CIT Bank has three variable rate savings products with APYs ranging from 0.40% to 0.50% currently. These are:

• CIT Bank Savings Builder
• CIT Bank Savings Connect
• CIT Bank Money Market

The Savings Connect just had its APY upped to 0.50% recently, while the Savings Builder and Money Market accounts earn 0.40% and 0.45%, respectively.

Each comes with their own minimum deposit requirements and account details which we’ll cover in detail below.

If you haven’t heard of CIT Bank before it might be because they’ve gone through several re-brands, mergers and acquisitions over their century-plus history since their founding in 1908.

Today they hold over $50 billion in assets and regularly offer some competitive rates on their deposit accounts.

To see if any of CIT bank’s savings products are right for you, continue reading our comprehensive review below.

CIT Bank is member FDIC and all funds held in any CIT bank account are federally insured up to the applicable limits.

CIT Bank Savings Builder APY + Account Details

The CIT Bank Savings Builder account requires a rather steep minimum deposit of $25,000 to earn the advertised APY. However, if you do not have $25k to open the account but can manage to add at least $100 to it monthly, CIT will still provide you with the 0.40% APY. If you don’t have $25k nor can you commit $100/mo to the account, you’ll earn just 0.28% APY on your balance. More details below.

Minimum Balance + Conditions	APY
$100 – $25,000	0.28%
$100 + $100/mo deposit	0.40%
$25,000 +	0.40%

To put these APYs in perspective, the current national average on a savings account sits at just 0.06% according to recent FDIC data.

Remember, if you have a balance of less than $25,000 AND you do not deposit or transfer $100 each month into the account you will earn just 0.28% on your balance. So if you wish to open the account but are under the $25,000 limit, you may want to hold some funds back or be sure you can commit to maintaining a $100 deposit each month to earn the higher APY.

You should also note that all new accounts will get an introductory APY of 0.40% during what CIT Bank refers to as the “Introductory Period.” When this period ends, all accounts will be evaluated on “Evaluation Day” to determine the APY paid for the next period.

The introductory period begins the day you open the account and ends on Evaluation Day. The Evaluation Day is the fourth business day prior to the end of the month. If you aren’t maintaining a monthly balance of $25,000 or more, you’ll want to make a deposit of at least $100 during this period if you want to keep the higher APY.

Regardless of your balance, interest is compounded daily and credited monthly to the account.

CIT Bank Savings Connect APY + Account details

The CIT Bank Savings Connect account offers the most competitive APY of 0.50% if you can meet the criteria. If you just open the Savings Connect account as a stand alone account with a minimum of at least $100 you’ll still earn 0.42% APY on your balance.

To earn the higher rate of 0.50% you’ll also need to open a CIT Bank eChecking account and set up an automated monthly deposit of at least $200 during the “evaluation period.”

Min Balance + Conditions	APY
$100	0.42%
$100 and $200/mo to eChecking	0.50%

If you do decide to open the eChecking account for the higher APY, we should note that that account also pays an APY of 0.25% on balances above $25,000 and 0.10% APY on all amounts below that.

CIT Bank Money Market APY + Account Details

CIT Bank’s money market account is perhaps its most straight forward variable rate product. It earns a competitive 0.45% APY on all balances above the $100 minimum required to open it.

There are no fees or secondary accounts required to earn the advertised APY.

To put this yield into perspective, the national average for money market rates sits at just 0.08% APY currently.

Fees Associated with the Accounts

Like many hassle-free online savings accounts this one has no monthly maintenance fees or ongoing fees of any kind. The only fee you might want to look out for is a $10 wire fee for moving funds about; however CIT Bank will waive this fee as well if you maintain an average monthly balance of at least $25,000 in the account.

Opening an Account and Accessing Funds

To fund your CIT Savings Builder account, you’ll have four options. These are:

• Mail a check
• Send a wire (no fee for this)
• ACH funds transfer, or
• Mobile check deposit via their mobile app (download for IOS or Android)

If you plan on funding the account via an electronic funds transfer, please allow up to two business days for the money to appear in your account. Mailed checks will likely take a little bit longer depending on your location and time spent in transit.

Once you’ve opened the account, you may withdraw money in one of three ways. These are:

• ACH Electronic funds transfer
• Request a mailed check by CIT Bank
• Outgoing Wire transfer

You’ll want to note the potential $10 wire fee we mentioned previously if you aren’t maintaining a balance of $25,000 or more.

ATM or Branch Access?

Like many online savings accounts the CIT Bank Savings Builder account comes with no ATM or debit card of any kind. You will not have access to cash via this method or access to any physical branch locations. If you need access to cash, you will have to transfer the money to a bank or credit union with a branch near you or request a check from CIT Bank.

Other CIT Bank Deposit Accounts

Outside of the variable rate accounts discussed above, CIT Bank also offers the following deposit products with interest payments:

• Eight standard term CDs
• 11 month No-Penalty CD
• Jumbo CDs (four terms available)

We covered CIT Bank’s CD accounts earlier this year and they still feature competitive APYs. For fixed rate deposits with CIT Bank you will earn the same interest whether the account is a standard deposit or “Jumbo.” In normal interest rate environments jumbo accounts tend to pay more than standard ones.

Final Thoughts

If you’re in the market for a variable-rate, online savings account with a solid yield and FDIC insurance then the CIT Bank has some solid options for you to choose from.

However, their top tier rates come with secondary accounts that you must open and regularly make deposits into to earn those top yields.