Banks and Credit Unions Offering Help to Coronavirus-Hit Customers

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is already resulting in mass unemployment, and those with loans, mortgages and credit card debt will be the ones most in need of help from banks. Savers may not be worried about making loan payments, but there are other potential problems they may face as the pandemic continues. In addition to offering help on the loan and credit side, many banks and credit unions are offering help on the deposit side. This post provides a listing of the banks and credit unions that have announced specific support for their deposit customers and members.

This listing is divided into three categories. All are specific to deposit accounts. These include fee waivers on checking and savings accounts, waivers on CD early withdrawal penalties, and waivers on reward checking account requirements.

I plan to keep this list updated. If you learn of a bank or credit union that has announced help for depositors that are not listed below, please leave a comment.

Checking and Savings Account Fee Waivers

Several banks and credit unions have announced temporary waivers for various checking and savings account fees. Some have listed the specific fees and waiver policies while others have discussed help in more general terms by saying customers should call and discuss their banking issues.

Ally Bank fee waivers

• overdraft fees
• expedited checks and debit card fees
• excessive transaction fees on savings and money market accounts

Excerpts from Ally Bank’s coronavirus response page:

Starting now until 7/16/20, we’re waiving fees for overdrafts, plus expediting checks and debit cards at no charge

If you make more than 6 withdrawals per statement cycle from your savings or money market account between now and 7/16/20, we won’t charge an excessive transaction fee

For more discussion, please refer to my review of Ally’s Pandemic Relief Package. To view Ally rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Ally Bank profile page.

Citi fee waivers

• monthly service fees
• remote deposit capture fees (small business customers)

For waivers on CD early withdrawal penalties, please see below.

Excerpts from Citi’s update and resource page:

If you're impacted by COVID-19, contact us for assistance that may be available to you. Effective Monday March 9, 2020 for an initial thirty days:

• For Retail Bank Customers: Fee waivers on monthly service fees; waived penalties for early CD withdrawal
• For Retail Bank Small Business Customers: Fee waivers on monthly service fees and remote deposit capture; waived penalties for early CD withdrawal; Bankers available after hours and on weekends for support

To view Citi rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Citi profile page.

CIT Bank fee waivers

• ATM fees
• Overdraft fees

For waivers on CD early withdrawal penalties, please see below.

Excerpt from CIT Bank’s press release page.

At its national direct bank, the company is waiving fees for ATMs, overdrafts and early withdrawals on CDs, as well as working to increase the daily ATM withdrawal limits for those needing access to funds as a result of COVID-19. Banking online and via mobile is also available.

To view CIT Bank rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the CIT Bank profile page.

Fifth Third Bank fee waivers

• select fees for Business Banking deposit accounts and services
• fees for a range of consumer products and services

Excerpts from Fifth Third’s COVID-19 Update page.

• Business Banking Fee Waiver Program: We will refund select fees for 90 days for Business Banking deposit accounts and services. Please contact 877-534-2264 or your banker for details.
• Consumer Fee Waiver Program: Fee waivers for up to 90 days for a range of consumer products and services.

To view Fifth Third rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Fifth Third Bank profile page.

Navy Federal Credit Union fee waivers

• Overdraft fee refunds
• Free overnight shipping on cashier's checks and debit cards
• waiving cash transfer fees

For waivers on CD early withdrawal penalties, please see below.

Excerpts from Navy Federal’s COVID-19 response page.

• Overdraft fee refunds: eMessage us
• Free overnight shipping on cashier's checks and debit cards. Get what you need delivered to your home.
• No cash transfer fees. We're waiving cash transfer fees.

To view Navy Federal rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Navy Federal Credit Union profile page.

PNC fee waivers

• monthly service charges
• overdraft fees

Excerpt from PNC’s coronavirus updates page.

PNC is prepared to assist those directly impacted customers by waiving or refunding certain fees associated with deposit accounts such as monthly service charges and overdraft fees. Customers can contact us, and we will work with you directly

To view PNC rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the PNC Bank profile page.

Truist (Sun Trust/BB&T) fee waivers

• ATM surcharge fees

Excerpt from Truist’s Coronavirus Response page.

Temporarily waiving ATM surcharge fees to help consumers and businesses access cash with greater confidence.

To view Truist rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the profile pages of Truist Financial, Sun Trust and BB&T.

CD Early Withdrawal Penalty Waivers

Unemployment or medical expenses could necessitate savers to break their CDs to access the money. That’s the intent of banks and credit unions that are offering waivers on CD early withdrawal penalties (EWPs). If you do need money from your CD, it would be wise to consider other options besides closing the CD, even if the EWP is waived. Closing a CD with a decent interest rate will likely reduce your future interest earnings. CD rates have fallen and will likely fall more in response to this new zero-interest rate environment.

One alternative to an early closure of a CD is a withdrawal of accrued interest. If you open a CD and specify that interest be added back to the CD, interest will continue to build in the CD account. Typically, interest is credited to the CD on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Many banks and credit unions will allow you to withdraw credited interest without penalty.

If not enough interest has been earned, there’s sometimes the possibility of doing a partial withdrawal of the principal. That allows you to only withdraw the amount that you need. The rest can then remain in a CD to continue to earn interest. Unfortunately, many banks and credit unions don’t allow partial early withdrawals of principal. To access the principal, a CD closure and full withdrawal of the principal and interest is necessary.

If you need money from a CD in today’s environment and your bank hasn’t offered to waive the early withdrawal penalty, it would be a good idea not only to request a penalty-free early withdrawal, but also a partial withdrawal if you only need some of the CD funds.

Below is a list of banks and credit unions that have publicly announced waivers of CD early withdrawal penalties.

Citi’s waiver of penalties for early CD withdrawals

Excerpts from Citi’s update and resource page:

If you're impacted by COVID-19, contact us for assistance that may be available to you. Effective Monday March 9, 2020 for an initial thirty days:

• For Retail Bank Customers: Fee waivers on monthly service fees; waived penalties for early CD withdrawal
• For Retail Bank Small Business Customers: Fee waivers on monthly service fees and remote deposit capture; waived penalties for early CD withdrawal; Bankers available after hours and on weekends for support

To view Citi rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Citi profile page.

CIT Bank’s waiver of penalties on early withdrawals of CDs

Excerpt from CIT Bank’s press release page.

At its national direct bank, the company is waiving fees for ATMs, overdrafts and early withdrawals on CDs, as well as working to increase the daily ATM withdrawal limits for those needing access to funds as a result of COVID-19. Banking online and via mobile is also available.

To view CIT Bank rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the CIT Bank profile page.

Citizens Access’ waiver of penalties on CD early withdrawals

Excerpts from Citizens Access’ customers care page.

waiving CD early withdrawal penalties upon request. We will maintain this “waiver upon request” for the next 30 days, and will reassess the situation at that time.

To view Citizens Access rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Citizens Access profile page.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs’s waiver of penalties for CD early withdrawal

Excerpts from Marcus’s customer support page.

If you have a high-yield CD with Marcus and need access to your funds, we will waive the early withdrawal penalty should you need to withdraw funds from your account prior to maturity. In the meantime, your CD account will continue to accrue interest as scheduled.

To request a penalty-free withdrawal of your CD funds, please call us toll free at 1-855-730-SAVE (1-855-730-7283).

To view Marcus rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Goldman Sachs Bank USA profile page.

Navy Federal Credit Union’s waiver of penalties for certificate early withdrawal

Excerpts from Navy Federal’s COVID-19 response page.

No early withdrawal penalties on certificates. We understand you might need access to your savings, so we’ll be waiving penalties for early withdrawals on certificates.

To view a discussion of this waiver, please refer to this DA Forum thread on Navy Federal’s EWP waivers. To view Navy Federal rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Navy Federal Credit Union profile page.

Reward Checking Debit Card Requirement Waivers

This waiver is probably the least well-known waiver since reward checking accounts are still not widely known. Nevertheless, this might be the waiver that savers find most helpful.

High-yield reward checking accounts such as Kasasa Cash accounts require monthly activities to qualify for the high interest rate. If those requirements aren’t met for the month, the customer will receive a much lower interest rate for that month. Most all reward checking accounts have debit card usage requirements, such as making 10 debit card purchases for the month.

Making debit card purchases in today’s environment could be difficult if you have to be quarantined. A couple of institutions have announced that they are temporarily waiving the monthly debit card purchase requirements.

Iowa State Bank Kasasa Cash requirement waiver

Excerpt from email sent to customers:

Have at least 10 debit card purchases post and settle (ATM withdrawals do not count) - Waived for cycle period March 10, 2020 and ending April 13, 2020

To view Iowa State Bank rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Iowa State Bank profile page.

Lake Michigan Credit Union Max Checking requirement waiver

Excerpt from Lake Michigan’s COVID-19 Update page.

Max Checking requirement waived. Typically, Max Checking account holders must use their debit or credit card at least ten times in a given month to qualify for the 3.00% interest rate. Under normal circumstances, most of us do this in the first week, but these aren’t normal circumstances, so we’ll waive this requirement for March and April.

To view Lake Michigan rates, financial data, posts and reviews, please refer to the Lake Michigan Credit Union profile page.