Business Insider's personal finance team compared CIT Bank with the best banks and found it to be a standard offering.
CIT Bank is a good option for people looking for a high-yield savings account. But it won't be a good fit if you're uncomfortable with digital banking.
CIT Bank Overview
CIT Bank Features
CIT Bank is a division of First Citizens Bank. In January 2022, First Citizens Bank announced that it completed its merger with CIT Bank. CIT Bank has continued to offer distinct bank account options from First Citizens Bank, and existing customers continued to have the same products and services.
The bank has several high-yield savings accounts, a checking account, a money market account, and a variety of CDs. The online bank also has home loans and mortgage refinancing.
CIT Bank Customer Service
CIT Bank is an online-only bank. You won't be able to visit any branches, and you'll have to be comfortable managing your account primarily through CIT online banking and mobile banking.
The bank offers 24/7 customer service in the form of automated phone assistance and live chat on its site and through the app. You can speak with a live representative for banking help if you call Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, or Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
Its website is easy to navigate, and its mobile banking app has received 4.8 out of 5 stars in the Apple App Store and 4.6 out of 5 stars in the Google Play Store.
CIT Bank Fees and Charges
Unlike most banks, doesn't have an ATM network. It does reimburse up to $30 of out-of-network ATM fees per month, though. ATM reimbursements will only affect customers with a checking account because the bank doesn't provide a debit card for its money market account. The best banks to avoid ATM fees both have a large ATM network and reimburse out-of-network fees.
Your deposits are insured by the FDIC for up to $250,000, or $500,000 for joint bank accounts.
CIT Bank Pros and Cons
CIT Bank Pros
- Multiple savings accounts with high interest rates
- Specialty CD options
- No monthly service fees
- No overdraft fees
CIT Bank Cons
- No ATM network
- Online-only bank
Banking Options with CIT Bank
CIT Bank Platinum Savings
CIT Bank Platinum Savings is a great high-yield savings account if you plan to keep significantly more than $5,000 because you'll earn significantly more than average bank interest rates.
$0 monthly service fees
4.10% (with $5,000 minimum balance)
$100
- Competitive APY
- No monthly service fees
- $100 minimum opening deposit
The CIT Bank Platinum Savings and CIT Bank Savings Connect Account pay great interest rates that are on par with what best high-yield savings accounts offer right now. The CIT Bank Savings Builder Account and CIT Bank Money Market Account pay above-average rates, but they aren't nearly as competitive.
CIT Bank Platinum Savings- No monthly fees
- $100 to open an account, however must maintain $5,000 daily balance to receive top tier
- Member FDIC
CIT Bank Savings Connect Account
CIT Bank Savings Connect is a solid savings account. It offers a competitive interest rate and doesn't charge monthly bank maintenance fees.
CIT also has a CIT Bank Savings Builder Account, but it only pays 0.40% to 1.00% APY.
no monthly service fee
4.00%
$100
- Competitive APY
- No monthly service fees
- No minimum monthly balance requirement
- $100 minimum opening deposit
The CIT Bank Platinum Savings and CIT Bank Savings Connect Account pay great interest rates that are on par with what best high-yield savings accounts offer right now. The CIT Bank Savings Builder Account and CIT Bank Money Market Account pay above-average rates, but they aren't nearly as competitive.
CIT Bank Savings Connect- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- FDIC insured
CIT Bank Checking Account
The CIT Bank eChecking Account pays 0.10% to 0.25% APY. Unlike many banks, this bank doesn't have an ATM network. However, it helps you avoid ATM fees by reimbursing up to $30 a month for fees charged by ATM providers.
no monthly service fee
0.10% to 0.25%
$100
- Reimburses up to $30 in out-of-network ATM fees per month
- No monthly service fees
- Overdraft protection
- Competitive APY
- $100 opening deposit
- No ATM network
- No physical branch locations
- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- No ATM network, but CIT Bank reimburses up to $30/month for ATM fees
- FDIC insured
CIT Bank CDs
**CIT Bank RampUp™ CD are not available for new accounts.
CIT Bank CD rates are higher than the average CD rate, but they aren't as competitive as the best CDs.
The bank offers a wide range of CD options. Along with its regular term CDs, it has jumbo CDs and a no-penalty CD.
0.30% to 3.50%
$1,000
- Standard early withdrawal penalties
- Competitive rates for some terms
- $1,000 minimum deposit
- Non-competitive rates for some terms
- Terms ranging from 6 months to 5 years
- Early withdrawal penalties: 3 months simple interest for terms under 1 year, 6 months simple interest for terms of 1 to 3 years, 12 months simple interest for terms over 3 years
- FDIC insured
CIT Bank Money Market Account
The CIT Bank Money Market Account offers a decent rate of 1.55% APY. You'll need $100 to open an account, but many banks require between a few hundred and a few thousand dollars to open a money market account.
no monthly service fee
1.55%
$100
- Competitive APY
- Low opening deposit of $100
- Connect your account to Zelle or PayPal
- No monthly service fee
- No paper checks
- No debit card
- No way to access funds at an ATM
- No physical locations
The CIT Bank Platinum Savings and CIT Bank Savings Connect Account pay great interest rates that are on par with what best high-yield savings accounts offer right now. The CIT Bank Savings Builder Account and CIT Bank Money Market Account pay above-average rates, but they aren't nearly as competitive.
CIT Bank Money Market Account- Connect to Zelle and PayPal
- Interest compounded daily, paid monthly
- FDIC insured
Is CIT Bank Trustworthy?
To highlight customer experiences with this bank as well as its trustworthiness, we include Better Business Bureau ratings. BBB scores look at how effectively a company responds to customer complaints, its transparency about company practices, and whether it's honest in its advertising.
The Better Business Bureau gives CIT Bank an A- rating because it has failed to respond to a customer complaint. CIT Bank does not have any recent public controversies or lawsuits.
CIT Bank Alternatives
CIT Bank vs. Marcus by Goldman Sachs
The Marcus High Yield Online Savings Account pays 3.65% APY, which is less than what you'll earn with either of the major savings accounts from CIT Bank. Marcus CD rates range from 3.75% to 4.25% APY, so you could earn more with Marcus by Goldman Sachs, depending on which CD term you choose.
CIT Bank is the better choice if you want to do all of your banking with one company. Marcus by Goldman Sachs doesn't offer a checking account, so you have to transfer money to an external checking account to access it. This can take up to a few business days.
CIT Bank vs. Capital One 360
You might like Capital One if you don't have much money to open accounts and you want to avoid common bank fees. CIT Bank requires $100 to open most accounts and $1,000 to open CDs, but Capital One doesn't have any minimum opening deposits.
CIT Bank pays better savings rates than Capital One, which pays 3.60% (rate as of 04/08/25) APY. Capital One CD rates are 3.50% to 4.00% APY, so you could earn more with Capital One depending on the term.
How to Choose the Right CIT Bank CD
CIT Bank offers several different types of CDs, including traditional CDs, jumbo CDs, RampUp CDs, and no-penalty CDs. The bank's no-penalty CD offers a high interest rate, although the best no-penalty CDs still offer even higher rates. CIT Bank No Penalty 11-Month CD has an 11-month term length, which is fairly standard for this type of CD.
Which type of CD you want will depend on what you want to use the CD for. Usually, you'd only want to open a no-penalty CD if you think it's likely you'll need to withdraw your money before the end of the term length, because no-penalty CDs generally offer lower interest than the best CD rates. But because the CIT Bank No Penalty 11-Month CD offers interest on par with the bank's best traditional CDs, your choice might depend on which term length you prefer instead.
Why You Should Trust Us: How We Reviewed CIT Bank
To review savings, checking, CDs, and money market accounts, we used Personal Finance Insider's bank account methodology.
For every account, we evaluate the bank's ethics, security, mobile app, miscellaneous features, and customer service. The other factors we consider depend on the type of account we're rating — for example, we factor in overdraft fees for checking accounts and early withdrawal penalties for CDs.
We give each category a rating between 0 and 5. We use a weighted average to get our star rating, which can be anywhere from one to five stars.
CIT Bank Overall Rating
| Feature | Business Insider's CIT Bank Rating (out of 5) |
| Savings | 4.25 |
| Checking | 4.25 |
| CD | 3.75 |
| Money market account | 4.25 |
| Trustworthiness | 4.75 |
| Total | 4.25 |
CIT Bank FAQs
Is CIT Bank FDIC insured?
Yes, CIT Bank is an FDIC-insured bank. The FDIC insures up to $250,000 per depositor.
Is CIT Bank safe?
Yes, CIT Bank is safe. The bank's accounts are insured by the federal government for up to $250,000 per depositor.
Does CIT Bank have loans or credit cards?
CIT Bank has home loans and mortgage refinancing. It doesn't have any credit cards, though.
Can I open a CIT Bank account from anywhere in the U.S.?
Yes, you can open a CIT Bank account online from anywhere in the United States. To open an account online, you'll provide basic information to verify your identity and make an opening deposit that meets the minimum requirement.
Is CIT Bank legit?
Yes, CIT Bank is legit. The bank is a division of First Citizens Bank, and it's insured by the federal government.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews, or recommendations expressed in this article are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
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