-of-network ATM fees.
The bank does offer an interest-bearing checking account and one for students, but for this review, Bankrate looked at the Community Checking account.
What we like
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Community Checking requires a deposit of just a penny to open.
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No minimum balance is required to avoid service charges.
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Customers have access to online, mobile and telephone banking.
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There are no out-of-network ATM fees.
What we don't
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The NSF/overdraft fee is a stiff $37, higher than the national average.
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The Community Checking account does not pay interest.
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The account does not come with an ATM or debit card unless you open it in a branch.
Money market accounts
4.0
Bankrate Score
CFG's High-Yield Money Market account offers a top-tier APY, but savers must have a minimum $25,000 balance to earn interest. There is a $1,000 minimum balance requirement to avoid a $10 monthly service charge. Check writing and ATM access are not available with this account unless it's opened in a branch. There are no out-of-network ATM fees.
Money market accounts do tend to require higher balances, but you can find MMAs at other banks with lower barriers to earn a high APY.
What we like
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The APY is very competitive.
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The account can be opened online or in a branch.
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There are no out-of-network ATM fees.
What we don't
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A $1,000 balance must be maintained to avoid a $10 monthly fee.
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A $25,000 balance is required to earn the highest interest rate.
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Check writing and ATM access are not available with the account unless it's opened in a branch.
Bank experience
CFG Bank is primarily an online bank, with only two branches, both of them in Maryland. The bank also offers mobile and telephone banking that gives customers 24/7 access to their accounts.
Customer service is available 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
About CFG Bank
CFG Bank is a privately owned, FDIC-insured community bank with headquarters in Baltimore and $2.3 billion in assets. It operates two branches in Maryland and a limited ATM network, but customers do have access to online and mobile banking, as well as the Zelle third-party payment platform. The bank offers checking and savings accounts, a money market account and certificates of deposit.
Libby Wells is a part-time editor at Bankrate. Previously, she was Bankrate's chief copy editor and a credit card reporter. Libby spent most of her career as a newspaper journalist and has more than 30 years of experience as a writer and editor.
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