SEFCU is the epitome of what a credit union should be
Written: Feb 22 '01 (Updated Mar 25 '08)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Web Site Experience: |
|
|
| Web Site Load Time: |
|
|
|
Pros: Easy to manage your accounts; awesome web site; good interest rates; eligibility for membership
Cons: Slightly inconvenient branch locations and hours.
The Bottom Line: At a bank you're a customer, at SEFCU you're a MEMBER - the difference is amazing!
|
|
|
| Chad9976's Full Review: State Employees Federal Credit Union (Albany, NY) |
SEFCU - Banking made simple
The first thing most people look for in a bank is the general service aspect. Is it going to be easy or difficult to put my money in and get my money out? How close are the branches? Can I do any banking at home? SEFCU realized the answers to these questions YEARS ago while some commercial banks STILL haven't figured out how to satisfy their customers' needs.
When you get an account at SEFCU you must open a savings account that has a minimum balance of only $25 - that's it! And you earn interest on whatever amount you have in there above the $25. You may also opt for a checking account, CDs, IRAs, "preferred" savings and a "make-your-own-savings-account" feature. The best part about all this is that they all fall under the exact same account number which is only six digits.
Most of the big banks give you separate account numbers for your checking and savings and CDs and whatever else you have and then those account numbers are usually some 20-digit combination of letters and numbers you'll never be able to remember. Don't you think having your checking and savings and loans all under the same account number is a MAJOR convenience? Yes, there is a suffix for each feature but that's easy to remember too. In fact, in 99% of the cases in which you deal with paperwork or instructing the tellers at the branches what you want to do with your money they’ll know what you mean. I should know, I was a teller there for a year and the only time a conflict occurred is when someone had a lot of money in both their standard savings account and their "preferred" savings.
Be your own teller
I think what sets SEFCU apart from every other bank and credit union is their home access features. A lot of people are wary of letting a stranger do their transactions for them so why not do it yourself? SEFCU offers two ways for you to do this, an automated telephone service called DIAL (direct inward access line) and through their webpage at www.sefcu.com.
DIAL is really convenient if you're on the road and you know you're going to have to stop at an ATM on the way home and get cash, but you need to transfer some money into your account from one of your other accounts. You can transfer within your account at an ATM except to/from the preferred savings account (see below), but if you have two or more accounts you can't transfer at the machine that way. Instead, sign up for DIAL for all your accounts and list all the accounts you want to be able to transfer to and from (okay, this involves a bit of paperwork and stopping in at the branch but if you do it right when you open your accounts you won't have to think about it later).
As great as DIAL is I think SEFCU Online is even better. A lot of banks now offer their members ways to access and do transactions on their accounts via a web page. The problem is almost all commercial banks charge a fee for this service and there are still many banks that have yet to even get online! SEFCU was online YEARS ago, which is symbolic of how ahead of the times they are.
SEFCU Online is an easy service to use. You go to the web page, enter your account number and password and all your account information is available. You see the same stuff the teller at the branch sees! This is great because you can see what checks have cleared and when. In fact, you can actually see scans of the checks themselves and all the stamps and processing they’ve undergone. There’s no reason to have to order a physical canceled check anymore since you can download and print them out at home for free.
Preferred Savings
Don't you think the more money you have the more interest you should make on it? SEFCU does, that's why they offer a second savings called the preferred savings. There's absolutely no minimum balance required, but once you have more than $2,500 in there you start to earn a higher interest rate than the generic savings. More interest for doing nothing? THAT'S TOTALLY FREE MONEY!!! WHO WOULDN'T WANT THAT?!!? (the "catch" is you can't access this savings at an ATM).
They were one of the first banks to introduce the Visa Check Card
I’ve been on board since Day 1. Almost every retailer accepts Visa for payment, but instead of having to deal with cash and coins that have been God-knows-where I just use my Visa check card. When you use cash to pay for something and the total comes to, say, $8.55 and you pay with a $10 bill you get $1.45 cash back but you think of it as spending $9 right? Well, with the VCC all that change is still in your account and that can really add up and play a vital role when you need it later. Use it everywhere Visa is accepted. If you have money in your account it will clear, if you don't, it won't. It's not a credit card so there's no interest to pay on it.
Other services:
CDs: they require a minimum deposit of $500 and come in a variety of terms from as low as 3 months to as long as 5 years. Their rates also change on a monthly basis which is why you might want to consider the "18-month Risk Free CD" which is a CD you put your money into, and are able to convert it into a fixed CD without penalty anytime within the 18 months. This allows you to wait out the market, so if you think rates are going to go up, get the risk-free account and switch it over to a fixed term CD and begin to make money on that rate! And just another note, SEFCU CD's are all computer-based - there's no piece of paper you have to keep track of.
MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT: Here's a way to play the stock market without risking a penny! This account requires a minimum deposit of $1,500 and your money will be invested in the S&P 500 for 18 months. When the term expires you'll get a percentage of how much higher the S&P is then compared to when you opened the account. If it's lower you lose absolutely no money and get your original deposit back, if it's higher - well, you've just made some money. It's a bit of a gamble but if you can play the stock market this might be a good investment for your.
Speaking of investments SEFCU has its own wing of investment services through which to put your money into stocks and bonds and mutual funds. Why go to a commercial brokerage house or risk screwing it up doing it yourself? Let the people who already handle your money help you make even more money. Remember, SEFCU is a credit union, not a bank, so they really don't have the intent to squander your money. Some brokers won't sell your stock if it begins to tank, but SEFCU is there to do whatever you want them to do.
Conclusion
If the thought of “The Bank” is dreadful or even indifferent to you, give SEFCU a look. The services offered here are so much better than traditional banks, you’ll look forward to doing business with them.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
Chad9976
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: Chad Polenz
Location: Albany, New York
Reviews written: 664
Trusted by: 149 members
About Me:Check out Chad'z Beer Reviews on YouTube
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.