-
Financial Rates:
5.0
-
Customer Service:
5.0
-
Website Experience:
3.5
-
Bank Fees:
4.0
Pros:
- Low opening required amounts
- Competitive interest rates on accounts
- Variety of accounts offered
- Free ATM transactions and fee refunds
Cons:
- Accounts have monthly fees
- Savings have high required daily balances
- CD early withdrawal penalties are high
- Excessive withdrawal fee high
-
Financial Rates:
4.5
-
Customer Service:
3.0
-
Website Experience:
5.0
-
Bank Fees:
5.0
Pros:
- No monthly maintenance fees
- Competitive interest rates
- Any account balance earns interest
- Good variety of CD terms
Cons:
- High opening required amounts
- Must link accounts to external bank
- No ATM or debit cards or checks
- Limited accounts offered
First IB only requires $25 to open the free checking and savings account. The Interest checking, Money Market Savings, and Tomorrow's Tycoons require $100 to open. CDs required $1,000 to open. The HSA does not have a required amount to open.
First IB accounts earn competitive interest rates. The account rates are competitive with other online-only accounts. To earn the best rate for the checking account only requires $500 in the account. The savings accounts do not have a set limit to earn the competitive interest rates.
A variety of accounts are available through First IB. The accounts include:
- Free checking
- Interest checking
- Money Market Savings
- Free savings
- CD terms from three to 60-months
- Health Savings Account
- Tomorrow's Tycoons savings account for children
- Coverdell Education Savings account
- IRA accounts
- Credit cards, personal, student, and auto loans
- Home equity loans and mortgages
- Business checking, savings, and CDs
- Business lending options
First IB is a member of the ATM Plus network, giving you access to millions of ATMs across the U.S. Certain accounts with First IB reimburse up to $10 each month in ATM fees. The Interest checking, money market, and regular savings offer the reimbursement option.
Most First IB accounts have a monthly fee. The fees range from $2 to $10 each month. Waive the fees by keeping an average daily balance in the accounts. The required balances vary between accounts.
The First IB Money Market Savings account requires a daily balance of $4,000 to avoid the monthly fee. The Interest checking account requires $500 to avoid the fee. Free savings and checking accounts do not have a required balance to avoid the monthly fee.
The early withdrawal penalty for First IB CDs are high. CD terms for three-months requires 90 days of interest. Terms from six to 18-months require 180 days of interest. The fee for CD terms over 24-months is 360 days of interest.
The government limits the withdrawals from savings accounts to six per month. The excessive withdrawal fee for First IB accounts is $30 per extra transaction, which is higher than other banks. The withdrawals restrictions apply to the money market and Free savings accounts.
Looking for Citizens Bank? Click here for our review on the local bank.
Citizens Access bank accounts do not have any fees. There are no monthly maintenance fees or fees to open the account. The Citizens Access savings account is completely free. The only fee with the CDs comes if you withdraw money before the maturity date.
The online savings account and each of the CD terms earn competitive interest rates. Citizens Access rates are much higher than your typical brick and mortar bank rates. They are competitive with other online accounts. To earn the most competitive rate requires a balance of $5,000 in each account.
Any account balance in the Citizens Access savings account earns interest. If the account balance falls below $5,000 the interest you earn is less, but you still earn interest. To earn the most competitive rate requires a $5,000 balance in the account.
Citizens Access offers a good variety of CD terms. Those terms range from six-month terms to five-years. Each of these CDs requires $5,000 to open. The interest rates are competitive on each term. The longer the CD term, the higher the interest rate.
To open an online savings account or CD with Citizen Access requires a large sum. Each of these accounts requires $5,000 to open the accounts. To earn the most competitive interest rate requires a balance of $5,000.
To transfer money in and out of your Citizens Access account you must link to an external bank account. That account can be a different banking institution. Once you link the accounts, you can transfer money electronically between the two accounts. To withdraw money, you could request a check.
Currently, Citizens Access does not offer ATM cards, debit cards, or checks for their online savings account. Access your money easiest through electronic transfers. You can call customer service to request a check.
Citizens Access has a limited variety of account. Only personal deposit savings account and CDs are available. No personal checking accounts or money market accounts are available. There are no business accounts offered.
Sponsored Offers
| Savings (Rate as of 4/25/2024) | |
| APY | 5.25% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5.25% |
| For APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC. No fees. Easy deposits and quick withdrawals. | |
| Savings (Rate as of 4/25/2024) | |
| APY | 4.25% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.16% |
| For APY | $1 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC | |
| Savings (Rate as of 4/25/2024) | |
| APY | 5.15% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5.02% |
| For APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC | |
| Savings (Rate as of 4/25/2024) | |
| APY | 5.00% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 5.00% |
| For APY | $100 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC Plus, no monthly fees and unlimited free external transfers | |
| Savings (Rate as of 4/25/2024) | |
| APY | 4.35% |
|---|---|
| Rate | 4.35% |
| For APY | $0 |
| Monthly Fee | $0.00 |
| Checkbook | No |
| Member FDIC | |
The rate information is obtained by Bankrate from the listed institutions. Bankrate cannot guarantee the accuracy or availability of any rates shown. Institutions may have different rates on their own websites than those posted on Bankrate.com. The listings that appear on this page are from companies from which this website receives compensation, which may impact how, where, and in what order products appear. This table does not include all companies or all available products.
All rates are subject to change without notice and may vary depending on location. These quotes are from banks, thrifts, and credit unions, some of whom have paid for a link to their own website where you can find additional information. Those with a paid link are our Advertisers. Those without a paid link are listings we obtain to improve the consumer shopping experience and are not Advertisers. To receive the Bankrate.com rate from an Advertiser, please identify yourself as a Bankrate customer. Bank and thrift deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Credit union deposits are insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
Consumer Satisfaction: Bankrate attempts to verify the accuracy and availability of its Advertisers' terms through its quality assurance process and requires Advertisers to agree to our Terms and Conditions and to adhere to our Quality Control Program. If you believe that you have received an inaccurate quote or are otherwise not satisfied with the services provided to you by the institution you choose, please click here.
For details on our best products and how we chose them click here.
Rates proudly provided by 
For Bankrate's privacy policy, click here.
1 APY stands for Annual Percent Yield. It's different from Rate because it takes into account compounding interest for the year.
2 MMA stands for Money Market Account. It's a savings and checking hybrid, allowing you to earn interest and use checks 6 times a month.