Texell Credit Union (TX) Offers Rate-Leading 3-Year CD Statewide

Texell Credit Union (Texell) has been offering “uni-rate” Certificates for the last three months. Following recent across-the-board rate increases, the 12-, 18-, 24-, 36-, and 48-month Certificates all earn 4.90% APY. Of those five Certificates, the 36-month is the most competitive. Any Texell Certificate can be opened with a minimum $1k deposit, with no stated balance cap.

The 36-month Certificate is also available as an IRA Certificate (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.

I had hoped that Texell CU’s onerous Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) had been replaced with a more member-friendly EWP. Unfortunately, the EWP hasn’t changed. For standard terms up to 60 months, the EWP is half of the earned dividends. The Membership and Account Agreement and Disclosures reads as follows:

The Credit Union will terminate the Certificate Account and impose a penalty on the entire balance of the account if a withdrawal of principal is made prior to the Maturity Date. The amount of the penalty will vary based on the Certificate’s term to maturity, as stated below:

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Terms of thirty-six (36) months or less: eighteen (18) months’ dividends.

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Excess Share Insurance

Deposits at Texell are fully insured up to $500,000: at least $250,000 by the NCUA and $250,000 by Excess Share Insurance, the nation’s largest provider of excess share insurance since 1993.

With ESI Excess Share Insurance in place, a member may have as much as an additional $250,000 of coverage, raising their total deposit insurance protection on their individual share accounts to as much as $500,000.

Availability

Headquartered in Temple, Texas, Texell Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) now includes a statewide easy membership requirement. Any Texas resident who is a current member of the Texas Consumer Council or who would like to join the Texas Consumer Council is eligible for Texell membership. The Texas Consumer Council membership fee will be paid for by Texell.

Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in the Texas counties of Bell, Bosque, Burnet, Coryell, Falls, Hill, Lampasas, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Travis, or Williamson are also eligible to join.

Immediate family members of a current Texell member are also welcome to apply.

Account Opening

Joining Texell can be done online or at any of eight full-service Texas branches located in Belton, Cedar Park, Georgetown, Killeen, Temple (3), and Woodway.

All members of Texell have a savings account as their ownership in the Credit Union. We require just $5 to open your savings account, and that $5 will stay on deposit for the life of your account.

Existing Texell members can open a Certificate at any of the above-mentioned branch locations, by logging into the Texell Digital Banking platform, or by calling 254.773.1604.

According to CSR, those joining Texell can open a Certificate after the membership application is approved. CSR stated the funds to open a Certificate must be on deposit in a Texall savings account before the actual Certificate opening. (FYI – the online application limits funding by debit card and/or bank account transfer to $1k.)

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from a Live Chat.

• Funding – ACH, wire (no fee), check, internal transfer.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited quarterly and can be transferred to a Texell savings account.
• Maturing Funds – Automatically transferred to a Texell savings account, after which funds can be distributed by cashier’s check to address on file or by wire transfer ($20 fee).
• Beneficiaries – Unlimited, equal shares, Social Security numbers are not required.
• Grace Period – 7 calendar days before automatic renewal.
• Credit Check – Hard pull when joining Texell CU.

Credit Union Overview

Texell Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 4.70% (excellent) based on September 30, 2022 data. In the past year, Texell has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $57.68 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 12.09%. Please refer to our financial overview of Texell Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 68608) for more details.

Texell Credit Union was founded in 1948 to serve the employees of the Temple Post Office, the Temple Veterans Administration Center, and the Temple Soil Conservation Service. Membership was expanded in 1983 to include the Temple Public School Teachers and the City of Temple, necessitating a new name: Temple Area Federal Credit Union. In 2002, following another membership expansion to include all of Bell County, the name was changed to Texell Credit Union. Currently the 53rd largest credit union headquartered in Texas, Texell Credit Union has nearly 48,000 members and assets in excess of $621 million.

How the 36-Month Share Certificate Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Texell Credit Union 36-month Share Certificate. The following table compares the 36-month Share Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 2/25/2023.

To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.