Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union Adds 6.18% APY 12-Month CD
As one of my friends said earlier this week, “You can tell it’s Halloween because all the stores are decked out for Christmas!” Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union (Bayer Heritage) seems to be following that marketing strategy with its current “Out of this World Deals” for the holiday season. In addition to a couple of “Santa Helper” loans, Bayer Heritage is also offering a wow-worthy 6.183% APY on its ”Sas-Squash” 12-month Share Certificate, which is available now through November 30, 2023. (I haven’t quite figured out the Sasquash Santa relationship; perhaps Sasquash is a really big elf who specializes in really big rates? FYI – “Sasquash” is Bayer Heritage’s spelling. Everyone knows the proper spelling is “Sasquatch.”)
The details for the limited-time 12-month Share Certificate can be found on the landing page.
- Offer includes share and IRA Certificates.
- New money only.
- Minimum opening deposit of $100.
- Maximum opening deposit of $100,000; no additional deposits or contributions allowed.
- Subject to early withdrawal penalty.
- Offer limited to one special rate share or IRA certificate per BHFCU membership; additional certificates opened during promotion will not qualify for promotional rate.
- Upon renewal, share and IRA certificates will auto-renew into like term at the going rate.
- BHFCU reserves the right to change or discontinue offer without notice at any time.
12-month Jumbo Share Certificate Special
The Bayer Heritage 12-month Jumbo Share Certificate Special I wrote about in early October is still available and continues to offers tiered rates of 5.81% APY ($500k min) and 5.76% APY ($250k min).
| APY | MIN | MAX | INSTITUTION | PRODUCT | DETAILS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.81*% | $500k | - | Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union | 12 Month Jumbo Share Certificate Special | |
| OTHER TIERS: 5.76% → $250k - $500k | |||||
Early Withdrawal Penalty
As stated at the bottom of the Dividends Rate page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:
12 months – Earned dividend on total certificate principal or three months’ dividends on the amount withdrawn. Whichever is less. Minimum withdrawal penalty $25.00.
Credit Union bylaws give the Credit Union authority to impose a notice of up to 60 days for withdrawal of shares.
According to CSR, partial withdrawals are not allowed: a Share Certificate can only be closed early. If a 12-month Share Certificate is closed within 90 days of account opening, the principal will be reduced.
Availability
Headquartered in Proctor, West Virginia, Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) expanded recently and now included an easy membership requirement through the American Consumer Council, making virtually all U.S. citizens/resident aliens eligible to join Bayer Heritage.
The last “Select Your Eligibility” option on the online membership application reads, “I am a member of the American Consumer Council.”
As stated on the Eligibility Requirements page, choosing the option
will give us permission to process and enroll you into the ACC. There is no additional cost to you for joining the ACC.
Other ways to qualify for Bayer Heritage membership include,
Employment: Employees of Bayer Corporation specifically named in the Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union Charter.
Residency: Individuals who live, work, worship or attend school in the West Virginia counties of Tyler or Wetzel, or Monroe County, Ohio; or in specific areas of the West Virginia counties of Berkeley or Marshall; the Ohio counties of Belmont, Licking, or Muskingum; the South Carolina counties of Berkeley or Charleston; or Harris County, Texas.
Relationship: Immediate family of current Bayer Heritage members.
Complete membership details can be found on the Eligibility Requirements page.
Account Opening
Joining Bayer Heritage can be done online (there’s a “Join Today” button at the top right of every page of the Bayer Heritage website) or at any of the four full-service West Virginia branches located in Beckley, Martinsburg, Moundsville, and New Martinsville. Other Bayer Heritage branches are located in Zanesville (OH), Pittsburgh (PA), Goose Creek and Summerville (SC), and Baytown (TX).
It's easy to become a member! Just open a Share Account with a $5.00 deposit.
Opening a Share Certificate can be done at any of the above-mentioned branch locations. While there is an “Apply Today!” button on the landing page that leads to the online membership application, Share Certificates are not listed.
Current Bayer Heritage members can open a Share Certificate using CU@Home (online banking platform).
According to CSR, the funds must be on deposit before a Share Certificate can be opened. CSR suggested that the easiest way for a new member to open a Share Certificate would be to first deposit the funds in the Share Account and then use CU@Home to opening the Share Certificate, transferring the funds from the Share Account.
Funding and Other Details
The following information is from a conversation with a great CSR.
- Funding – ACH ($100k max), wire ($5 fee), internal transfer, shared branch transaction.
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
- Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
- Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly and can be withdrawn penalty free.
- Maturing Funds – Cashier’s check to address on file or internal transfer to a Bayer Heritage Share Account.
- Grace Period – None. It is the account owner’s responsibility to contact Bayer Heritage prior to maturity date to prevent automatic renewal.
- Beneficiaries – Unlimited; percentages can be assigned; Social Security numbers are required.
- Credit check – Hard inquiry; ChexSystems.
Credit Union Overview
Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 5.86% (excellent) based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Bayer Heritage has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $45.66 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 7.39%. Please refer to our financial overview of Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 11836) for more details.
Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union was founded in 1957 in Proctor, West Virginia, as the Mobay Employees Federal Credit. (Mobay Chemical Corporation was a joint venture between Monsanto Company and Bayer.) Between 1973 and 1981, additional branches were opened in Texas, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina to accommodate Mobay employees in those states. In 2007, the name was changed to Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union, "In recognition of the past and preparation for the future." Bayer Heritage is currently the largest credit union headquartered in West Virginia, with nearly 41,000 members and assets in excess of $726 million.
How the 12-Month Share Certificate Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are nationally available, have fixed rates, and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Bayer Heritage Federal Credit Union 12-Month Share Certificate. The following table compares the 12-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 11/2/2023.
To search for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD rates table page.
One question for those that joined. When you open the share savings account for membership they ask for a branch. Which one do you pick?
Wow really? This is one of those gotchas that can be costly. Why not allow the member to specify what to do when it matures up front instead of waiting until the last minute, and/or how about sending a notice that the CD is about to mature?
[11/7/2023 8:51:06 PM] Bayer Heritage FCU:
Good afternoon!
I sincerely apologize for our delay in looking at your application. We did experience system outage. Our system is back up and we are limited to what we are able to do. We are starting to work on Online Applications. The applications will be worked on in the order that they were received. Once your application can be reviewed a representative will be reaching out to you.