Bankof America – Black-owned bank in AL and GA

• Citizens Trust Bank (Member FDIC) is a Black-owned bank in Georgia and Alabama.
• You can also bank online nationwide, but it’s more competitive with other in-person banks.
• The bank has several types of checking accounts, so you may find one that suits your needs.
• See Insider’s picks for the best checking accounts »

You may like the CTB Direct Checking Account if you’re just looking for a basic checking account. It’s easy to waive the monthly service fee, and Citizens Trust Bank doesn’t require you to keep a minimum balance. The bank has several other checking accounts to choose from, too. Some may be better for you if you tend to maintain a high balance, make frequent debit card purchases, or write checks.

Citizens Trust Bank Personal Savings could be a good savings account if you’re banking in person. But if you’re banking online, you can find savings accounts that pay significantly higher rates and don’t charge monthly service fees.

Per federal regulations, most savings accounts limit to you to six transactions per month before penalizing you. But Citizens Trust Bank Personal Savings only lets you make three withdrawals per quarter — much less often than other accounts — before charging you $3 per excess transaction. If you expect to move money out of savings more than three times every three months, you may want to go with another bank.

You’ll only need $500 to open a CD with Citizens Trust, which is less than what most banks require. Citizens Trust Bank CD rates are comparable to or better than many brick-and-mortar banks’ CD rates. But if you choose an online bank, you can earn a significantly better rate.

Money market accounts are similar to savings accounts, except they make it easier to access your money by sending you a debit card or paper checks. The Citizens Trust Bank Money Market Account sends you a debit card, so you don’t have to transfer money to your checking account before spending it.

You may prefer the Citizens Trust Bank Money Market Account to the savings account, because you can make up to six withdrawals per month instead of three per quarter.

Citizens Trust Bank is a Black-owned bank with five branches in Georgia and two in Alabama. If you don’t live near a branch, you can open an online account from anywhere in the US.

The bank only has free ATMs in areas with branches. Citizens Trust Bank won’t charge you a fee for using an out-of-network ATM, but an ATM provider might.

The mobile app doesn’t have many online reviews. So far, the app has 4.7 out of 5 stars in the Apple Play store and 3.5 out of 5 stars in the Google Play store.

You can speak with a customer service agent by calling Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Your deposits are FDIC insured for up to $250,000, or $500,000 for joint accounts.

The Better Business Bureau grades companies’ trustworthiness. The BBB gives Citizens Trust Bank an NR (No Rating) because a few customer complaints that had previously been closed have opened back up, so the BBB is investigating the bank’s profile. 

On the bright side, Citizens Trust Bank doesn’t have any recent public scandals. Some other brick-and-mortar banks in Georgia and/or Alabama, including Wells Fargo and Bank of America, face reports of racial discrimination.

We’ve compared Citizens Trust Bank to two other Black-owned institutions with branches in similar locations: Liberty Bank and Trust (Member FDIC) and Credit Union of Atlanta (Deposits are federally insured by the NCUA).

Citizens Trust Bank review vs. Liberty Bank and Trust review

Both of these banks have branches in Alabama and online. You may prefer Liberty Bank and Trust if you’re searching for high interest rates. But keep in mind that it only compounds interest monthly, not daily.

Citizens Trust Bank offers more checking accounts than Liberty, so you may find one that better suits your needs.

Citizens Trust Bank review vs. Credit Union of Atlanta review

Credit Union of Atlanta only has one branch in Atlanta. If you want to bank online or have access to more locations, you’ll want to go with Citizens Trust Bank. But if you want a more local experience, you might like this credit union.

There are several ways to join Credit Union of Atlanta, including working for the city government, teaching in Atlanta public schools, and being a member of certain religious congregations, to name a few.

Laura Grace Tarpley is the associate editor of banking and mortgages at Personal Finance Insider, covering mortgages, refinancing, bank accounts, and bank reviews. She is also a Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF). Over her four years of covering personal finance, she has written extensively about ways to save, invest, and navigate loans.