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CFG Bank Review 2023

Updated February 28, 2023
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At a glance

4.3
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down

CDs

Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5

Checking

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 3.2 stars out of 5

MMA

Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5

About Bankrate Score

Overview

CFG Bank is best for savers who want an online bank offering highly competitive certificate of deposit (CD) and money market interest rates. If you live near one of the three branch locations in Maryland, you will have access to in-person banking. Savings accounts that pay significantly higher rates can be found at other banks, however.

Highlights

  • High APY
  • Free Checking
Compare offers
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.25
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 6/2/2023
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: Plus, no monthly fees and unlimited free external transfers
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.00
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 6/2/2023
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: It only takes about 5 minutes to open a fee-free account.
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.50
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 6/2/2023
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
$1
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: No fee online savings account with a great rate.

Overall

CFG Bank is a community bank that maintains three branches in Maryland, and some of its accounts can be opened online. It offers a full range of deposit products, including CDs and a money market account that earn top-tier rates. Its free checking account allows customers to use more than 40,000 fee-free ATMs nationwide, though it can only be opened at a branch. Account holders can perform transactions online or through the highly-rated mobile app.

While APYs are competitive for the bank’s CDs and money market accounts, the APY for its savings account is less so.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    CFG Bank offers solid to top-tier interest rates on some accounts.

  • Checkmark

    The minimum deposit to open a CD is reasonable.

  • Checkmark

    The CFG Mobile Money app gets good to excellent reviews.

  • Checkmark

    Customers can make person-to-person payments through Zelle.

Cons

  • CFG Bank has only three branches, all in Maryland.

  • The savings account APY is lower than the national average.

  • Checking accounts can only be opened in person at branches.

CFG Bank banking products

3.2
Rating: 3.2 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score

CFG Bank savings overview

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.

Pros

  • Checkmark

    There is a fairly low minimum balance requirement of $100 to avoid a monthly fee.

  • Checkmark

    The monthly service charge is only $2 if you can't maintain the required minimum balance.

Cons

  • A $1,000 minimum deposit is required to earn interest.

  • You can find much better APYs at other banks.

Compare Offer
Info
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
4.25
%
APY
APY
Info
As of 6/2/2023
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
Info
$0
Min balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right
Promoted offer: Plus, no monthly fees and unlimited free external transfers

Bank fees

Fee Charged?
Overdraft fee $37
Non-sufficient funds fee $37
Monthly maitenance fee None for checking; $2 for savings and $10 for money market accounts if minimums aren’t met
Out-of-network ATM fee None
Excessive transaction fee $5 per withdrawal that exceeds six each month on money market and savings accounts

About CFG Bank

CFG Bank is a privately owned, FDIC-insured community bank with headquarters in Baltimore and $4.1 billion in assets. It operates three branches in Maryland, and customers have access to the bank’s ATMs as well as those in the nationwide Allpoint network. Banking can also be done online and through the highly-rated mobile app. The bank offers a money market account and CDs that pay highly competitive rates, as well as checking and savings accounts.

Bank experience

CFG Bank has only three branches, all of them in Maryland. The bank also offers mobile and telephone banking that gives customers 24/7 access to their accounts. Customer phone support is available 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

The bank launched a nonprofit organization in 2021 with a mission of providing improved healthcare for seniors as well as free healthcare training to members of the community.

In 2021, the bank also entered the cannabis market. It runs a program designed to help companies in the medical cannabis industry achieve their business goals by providing lending and depository services with a team of cannabis banking experts.

How CFG compares to other banks

CFG Bank vs. Citizens Bank

CFG Bank and Citizens Bank are both regional banks with limited branches. However, when it comes to branch access, Citizens Bank far exceeds CFG Bank, with over 1,000 branches across 12 states, compared to CFG Bank’s three branches in Maryland. However, CFG Bank doesn’t charge any out-of-network ATM fees, while Citizens charges $3 per out-of-network ATM withdrawal for standard accounts.

For consumers looking for a money market account, CFG Bank might be the better choice. It offers a much higher rate on its High-Yield Money Market account than Citizens Bank’s rates. CFG Bank also has a lower balance requirement of $1,000 to avoid the monthly fee, compared to Citizens Bank’s $2,500 minimum balance requirement.

CFG offers 4.45% APY, while Citizens only pays 0.01% APY on a standard money market account

CFG Bank FAQs

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.