CIT Bank vs. Chime Bank - Which is Better for You?
Both Chime Bank and CIT Bank are great online banks that offer no-fees for basic services, but which is the overall better choice for you?
We hope to give you the information you need to decide for yourself which is better for you — personally we have accounts with both CIT Bank and Chime as while we prefer CIT Bank we wanted to test them both out before making a comparison on them.
Ultimately we’d say CIT Bank is a better choice, as they offer the same (or better) interest rates on deposits, no fees or monthly minimums, and they also offer ATM reimbursements, which Chime does not currently offer. The only benefit Chime has over CIT Bank is a slightly better mobile app, and sometimes they have a better sign-up bonus.
Which Offers the Best Services/Rates - CIT Bank or Chime Bank?
CIT Bank wins this category by a pretty firm margin due to offering more products/services and having certain features, such as charging no foreign (or domestic) out-of-network ATM withdrawals, as well as offering $30 worth of ATM reimbursements of ATM fees the network operator or bank may charge you for using their ATM.
That works out to be between 5 and 7 free ATM withdrawals a month with CIT Bank’s echecking account no matter where you are in the world or what bank’s ATM you use — which is downright excellent, especially compared to Chime which doesn’t refund such fees other banks may charge you when using their ATM’s.
As for rates, both CIT Bank and Chime Bank are very competitive with each other, generally having the exact same rates on deposits, or within 0.05%, which is negligible, so we would say it shouldn’t be the deciding factor between these two banks. If you take money out internationally, or domestically, rather than always use card then CIT Bank is likely the better bank for you, especially if you withdraw cash frequently.
CIT Bank also offers mortgages and loans that Chime doesn’t offer, and getting them is easier when you have your bank/savings account with them; but their rates for mortgages/loans aren’t anything special — competitive, but not a must-have compared to other mortgage providers.
Which has less fees - CIT Bank or Chime Bank?
Both CIT Bank and Chime Bank have basically no fees — they both offer small fees for non-ordinary things such as wire transfers or overdrafts (if you enable the ability to overdraft your account), however otherwise they’re both fee-free.
The exception here is the ATM reimbursement CIT Bank offers that Chime Bank does not offer — while Chime doesn’t charge ATM fees the ATM owner generally does, which means with Chime if you withdraw money it’ll cost a few dollars in fees, while with CIT Bank you’ll be refunded those few dollars in fees and pay nothing.
Which is more Trustworthy - CIT Bank or Chime Bank?
Honestly we don’t really see a clear winner here — neither bank is involved in particularly risky practices, and both of them have similar business models, so ultimately we don’t really see a way to differentiate between them two in terms of trustworthiness.
They’re both of course legitimate banks, and they also have FDIC insurance to protect deposits, but beyond this it’s hard to tell their trustworthiness. Both have decent support, although we’ve experienced slightly better (or rather quicker) support from CIT Bank, so take that as you will.
What Advantages does Chime have over CIT Bank?
As we mentioned before, Chime has a fantastic mobile app that’s quite a bit better than CIT Bank’s mobile app — Chime also usually has a better sign-up bonus or promotion, often around $50 if you switch your direct-deposit over to them, deposit a few hundred dollars, and meet a few other simple requirements.
Beyond that Chime doesn’t really have any real advantages — this is because CIT Bank offers identical interest rates to Chime most of the time, and all the same low/no-fee aspects that Chime does. But hey, Chime’s not a bad bank and their only major disadvanatage to CIT Bank is their lack of ATM reimbursement.
What Advantages does CIT Bank have over Chime Bank?
CIT Bank has slightly better (quicker) customer service and a better echecking account that offers ATM reimbursements as well as all the same no-fee aspects that Chime offers — however CIT Bank’s mobile interface is not the best, albeit manageable to use. CIT Bank’s desktop interface is quite good though.
Beyond that though CIT Bank has little difference to Chime Bank — ultimately we’d say for most folks CIT Bank’s Savings Account + E-checking account is better than Chime’s Savings Account + Regular Checking Account due to the ATM reimbursements and otherwise more or less identical aspects of both banks.
