Banking Savings & Money Market Accounts

Citizens Access Online Savings Account Review [2024]: Fee-Free and a High APY

The Citizens Access Online Savings Account offers excellent interest-earning potential on all of your savings.

By Sarah Li Cain
and Kate Underwood

Edited by Alicia Hahn

Updated Nov. 25, 2024

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Citizens Access Online Savings

OUR VIEW

For a zero-frills savings account, you can’t really go wrong with Citizens Access Online Savings. With the chance to earn high yields on all balances (and no minimum or maximum balance for the highest rate), your savings can grow unimpeded.

I’d consider this account an excellent place to park savings for goals that are a few months to a few years off. However, it’s not the highest APY (annual percentage yield) around, so it’s worth digging into various options of high-yield savings accounts to see if you’d qualify for even greater earnings. This account also doesn’t offer as many deposit or withdrawal options as many others, and it doesn’t really come with tools or features to help you save more.

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Pros

High APY on all balances

Direct deposit not required to earn APY

No fees to open or maintain your account

Cons

No debit or ATM card

No cash deposits or wire transfers

Few other bank accounts

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What is Citizens Access?

Citizens Access is a fully online banking division of Citizens Bank, the 15th-largest commercial bank in the U.S. by asset size. Since Citizens Access does everything digitally, there are no physical branches, which often translates to more savings for customers.

Citizens Access offers mortgages, refinance loans, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs). Let’s look at why you might consider opening a savings account with Citizens Access.

Citizens Access Online Savings Account basics

APY	4.15% (as of 10/2/24)⁵
Minimum balance for APY	None
Minimum deposit to open account	$0.01
Monthly maintenance fees	None
ATM access	None
Transactions per month	No limit
Fees	No excessive transaction fees
FDIC insured	Yes, through Citizens Bank (Certificate #14851)

What we like about the Citizens Access Online Savings Account

Here’s a glimpse into some of the best benefits of this savings account.

High APY for all balance tiers

Many of the best online savings accounts are known for paying high APYs, and Citizens Access is no exception. The Online Savings yield is pretty competitive compared to the best rates you’ll find. Plus, unlike some high-yield savings accounts (HYSAs), it pays the top APY whether your balance is $0.01, $100, or $100,000. There’s no minimum or maximum balance for the stated rate, and though there are technically two balance tiers (balances below $5,000 and balances above), they both earn the same yield.

Considering many traditional banks pay pennies in interest on savings accounts — we’re talking 0.01% or 0.02%, even lower than the national average of 0.45% (as of 10/21/24) APY — the Citizens Access Online Savings Account looks pretty good. And although some accounts pay 5.00% APY or more, the difference between that and 4.15% (as of 10/2/24) APY probably wouldn’t be that noticeable unless you carried a very high balance.

No requirements to earn interest

Another factor that sets the Citizens Access online savings account apart is that you don’t need to jump through any hoops to get the 4.15% (as of 10/2/24) APY. Whenever I see a compelling rate on a savings account, I immediately check the criteria to earn that rate. Often, these are enough to keep me from opening an account.

Other savings APY requirements

Some HYSAs, including a few of the highest-earning ones, may require you to link a checking account and make a certain number of debit card purchases per month, receive direct deposits, or meet a balance minimum to qualify for the stated APY.

Even though the rate on this account is slightly lower than some of its competitors, the bank has no cumbersome deposit or activity requirements. As someone who doesn’t work a traditional W-2 job, I appreciate this.

What the Citizens Access Online Savings Account could improve

As much as I like about this savings account, there are a few downsides that may make you look elsewhere.

No cash access

If you’re looking for a savings account that makes it easy for you to get your money out quickly, this probably isn’t for you. Citizens Access doesn’t offer debit or ATM cards, so you’ll have to transfer funds to another account to use them.

For me, this wouldn’t be a deal-breaker because I rarely need to cash out my savings directly. But if you were to use a savings account for an emergency fund, you may want to be able to make a hasty withdrawal. For this, check out online savings accounts with free ATM access.

No cash deposits or wire transfers

You’ll have to deposit a check or transfer money from another linked account to make deposits into your Citizens Access Online Savings account. It’s unusual for a savings account not to allow wire transfers. And some savings accounts — even digital-only ones, like LendingClub — do permit cash deposits.

Who is this account best for?

A Citizens Access Online Savings Account is best suited for people who want a no-frills savings account that pays them a decent APY no matter how much they deposit.

This account may also be a good fit for you if you want to make more frequent withdrawals since there isn’t a monthly transaction limit like you’ll find with many savings accounts. However, the APY assumes you’ll keep funds saved, so you wouldn’t earn quite as much if you were to dip into your savings regularly.

Finally, if you don’t want to worry about making direct deposits or meeting balance requirements, I’d recommend checking out this account.

Who shouldn’t open this account?

On the other hand, you may be looking for more from your savings account. You may prefer the convenience of cash access, in which case Citizens Access is a poor choice. The same goes for if you frequently like to deposit cash, which this account doesn’t support.

Citizens Access may not be the right fit for anyone who prefers to do all their banking in one place, either. It only offers savings accounts and CDs. This isn’t much of a downside if you already keep funds with several different financial institutions, but you might like a more centralized approach to your banking.

Alternatives to Citizens Access Online Savings

SoFi Checking and Savings

Minimum opening deposit: None
APY: Up to 4.00% with direct deposit; otherwise, 1.20% (as of 12/3/24)³²
Requirements to earn high APY: Regular direct deposit of any amount OR qualifying deposits totaling $5,000 in Checking and Savings during a 30-day evaluation period

If you’re looking for a place to grow your savings and do your everyday transactions, SoFi is a good option. With SoFi’s combined checking and savings account, your savings earn up to 4.00% APY as long as you meet direct deposit requirements. But the requirements won’t be easy for everyone to meet, so I wouldn’t recommend this if you don’t earn enough or don’t want to reroute your paycheck.

This is also an excellent account if you need convenient access to your funds. With SoFi, you get free ATM access at over 55,000 AllPoint locations.⁶ Plus, you can receive your paycheck up to two days early, you don’t need to worry about overdraft fees, and your checking balances can earn up to 0.50% (as of 12/3/24) APY.⁷ Consider SoFi over Citizens Access if you can meet direct deposit requirements and want more spending flexibility.

Learn more in our SoFi Checking and Savings Review.

CIT Bank Platinum Savings

Minimum opening deposit: $100
APY: 4.55% APY⁸
Requirements to earn high APY: $5,000 balance or higher

The CIT Bank Platinum Savings account is an excellent option if you regularly save $5,000 or more. If you don’t need to access your money often, you could earn 4.55% APY.

Like Citizens Access, CIT Bank doesn’t charge a fee to open or maintain your account, but CIT Bank’s rates and balance requirements will make or break it for you. Your money will earn more with CIT Bank, but only if you can keep at least $5,000 saved. If you’ll keep less than that in the account, Citizens Access is a better choice.

Learn more in our CIT Bank Savings Review.

FAQs

Is the Citizens Access Online Savings Account safe?

Citizens Access has taken proactive measures to ensure the security of its website and your private information. It offers the same protections you’d see with a traditional bank account. For example, the Citizens Access website sends and receives information with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption and offers two-factor authentication to protect your passwords.

It also provides 24/7 fraud monitoring — it could freeze your account or alert you of suspicious activity if Citizens Access thinks there’s any irregular, illegal, or fraudulent activities going on. Your deposits are also FDIC insured (see below), so you don’t risk losing your money in case of a bank collapse.

Can I open a Citizens Bank savings account online?

Yes, Citizens Access is an online-only bank. The process of opening a savings account is quick and easy.

Is there a minimum balance?

You don’t have to keep a minimum balance in your Citizens Access Online Savings Account. However, there’s a minimum opening deposit of $0.01.

Is Citizens Access FDIC-insured?

Of course! Citizens Access accounts are FDIC-insured up to $250,000, as required by law. Something to keep in mind is that both Citizens Bank and Citizens Access count as the same entity when it comes to calculating FDIC insurance deposits and insurance. Therefore, if you’re already a Citizens Bank customer, you have to consider all deposits across all accounts at both banks in your total. If it goes above $250,000, you just need to shift some funds to a different banking institution to get further FDIC coverage.

Bottom line

The Citizens Access Online Savings Account offers great, though basic, perks — namely, no fees and a high APY. If you’re looking to boost your savings rate or need a low-fee online savings account, this isn’t a bad choice.

However, the lack of ATM access and cash deposits might be a dealbreaker for you. If that's the case, keep shopping around and check out the best savings accounts.