First Citizens Bank review: No monthly fees on checking or savings accounts, but you earn low interest rates

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Overall bank rating

Pros and cons

Savings

The First Citizens Bank Online Savings Account doesn't charge monthly service fees and has a decent $50 minimum deposit.

Be mindful of the excessive withdrawal fee, though. If you make more than two withdrawals per month, there is a $3 withdrawal fee for each transaction after.

Checking

First Citizens has a good  First Citizens Bank Free Checking Account that helps track your spending and budget through charts and visuals. 

It offers overdraft protection that lets you link to a savings account or apply for a line of credit, but you'll pay a $12 transfer fee if you use it. If you're worried about overdrawing, other banks offer free overdraft protection, which could be more fitting. 

CD

First Citizens Bank Certificate of Deposit pay pretty low interest rates regardless of the term. If you'd like to earn a more competitive interest rate, consider going through our best CD rates guide.

Money market account

The First Citizens Bank Money Market Account has a low minimum opening deposit. However, you'll need to keep at least $1,000 in your account daily to avoid the $10 monthly service fee.

It also doesn't come with paper checks or a debit card, so you'll have limited access to your money if you don't also have a checking account with the bank.

How First Citizens Bank works

First Citizens Bank has over 600 branches in the following 22 states:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Kansas
• Maryland
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Mexico
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

You'll also have access to more than 300 free ATMs through the bank's ATM network.

Customer service representatives are available every day over the phone from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET. 

The bank's mobile app is rated 4.4 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store and 4.6 out of 5 stars in the Apple Store. 

First Citizens Bank is FDIC insured. If a bank is FDIC insured, your deposits are protected for up to $250,000 on individual bank accounts and $500,000 on joint bank accounts. 

Is First Citizens Bank trustworthy?

First Citizens Bank received an A grade from the Better Business Bureau. 

We use BBB ratings to help you understand how a bank deals with customer issues. A good BBB rating won't necessarily mean that your relationship with a bank will be great, so talk to current customers or read online customer reviews to determine if First Citizens Bank is a good fit.

First Citizens Bank also hasn't been involved in any recent public controversies.

How First Citizens Bank compares

We compared First Citizens Bank to two other national banks: Woodforest National Bank and Regions Bank.

Locations AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, HA, KS, MD, MI, NE, NV, NC, OK, OR, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WV, WI	Locations AL, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MS, NY, NC, OH, PA, SC, TX, VA, WV	Locations AL, AK, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX
Standout feature Free savings and checking account	Standout feature CD rates	Standout feature Variety of bank accounts
First Citizens Bank Online Savings Account	Woodforest National Bank Savings Account	Regions LifeGreen® Savings Account

Your choice between these three banks could depend on where you live. If you are based in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Texas, you might be near all three banks.

You'll want to look at the overall banking experience and products to find which bank is the most suitable for you.

First Citizens Bank will likely be the best option if you want to open fee-free bank accounts. At Woodforest National Bank, most bank accounts have monthly service fees, and at Regions, there's only a free savings account. 

If you're looking to earn a high interest rate on your savings account, none of these banks offer a high-yield savings account. However, Woodforest may be appealing if you'd like to open a CD since it offers better interest rates than many other brick-and-mortar banks. 

You might prefer Regions Bank if you would like to reach out to customer service beyond traditional banking hours. Regions is the only bank out of the three that has 24/7 customer support. It also has several bank account options, including specialized bank accounts for kids, teens, and seniors.