Citizen’s Bank is an operating entity of Citizens Financial Group, an establishment which was established in 1828 under the name of High Street Bank in Providence, Rhode Island. Today the organization boasts more than 150 billion dollars in assets. Not only does this financial institution rank as one of the largest commercial bank holding companies in the united states, they also have branches in approximately thirteen states on the East Coast including New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Delaware, Illinois, Indianan, Massachusetts, Michigan, Connecticut, New Hampshire, new Jersey, and of course, Rhode Island.
Although this bank does offer limited availability in terms of its branches, it does provide customers with some great options for personal banking products, including five different checking account options.
The Green Checking Account is arguably their most basic account. This non-interest bearing account offers account holders the flexibility of no monthly service fees. For just $50, you can open your own Green Checking account and even benefit from the loads of rewards available through Citizen Bank’s rewards system. Account holders will earn one point for every dollar they spend on all purchases made with their debit cards. Additionally, double points will be awarded for transactions made at participating retailers. While this may seem like a great rewards system, potential customers should be aware that a $25 annual rewards fee does apply.
For individuals interested in earning interest with their checking accounts, the Personal Checking with Interest Account is much more suitable. For a low $10 rate, monthly maintenance and service fees are covered; however, if account holders maintain a minimum daily balance of $100 or more, fees are waived. The same rewards system is available for Personal Checking account holders, and the same $25 annual fee also applies. For just $50, you can open your own account today.
If you typically have a higher average balance in your combined accounts, Citizen’s Bank gives you the opportunity to place your funds in their Circle Checking Account. While this product is non-interest bearing, the rewards system is fee-free, thereby actually acting as an advantage for account holders in this case, unlike the previously mentioned accounts. A $15 monthly maintenance fee is waived if individuals maintain a monthly combined balance of at least $5,000. Free overdraft protection is also available to account holders, in addition to numerous other savings including a .25% APR discount on home equity lines. Furthermore, the Circle Checking Account also offers account holders the opportunity to establish Circle Money Market accounts at no additional fee, or pour their funds into CDs with preferred rates. Although this product-type requires a minimum of $100 to open, customers will find that the free transactions at other banks’ ATMs and the no-charge American Express Travelers Cheques more than make up for the slightly higher minimum balance to open.
A similar product available is the Circle Checking with Interest Account. Much like the standard Circle Checking, customers will benefit from preferred rates on CDs, APR discounts on their home equity loans, and even a Circle Rewards Platinum MasterCard with no annual fee. The $15 monthly maintenance fee remains the same, although account holders can waive this fee with a combined monthly balance of at least $7,500. Like the standard Circle Checking, this product also requires at least $100 to open, but will also provide customers with free overdraft protection, opportunities to open multiple checking, savings, and money market accounts at no additional cost, and free transactions at other banks’ ATMS.
Finally, the last of Citizen’s Bank’s checking products, also opened for $100, are the Circle Gold Checking Accounts with Interest. For $20 a month, or a combined monthly balance of $20,000 in all Citizen Bank assets, account holders will benefit from free overdraft protection, .25% APR discounts on home equity loans, and a no fee Circle Rewards Platinum MasterCard. Additionally, customers will benefit from Gold CD rates (the Citizens Bank preferred rates), a 50% discount on home equity annual lines, and even the opportunity to create a Circle Gold Money Market Account at no additional cost. As if that weren’t enough, account holders will also enjoy no fee foreign currency exchanges and discounted safe deposit boxes. Furthermore, the Circle Gold Checking Account with Interest also provides account holders with priority customer service, supplying them with an exclusive customer service number where they will be assisted immediately.
Overall, Citizens Bank provides a plethora of options for individuals in terms of checking products. If you are considering opening a checking account and live in one of the demographic regions Citizen Bank’s caters to, definitely consider visiting their website or a local branch to find out more about their services and what other alternatives are available to suit your unique financial needs and goals.