The 6% Interest Rate Cap
Citizens Bank SCRA: Email the Military Assistance Team, 30-Day Answer
Part of: The Complete Guide to the SCRA
Citizens Bank runs its SCRA program through a named unit, the Military Assistance Team, and it publishes exactly three ways to reach it: an email address, a fax number, and a mailing address with an internal mail code (verified on citizensbank.com, August 2026). What it does not publish is a phone number. That shapes the whole filing: at Citizens the request is a document, not a call, and the bank commits to a written answer within 30 days.
The rate is the statutory 6%. Citizens writes student loans alongside cards, auto, and mortgages, and its own FAQ names student loans in the covered list, which many bank SCRA pages skip. A $30,000 pre-service private student loan at 11% capped to 6% forgives about $1,500 a year; a $6,000 card balance at 27% forgives about $1,260. Size each account in the savings calculator and, if you served with these accounts open and never filed, read the refund guide before you write.
What Citizens puts in writing
| Protection | Statutory SCRA | Citizens |
|---|---|---|
| Rate cap on pre-service debt | 6% APR | ”Interest rate reduction or limit of 6%,” no lower rate published |
| Payment | Reduced by the forgiven interest | ”Reduction in payment for eligible accounts that have an interest rate above 6%“ |
| Covered products | Most pre-service obligations | Credit cards, auto loans, student loans, mortgage, home equity loans and lines, “but not limited to” |
| Mortgage cap duration | Service plus one year | Stated: “duration of the servicemember’s active duty and for an additional year” |
| Verification | Orders, or creditor DMDC check | Your documents plus a DMDC lookup |
| Decision | No statutory clock | Written response, allow up to 30 days |
| Phone | Not required | None published |
Foreclosure and repossession protection is on the list too; that lives in § 3953 and, for mortgages, in Citizens’ Loan Solution Center page, which repeats the Military Assistance Team’s email, fax, and address under “Important information for Servicemembers.”
Getting the 6% applied
File your SCRA request with Citizens Bank
- List every Citizens account opened before your active-duty start date: cards, auto, student loans, mortgage, home equity loan or line. Write down each account number.
- Draft the request with your name, account numbers, and contact information, and attach a copy of your most recent orders calling you to active duty (plus any extension orders). The letter generator produces a § 3937 letter in that shape. If someone is filing for you, add their name and contact information as Citizens asks.
- Send it to the Military Assistance Team: email MilitaryAssistance@citizensbank.com, fax 855-872-1791, or mail Citizens Bank, Military Assistance Team - JCA150, One Citizens Bank Way, Johnston, RI 02919. Keep the sent email, fax confirmation, or mailing receipt.
- Calendar day 30. Citizens says to allow up to thirty days for a written response. If nothing arrives, resend to the same channel with the original date noted.
- When the letter comes, compare it to your statements: 6% on each listed account, payment reduced, and the adjustment back to your active-duty start date. Any account missing from the letter gets a follow-up naming it.
Where Citizens borrowers lose the cap
Calling the general line is not filing. With no SCRA phone number published, a call to Citizens customer service can only point you back to the email, fax, and address above. Send the document first, then use the phone to confirm receipt if you want. The written request is what starts the 30-day clock and what § 3937(b) requires.
Two fax numbers live on the same page. 855-872-1791 is for SCRA benefit requests. The other number on the page, 1.877.362.6343, is for a different service: the authorization letter Citizens issues if you want to take a financed vehicle out of the country while deployed (send your dates, orders, and insurance information; Citizens says it mails that letter within two business days). Faxing your rate request to the vehicle line, or the reverse, costs you the cycle.
“Most recent orders” can leave a gap. Citizens asks for the orders calling you to active duty. If you have been extended, send the extension orders as well so the cap runs the full period; the statute lets you file any orders “further extending military service.” Guard and Reserve members should confirm the orders show federal active duty, per the eligibility guide.
Refinancing resets the date. Citizens’ covered list includes student loans and home equity, two products people refinance. A loan refinanced or consolidated after your active-duty start date is new debt and loses the cap; see refinancing before active duty before you touch a covered balance.
The Loan Solution Center is hardship servicing, not SCRA intake. Citizens’ mortgage assistance page mentions the SCRA and repeats the Military Assistance Team contacts, but its application flow is for borrowers who cannot pay. You do not need to be behind to claim the 6% cap, and you do not need to enter loss mitigation to get it. See how Citizens compares with banks that publish a phone desk on the bank leaderboard, and check the phone directory for lenders that do.
The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3937
Maximum rate of interest on debts incurred before military service: read the statute.
Frequently asked questions
How do I request SCRA benefits from Citizens Bank?
Send a written request with your name, account number, contact information, and a copy of your most recent military orders calling you to active duty to the Military Assistance Team: email MilitaryAssistance@citizensbank.com, fax 855-872-1791, or mail Citizens Bank, Military Assistance Team - JCA150, One Citizens Bank Way, Johnston, RI 02919 (verified on citizensbank.com, August 2026). Citizens publishes no SCRA phone number.
How long does Citizens take to decide?
Its page says the Military Assistance Team uses your documents plus the Department of Defense Manpower Data Center to determine eligibility, and to allow up to thirty (30) days to receive a written response. Mark the date you sent the request and follow up in writing if the letter has not arrived by day 30.
Which Citizens accounts can get the 6% cap?
Citizens lists credit cards, automobile loans, student loans, mortgages, and home equity loans and lines of credit as examples of pre-service credit obligations that may be eligible, and it says the list is not exhaustive. The account must predate your qualifying active-duty service.
Can my spouse or someone else file for me?
Yes. Citizens says that if you are requesting benefits on behalf of someone else, include that person's information as well. Its mortgage page also states that you and your dependents may be entitled to rights under the SCRA. Include the servicemember's orders and account numbers either way.
Does Citizens offer a rate below 6% or waive fees?
No lower rate and no fee-waiver language appears on the page. The benefits it lists are the interest rate reduction or limit of 6%, a payment reduction on eligible accounts above 6%, and protection from foreclosure and repossession. Under 50 U.S.C. 3937(d) fees count as interest under the 6% ceiling, so ask for the fee treatment in writing.
Sources
Heads up: SCRA Saver publishes general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs. Confirm details with your installation legal assistance office (free for service members) or a licensed professional.