Citi Regular Checking

Regular Checking is the standard consumer checking account inside Citi's Simplified Banking structure, which reorganized the bank's retail lineup into two checking accounts, Regular and the cheaper $5 Access Checking, plus a set of relationship tiers. Citi's Simplified Banking Fact Sheet dated July 9, 2026 is the governing document for the numbers below. Regular Checking carries a $15 monthly service fee. It goes to $0 in any month with $250 or more in direct deposits or other qualifying transactions, or if you hold Citi Priority, Citigold, or Citigold Private Client relationship tier status. Those tiers begin at $30,000 in combined average monthly balance for Citi Priority, so for most people the $250 deposit test is the only realistic route. There is no minimum opening deposit, though accounts left at a zero balance are subject to closure after 90 days. The standout feature is overdrafts, or rather the absence of a charge for them. Citi states plainly that it will not charge an overdraft fee. Against $102 a day at Chase and $105 at Wells Fargo, that is the single biggest practical difference among the big four accounts. Safety Check can cover an overdraft by transferring from a linked money market or savings account, and a Checking Plus variable rate line of credit is available on Regular Checking subject to credit approval. Citi still warns that its willingness to permit overdrafts is discretionary and can be withdrawn. The catch sits at the ATM. Citi charges $2.50 per non-Citi ATM transaction, and the fact sheet is explicit that this fee cannot be waived on Regular Checking by any deposit activity. Only relationship tier status removes it. Citi's branch network is also small and concentrated in a handful of large metro areas, so if you do not live near one, the un-waivable ATM fee is a recurring tax on getting your own cash. Citi does not publish an APY for Regular Checking either, so it should not be treated as a place to hold savings. This account suits someone with a steady $250 monthly deposit who wants a large bank, occasionally overdraws, and lives near Citi branches or Citi ATMs. Skip it if you withdraw cash often outside the network, if you are chasing yield, or if your deposits are irregular, because $180 a year for a no interest account with a fee you cannot escape at the ATM is a poor trade against free online checking.