Citizens Bank Personal Loans Review

Citizens Bank is part of Citizens Financial Group, one of the largest financial institutions in the nation. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, this company boasted a whopping $158.6 billion in assets in the third quarter of 2018.

In addition to its online banking platform, Citizens Bank offers 24/7 customer service and 2,900 ATMs nationwide. The bank also has brick-and-mortar branches in 11 states along with a broad range of financial products ranging from savings accounts to mortgage loans and home equity loans.

Citizens Bank is also a popular option for personal loans, and for good reason. Citizens Bank personal loans come with lower ongoing costs than many competing loans, and consumers with good credit can qualify for a low APR.

Keep reading to learn more about Citizens Bank personal loans, their rates and terms, and who they’re best for.

Citizens Bank Personal Loans: Key Takeaways

Take out an unsecured personal loan with rates between 7.83% and 20.89% APR.
Receive an APR discount of up to 0.50% off for customer loyalty or automatic payments.
Citizens Bank personal loans come with no application fee, no annual fee, no origination fee, and no hidden fees.
Borrow up to $50,000 and repay your loan for up to 7 years.
Receive your loan funds in as little as two business days.

Check Your Personal Loan Rates

Answer a few questions to see which personal loans you pre-qualify for. The process is quick and easy, and it will not impact your credit score.

Get Started

Citizens Bank Personal Loans: Borrow Money with No Fees

Like the best personal loans at some other major banks and online lenders, Citizens Bank offers loans with no fees required. This can make them a lot more affordable than some competing loans that charge an origination fee of up to 6% of your loan amount. With no fees to speak of, Citizens Bank personal loans only require you to repay the amount of money you borrow plus interest charges.

Speaking of interest, Citizens Bank personal loans come with an APR between 7.83% and 20.89% depending on your creditworthiness. You may also qualify for a “Loyalty Discount” if you have other qualifying accounts with Citizens Bank, or if you set up your account for automatic payments each month.

Citizens Bank personal loans let you borrow up to $50,000, which is significantly higher than some lenders that set loan limits of $35,000 or less. You can also repay a personal loan from this lender for up to 84 months, which can help you secure a lower monthly payment each month.

We appreciate the fact Citizens Bank lets borrowers get “pre-qualified” for a loan online with only a soft pull on their credit report. This allows consumers to see if they may qualify — and at what kind of rate — without a hard inquiry to their credit report or any damage to their credit score.

To qualify for a personal loan from Citizens Bank, you’ll need to have a consistent history of on-time bill payments and a minimum income of $24,000. You also need to be a U.S. citizen and have a valid Social Security number. No minimum credit score is specified, however, so we’re unsure how low your score can be to qualify.

Here’s an example of how Citizen’s Bank personal loans can look based on your credit score and the interest rate you qualify for:

Where Citizens Bank Personal Loans Come Up Short

It’s hard to complain about personal loans with low rates and no fees, which is why Citizens Bank gets high marks overall. The main downside of loans from this bank boils down to how their offerings compare to some competitors.

For example, several other top lenders in the personal loan space with no fees have a much lower starting APR. With personal loans from Earnest, for example, the lowest APR for borrowers with great credit is 6.99%. When it comes to personal loans from Marcus by Goldman Sachs, the lowest APR is 5.99%. Each of these lenders also offer loans with no fees — no origination fee, no application fee, no annual fee, and no hidden fees.

Another potential downside of Citizen’s Bank personal loans is the fact they don’t list a minimum credit score requirement. This means you could go through the trouble to apply with a hard inquiry on your credit report only to miss out on a loan altogether. You can get “pre-qualified” with only a soft inquiry, but you’ll still have to complete a full application, and there is no guarantee.

Who Citizens Bank Personal Loans are Best for:

Consumers who can qualify for the lowest APR available and prefer a personal loan with no fees.
Anyone who needs to borrow up to $50,000.
Borrowers who need a longer repayment timeline of up to 84 months.

How We Rate Citizen’s Bank Personal Loans

At The Simple Dollar, we aim to provide a general overview of a lender’s products and services through a standard rating process. After a thorough research and discovery period, here’s how Citizen’s Bank stacks up:

Citizens Bank Personal Loans at a Glance
Overall Rating	Affordability (interest rates, fees, and terms)
	Availability (credit requirements, geographic reach)
	Ease of Use
	Transparency

How to Apply for a Personal Loan from Citizens Bank

Thanks to its robust online platform, applying for a personal loan from Citizens Bank is an easy feat. It all starts with heading to their website and entering your zip code. If you live in an area serviced directly by Citizens Bank, you’ll be able to get pre-qualified for a personal loan directly on their site. If you live in an area not directly serviced by Citizens Bank, on the other hand, you’ll be sent to apply for your personal loan through Citizen One — a lending division of Citizens Bank with a broader area of coverage.

The process to apply is the same either way. Getting pre-qualified for a personal loan will require you to submit the following information:

Desired loan amount
Name
Date of birth
Social security number
Email address
Phone number
Address of residence

Once you submit this information, you’ll receive a loan quote that includes the interest rate you qualify for and how much you can borrow. If you choose to accept, Citizens Bank may be able to deposit your loan funds in your bank account in as little as two business days.

Loan Purpose:

Loan Amount:

Credit Rating:

State:

The Bottom Line

When you need to borrow money and pay it off over several years, a personal loan is often your best bet. Unlike credit cards with variable interest rates and uncertain terms, personal loans come with fixed interest rates, fixed monthly payments, and a fixed repayment policy. This means you can borrow money and know exactly how much you’ll pay each month — and exactly when it will be paid off.

Citizens Bank offers some of the best loans in this space since they come with no origination fee, no annual fee, and no hidden fees. This lender also lets you borrow significantly more than some of the competitors — up to $50,000 — which can be helpful if you need to borrow more than some other lenders offer.

Before you apply with Citizens Bank, however, it can pay to shop around with a few different lenders. Make sure to make an “apples to apples” comparison that considers each loan’s APR, repayment term, monthly payment, and loan fees.

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