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CIT Bank Review 2020
Published April 2020 by Matthew Goldberg
Why trust us
Member FDIC
MMA
Member FDIC
Savings account
Member FDIC
Savings account
Member FDIC
CD
Member FDIC
CD
Overall
4.3
Bankrate Score
CIT Bank is an online bank that offers competitive annual percentage yields (APYs) on its savings accounts, with its Savings Builder in the top tier of APYs. CIT Bank began offering a checking account in Nov. 2019. It also offers a money market account, though the MMA doesn’t offer check-writing privileges or a debit or ATM card.
What we like
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CIT offers very competitive yields on its savings and CD accounts. Its savings APY has been among the highest available nationwide.
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It offers flexible fixed- and variable-rate CD accounts, including a no-penalty CD with an attractive yield.
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There are no monthly fees for savings accounts.
What we don't
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Minimum deposit amounts for CDs of $1,000 are relatively high, and APYs for CDs are not the very best available nationally.
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You can’t access the Savings Builder and the Money Market Account from an ATM directly, but you can easily transfer funds via the mobile app to a checking account.
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The app is available for iOS and Android users, but it is not highly rated and may be difficult to use.
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The bank doesn’t have physical branch locations.
Savings accounts
4.5
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
Savings account
The Savings Builder is CIT Bank’s highest APY option. It gives you two ways to earn one of the highest APYs around. You can either keep $25,000 in the account or you can deposit $100 and deposit $100 or more every month to a top-tier APY. The Savings Builder encourages monthly savings and rewards you for saving $100 or more each month, making this one of the top savings accounts for savers.
What we like
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The Savings Builder has one of the top APYs around.
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The Savings Builder motivates you to save by forcing you to deposit $100 each month in order to get the top APY.
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There are no monthly fees.
What we don't
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$25,000 minimum balance (if you don’t deposit $100 or more each month) on the Savings Builder is one of the higher minimum balance requirements to earn a top APY.
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If you don’t meet the APY requirements (such as having at least $25,000 in the Savings Builder or making a $100 or more deposit into the Savings Builder), it’s going to cost you with a difference in APY.
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The Savings Builder doesn’t offer direct ATM access.
Money market accounts
4.8
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
MMA
The Money Market Account has an APY nearly 11 times the national average. There’s no monthly fee on this account and you get the top APY on any balance. It also requires only $100 to open the account, so this reasonable minimum is good for all savers.
What we like
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The APY is more than 10 times the national average APY for money market accounts.
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There is no monthly fee.
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There is only a $100 minimum balance.
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Zelle & PayPal are available with the CIT Bank Money Market.
What we don't
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The Money Market Account doesn’t have check-writing privileges.
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There are higher money market account APYs out there.
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Since the account APY isn’t tiered, there’s less incentive to deposit a large amount of money in this account when some other banks reward you with a higher APY.
CD rates
4.0
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
CD
New CIT Bank customers have access to standard CDs, jumbo CDs and a no-penalty CD. Standard CDs require minimum opening deposits of $1,000.
Early withdrawal penalties apply for most CDs. For example, for a CD with a term of 1 year or less, the penalty is 90 days of simple interest. For a CD with a term of 1 year to 3 years, the penalty is 180 days of simple interest.
What we like
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Interest is compounded daily.
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A CD without an early withdrawal penalty is available.
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Interest can be drawn without penalty before maturity.
What we don't
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Other online banks pay higher yields.
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Ramp-up CDs are no longer available to new customers.
Checking accounts
3.8
Bankrate Score
Member FDIC
Checking account
CIT bank offers an interest bearing e-checking account with a top APY. The e-checking account can be opened with just $100 and comes with Zelle, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Bill Pay. To earn the highest APY, you need to keep a minimum balance of $25,000. For balances under $25,000 you can still earn a top APY. The checking account also comes with a debit card so you can easily access your money from an ATM.
What we like
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Offers a top APY.
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There are no monthly fees.
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Checking account comes with a debit card, Zelle, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay and Bill Pay.
What we don't
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Since CIT Bank doesn’t own ATMs or have an agreement with one of the ATM networks, you will have to pay a fee to the bank whose ATM you’re using to access your funds. However, you can get some of these fees reimbursed. CIT Bank will reimburse up to $15 in ATM fee reimbursements.
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Minimum deposit to open the account is $100; some online banks are free to open an account.
Bank experience
The mobile banking app won’t rock your world but it will let you take care of the basics, such as allow you to check your transaction history and transfer funds between CIT Bank accounts. It will also display the balances and recent transactions for your accounts.
While you won’t be able to use a branch, CIT’s customer service hours are pretty generous. You can reach the bank via the phone from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. (ET) on weekdays. You can also reach a human on weekends, but with reduced hours. You can also access your account 24/7 online or using CIT's automated telephone banking system.
About CIT Bank
CIT Bank is the internet-based bank that is part of CIT Bank, N.A., the principal banking subsidiary of CIT Group, Inc. – a financial holding company founded in 1908. CIT Bank, N.A. was founded in 2009.
Both CIT Bank, N.A. and OneWest Bank, which is a division of CIT Bank, N.A., are under the same FDIC insurance.
CIT Bank is known for offering a top-tier APY on its Savings Builder account.
Matthew Goldberg @MATTATBANKRATE
Matthew Goldberg is a consumer banking reporter at Bankrate. He graduated from Illinois State University with a bachelor's degree in mass communication and earned an MBA at William Paterson University. He began his writing career in 1998 at Sun Publications in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He was sports editor at The Daily Vidette, a sports reporter at The Journal Standard and a sports writer at The Quincy Herald-Whig. His work has also appeared in Sports Illustrated On Campus. He has been honored by both the Illinois Associated Press Editors Association and the Illinois Press Association. He also has more than seven years of financial services experience, in both banking and insurance.