Farewell, Citibank

As part of my annual financial review, I closed my Citibank checking account, which I have had since coming to the U.S. in 2008.

Before coming to the U.S. to do a Ph.D., I was already investing in U.S. stocks through an online broker, and Citibank was convenient because it operated in Japan at the time and had relatively low international wire transfer fees. So, when I arrived in the U.S. in August 2008, one of the first things I did was to visit the Citibank branch in New Haven to open a checking account.

The main reason I closed the Citibank account is simply that it is dominated by the Fidelity Cash Management account. Citibank does not pay interest on checking accounts (which was not a big deal before the pandemic, because the interest rate was low anyway, but now it is a big deal) and charges $15 for receiving international wire transfers. In contrast, Fidelity’s cash management account pays interest close to the Federal Funds rate (if you put your money in a suitable money market fund), can be used as a regular checking account (they also issue checks), does not charge wire transfer fees, and reimburses ATM fees. So, gradually, I moved all automatic payments and direct deposits to Fidelity. Eventually, Citibank sent me an email stating that they would start charging monthly fees because my average monthly balance was too low, so I decided to close the bank account. I still have their Citi Costco Anywhere Visa Card, which I think is a great credit card.

One thing I hesitated over before closing my bank account is that I occasionally need to deposit cash (such as coins I pick up on the street or bills I get reimbursed in cash), and a bank account is useful for that. However, a while ago, when I tried to deposit coins at Citibank, they refused unless the coins were rolled, so I found them unhelpful. For this purpose, I recently opened a checking account at Capital One, which allows you to deposit cash at CVS Pharmacy, which is convenient.