Citizens Bank, based out of Providence, Rhode Island is the 16th largest bank in the United States by total assets with over $160 billion. They also have just over 1,000 branches and 3,100 Citizens Bank branded ATMs.

Despite their size however, and the fact that they’ve been in business since 1828, they are still geographically restricted. As of 2023, they operate in the following states and cities:

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New York
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington D.C.

Citizens Bank offers a wide range of CDs (certificates of deposit) with terms from 1 month to 10 years. That said, they only feature one CD rate on their website. If you’d like to inquire about their other CD options you’ll have to stop by a branch (locate them here) or give them a call on their CD product information line at 1-877-360-2472.

If you don’t live in the states listed above, you can take a look at Citizens Access CD rates which is a division of Citizens Bank. Citizens Access and Citizens Bank share the same FDIC insurance so CDs opened at either institution are cumulatively covered up to $250,000 per depositor.

Citizens Bank CD Rates + Account Details

Citizens Bank is member FDIC and all deposit accounts are federally insured by the FDIC up to the applicable limits.

Citizens Bank offers consumers 3 types of CD accounts. These are:

1. Standard CD
2. Breakable CD
3. IRA CD

Standard CDs come with a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000 and offer terms ranging from 1 month to 120 months.

Breakable CDs come with a minimum deposit requirement of $10,000 and offer terms ranging from 3 months to 60 months. This account allows you to make a one-time withdrawal from the account during its term without facing any early withdrawal fee. Please note that you must maintain the minimum balance following the withdrawal.

IRA CDs come with a minimum deposit requirement of $250 and offer terms ranging from 1 month to 120 months. Additional deposits are allowed on these accounts. IRA CDs are also subject to IRS tax codes and regulations.

CD Rates

Their 14 month CD is only available as a standard CD (not available as an IRA CD) and requires a minimum deposit requirement of $1,000.

📌 Please Note – The 14 month CD must be opened online.

To put this yield into perspective, the current national average for a 12 month CD sits at 1.07% APY, according to FDIC data, and the top yields from online banks are now inching over the 4.50% APY mark in anticipation of another (smaller) FED rate hike at the end of January.

Interest Payments

Interest payments are automatically deposited back into your CD for further compounding. However, if you’d like to have your interest payments disbursed to you by check or transfer that is also allowed, however, a minimum deposit requirement of $5,000 is required for this.

Grace Period and Early Withdrawal Fees

Upon the maturity of your CD, Citizens Bank will provide you with a 10 calendar-day grace period in which you may modify your CD (either by term or deposit size) or close it out entirely without facing any early withdrawal fees.

If nothing is done during this period, your CD will automatically renew into a new CD with the same term as your old one. The going APY (annual percentage yield) at that time will also be applied.

If you need access to the funds in your CD prior to its maturity you will face an early withdrawal penalty. The penalty is as follows:

• CDs with terms less than 1 year – $50 transaction penalty + 90 calendar days’ interest
  on the amount withdrawn or half the remaining
  interest to be earned on the withdrawn amount.
• CDs with terms 1 year or more – $50 transaction penalty + 180 calendar days’ interest on the amount withdrawn or half the remaining interest to be earned on the withdrawn amount.

Opening and Funding Your CD

The 14 month online CD can be opened by anyone 18 years old or older. Even though it is an online CD, you still must reside in one of the 14 states/cities listed above to open it.

Here’s everything you will need to complete the process:

Opening the CD

• Your Social Security Number
• Your Driver’s License or State Issued ID
• Physical Address in one of these 14 states/cities: CT, DE, FL, MD, MA, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, VT, and Washington D.C.
• Email and Phone

Funding the CD

You may fund your CD either with a debit card or via a transfer from your current bank account. If transferring from your current bank or credit union, you’ll need:

• Current bank or credit union’s routing number
• Your account number

Final Thoughts

The 14 month online CD is not competitive at this time and geographically off limits for many.

Better yields can be found through many FDIC-insured online banks and nationally available credit unions.