We're ready to be there for you. We understand the tremendous amount of financial and personal stress the COVID-19 crisis has caused. If you need relief or have any concerns or questions about your financial situation, please contact us. In the meantime, we're making the following commitment to our customers, communities, and colleagues impacted by COVID-19.
Helpful Services & Resources
Conveniently Bank From Home
Citizens One has many quick and convenient ways to manage your accounts without leaving the house.
Safeguard Your Personal Information
Financial Assistance For You
If you have been impacted by COVID-19 and are facing financial hardship, please reach out to us to discuss the ways we can help provide relief to you.
For Consumers
- Payment assistance for up to 90 days (varies by product - Auto, Credit Card, Mortgage, Student Loans, Home Equity Loans, Home Equity Lines of Credit)
- Late fee waivers (Auto, Credit Card, Home Equity Loans, Home Equity Lines of Credit, Mortgage, Student Loans)
- Home foreclosure suspension for up to 60 days: This is automatic; there is no need to contact us
- Auto repossession suspension: This is automatic, there is no need to contact us
If you are in need of assistance, please contact us. Please note that we're currently receiving higher than normal call volumes as we help our customers through this difficult time. To expedite service, please identify yourself using your account number. Thank you for your patience!
Our branches will remain open 6 days a week with temporary changes to our branch hours and practices.
We’re ready to step up for communities and local businesses. We’ve made a $5 million commitment to provide financial support for urgent needs today and for long-term recovery tomorrow, including:
- $900K to COVID-19 relief funds
- $2M in grants to our small business customers
- $2.2M to agencies helping other small businesses recover
Learn more about our commitment to helping our small business customers recover.
Learn more about our overall commitment to the community.
We're ready to be there for the team that's there for you. Since banking is an essential service, we have a responsibility to keep branches and call centers open. In the words of our Chief Human Resources Officer Susan La Monica, "When your well-being is top of mind, you can better serve others in your life. Your families and loved ones need a physically and emotionally healthy you."
To ensure our employees' safety and welfare, we've taken a number of steps aligned with public health agency guidelines, including:
- Providing resources that reinforce hygiene and self-care best practices. For example, colleagues enrolled in our benefits can schedule virtual doctor's appointments, and colleagues also have access to tools for managing stress and anxiety
- Enhancing the maintenance and cleaning of our branches, offices, and other facilities
- Enabling alternate, technology-based work arrangements for non-branch employees
- Practicing social distancing and constantly evaluating public service areas
- Offering additional paid time off and flexibility to accommodate various family situations
- Adjusting our branch model with social distancing, appointment-only lobbies and promoting use of drive-ups
- Working with local small business customers to surprise on-site employees across our branch and corporate locations with lunch (while adhering to safety and social distancing protocols, of course)
Lastly, we understand the strain this has put on our critical colleagues who come into the office or branch in order to meet customer needs. That's why we're providing them with additional compensation (premium pay) each day they work on-site.
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Responding to the needs of the communities we serve is at the heart of the Citizens Credo and we stand ready to help our neighbors during this unprecedented time.
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Read the full message
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How do I protect myself from fraud related to COVID-19?
Fear and confusion create an ideal climate for scammers. Now, more than ever, it's important to be on alert for fraud, email phishing, and bogus requests for your personal information.
Economic Impact Payments
With the release of the Economic Impact Payments ("stimulus payments"), fraudsters and scammers may take advantage of this opportunity. For example:
- Scammers may try to get you to sign over your check to them.
- Scammers may use this as an opportunity to get you to "verify" your filing information in order to receive your money, using your personal information at a later date to file false tax returns in an identity theft scheme.
Being aware of these kinds of efforts is always smart. Here are some facts and tips which might help you protect yourself:
- The IRS will deposit your check into the direct deposit account you previously provided on your tax return (or, in the alternative, send you a paper check).
- The IRS will not call and ask you to verify your payment details. Do not give out your bank account, debit account, or PayPal account information - even if someone claims it's necessary to get your stimulus check. It's a scam.
- If you receive a call, don't engage with scammers or thieves, even if you want to tell them that you know it's a scam. Just hang up.
- If you receive texts or emails claiming that you can get your money faster by sending personal information or clicking on links, delete them. Don't click on any links in those emails.
- Reports are also swirling about bogus checks. If you receive a “stimulus check” for an odd amount (especially one with cents), or a check that requires that you verify the check online or by calling a number, it’s fraud.
Learn more about Economic Impact Payments ("stimulus payments").
Tips for catching and reporting suspicious emails:
- Inspect emails for grammatical, spelling, or other errors, even those claiming to be from CDC or WHO.
- At no time will you ever receive an email or call from the bank asking for your login credentials.
- Before clicking links, hover over them to see the URL. Search it to make sure the link is legitimate before clicking.
- If you suspect an email is fraudulent, DO NOT REPLY TO THE EMAIL! Attach the emails you received to a new email and send to abuse@citizensbank.com, or contact us. Delete it from your inbox.
Spam links:
The FBI says to be wary of emails claiming to be from the Center of Disease Control (CDC), but also be alert to any suspicious email from a sender you don’t recognize. A short inspection can go a long way in discerning potential harm.
Impersonation calls:
You may receive a call from someone pretending to be with the IRS asking you to reroute your stimulus check to pay off a preexisting debt. Or the IRS imposter might claim that you need to provide your Social Security number to receive your stimulus check. Don’t provide this information. The IRS will never call you to ask for this information.
If you call the Citizens One call center, you may be asked to provide personal information in order to verify your identity. In that instance, it’s OK to provide some personal information. However, that is very different than someone calling you first, because you can’t be sure the person reaching out to you can be trusted.
Learn what the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and the CFPB (Consumer Finance Protection Bureau) are doing to protect you from coronavirus scams.
Learn more about how to protect yourself from COVID-19 fraud scams.
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What is a digital wallet and is it secure?
A digital wallet captures electronic and mobile payment services through your mobile phone that give you access to your accounts without needing to carry around your physical wallet with individual cards. Learn More to understand the benefits digital wallets, including security of a digital wallet.
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Your Citizens One Student Loan Info: The federal government recently announced that interest will not accrue and payments will not be due for a period of 6 months on federal student loans. Does this apply to my Citizens One Student Loan or Citizens One Education Refinance loan?
Citizens One student loans are privately funded, so our assistance program differs from the federal act approved on March 27, 2020. We understand that these are difficult times for many of our customers and we're ready to help. We are offering our student loan customers the following relief:
- No late fees through June 2020 to help ease any financial worry you may have.
- Offering a 3-month COVID-19 emergency loan forbearance option, a form of repayment relief temporarily postponing your payments. Although interest will still accrue during this 3-month period, it will not be capitalized and payment will not be due until forbearance period has ended.
- If you experience financial hardship beyond the initial 3-month forbearance, you have the option to request an additional 3-month emergency loan forbearance extension (providing payment relief for a total of 6 months).
- COVID-19 specific forbearance options will not count towards your forbearance allowance. Given these difficult times, this is considered an emergency offering so your future forbearance allowance will not be impacted, or prevent you from being approved for forbearance in the future should you need it.
- These forbearances will not affect your credit score.
If you are in need of the emergency forbearance, please contact Firstmark Services at 1-866-259-3768. We understand this is a difficult time and we are making every effort to accommodate our customers' needs.
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I heard that you are offering a 3-month forbearance on Citizens One student loans. How will that impact my loan and am I eligible?
Due to the recent events brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are making every effort to help our customers. All borrowers will be eligible for a 3-month forbearance should they need it. Forbearance is a form of repayment relief temporarily postponing your payments for that period. Interest will continue to accrue on your loan, but it will not be capitalized at the end of the period. If you are still experiencing financial difficulty at the end of this 3-month period you can request an additional 3-month forbearance. Upon completion of the forbearance, your loan would re-amortize, and your monthly payment amount would be adjusted. These forbearances will not count against your forbearance allowance as part of your loan agreement. If you are in need of the 3-month forbearance, please contact Firstmark Services at 1-866-259-3768.
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Refinancing Student Loans: How do the recent announcements around federal student loans in response to the COVID-19 crisis affect my decision to refinance my student loans?
The federal government announced that interest will not accrue and payments will not be due for a period of 6 months on federal student loans. We recommend that all customers with federal student loan debt carefully consider their options before refinancing with a private student loan. This interest free period is beneficial to customers and we advise you to consider these benefits during the six month period and over the life of the loan prior to refinancing. When you refinance, you waive any current and potential future benefits of your federal loans and replace those with the benefits of the Education Refinance Loan.
Depending on your rate and amount borrowed, refinancing may still be a good lifetime savings option for you. We are here to help you think through what might be your best option. Please call us at 1-888-716-4780.
Please carefully review your current and potential future benefits on your federal loans before refinancing.
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I have a student loan with Citizens One and my school is going to refund my room and board costs for the spring semester – how will this affect my loan?
Many schools are giving students a choice between returning funds to the student, crediting a future semester or returning loan proceeds to us. If your school sends us back the funds through normal cancellation routines by the end of May 2020, we will credit your loan for the principal returned and waive any accrued interest for this time. Should you choose to take the funds or receive future credit your loan would remain as is. If you need assistance please contact Firstmark services at 1-866-259-3768.
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What precautions is Citizens One taking due to COVID-19?
Citizens One has been closely monitoring the coronavirus situation. The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority. We’re working with several external agencies to stay current with any developments and are aligned with the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Actions have been taken to protect the welfare of all involved should an outbreak impact Citizens One and the communities where we live and work. We’re deeply committed to the welfare of our colleagues and ensuring customers can access banking services without interruption.
- Our efforts include:
- Assembling a dedicated team of leaders and experts to continuously monitor this fluid situation
- Following our comprehensive pandemic plans to minimize disruption
- Ensuring that vendors that support critical functions are prepared and acting responsibly
- Monitoring and limiting colleague travel and ensuring proper health protocols are in place
- Providing extensive resources and guidance for our colleagues and customers
- Taking proactive measures in line with the industry to ensure the highest level of preparedness
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Where can I get more information on COVID-19?
For the most up to date information about COVID-19, we recommend visiting the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website, or the World Health Organization (WHO) website.
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How do I request a loan or payment deferment?
Credit Card, Home Equity Line of Credit, Personal Loan or Vehicle Loan deferment
If you use Online Banking, please login and navigate to Contact Us to request a deferment.
If you do not have an Online Banking User ID and Password, please click here to request a deferment.
Other Products
Please visit our Financial Assistance For You section for more information.
Stay up to date on the latest on COVID-19 from the experts:
