Citizens Bank Launches Citizens Access Digital Platform Powered by FIS
In July 2018, Citizens Bank launched Citizens Access, a cloud-hosted direct banking platform designed to gather deposits nationwide. The platform was built in just eight months using a dozen integrated FIS solutions, functioning as a 'bank in a box' offering high-interest savings accounts and CDs with no fees. Citizens Access achieved remarkable early traction, accumulating over $1 billion in new deposits within its first 90 days, with an average account size exceeding $70,000.
The initiative was strategically designed to provide Citizens Bank with a reliable, scalable deposit source to support its nationwide lending operations. FIS served as the core technology partner, providing the integrated suite of solutions that enabled the rapid build and cloud-native deployment. The success of the launch led to an expanded partnership between Citizens Bank and FIS to explore additional features such as trusts and beneficiary management.
- Demonstrated that traditional banks could rapidly deploy cloud-native digital banking platforms using integrated BaaS-style vendor solutions
- Validated the 'bank in a box' model where a technology provider supplies a full-stack solution enabling rapid time-to-market for new banking products