Charter Oak Credit Union (CT) Adds Limited-Time Competitive CD Special
For a limited time, Charter Oak Credit Union (Charter Oak) is offering a 30-Month Share Certificate Special earning 5.00% APY. The minimum opening deposit is $1k, with no stated balance cap. According to the fine print on the landing page, the 30-Month Share Certificate Special can be opened with “funds in existing shares” – in other words, new money is not required.
The 30-Month Share Certificate Special is also available as an IRA Certificate Special (Traditional, Roth, and SEP), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.
According to CSR, partial withdrawals are allowed, but the Early Withdrawal Penalty is harsh: 3% of the total balance of the certificate.
Availability and Account Opening
Headquartered in Waterford, Connecticut, Charter Oak Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is primarily community-based, with U.S. citizens/resident aliens who live, work, worship, attend school, or volunteer in either New London County or Windham County.
Immediate family and household members of current Charter Oak members are also eligible to join.
Joining Charter Oak and/or opening a 30-Month Share Certificate Special can be done online or at any of 15 full-service Connecticut branches located in Dayville (2), Groton (3), Mystic, New London, Niantic, Norwich, Pawcatuck, Putnam, Uncasville (2), Waterford, and Willimantic.
Existing members can open a 30-Month Share Certificate Special using Charter Oak’s Online Banking platform.
- Login to Online Banking
- Select “Open New Account/CD”
- Follow the Instructions
A $5 minimum deposit in a Regular Share Account establishes a Charter Oak membership.
Funding and Other Details
The following information is from a conversation with CSR.
- Funding – ACH, wire, internal transfer, or shared branch transaction.
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
- Dividends – Compounded daily/credited monthly; can be automatically transferred into a Charter Oak checking or savings account.
- Maturing Funds – ACH, Wire ($25 fee), cashier’s check to address on file, or internal transfer to a savings/checking account.
- Beneficiaries – Unlimited, with assigned percentages available. Social Security numbers required for all named beneficiaries.
- Grace Period – 7 calendar days before automatic renewal as an 6-month Share Certificate.
- Credit Check – None.
Credit Union Overview
Charter Oak Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.52% (excellent), based on December 31, 2022 data. In the past year, Charter Oak’s non-brokered deposits were decreased by -$329k, an average annual growth rate of -0.02%. Please refer to our financial overview of Charter Oak Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 3413) for more details.
Charter Oak Credit Union was founded more than 80 years ago as the Groton Shipbuilder's Federal Credit Union.
The year was 1939, and in a shipyard in Groton 10 men gathered to chip in $25 each to create a lending institution to help their fellow workers. They put their hard-earned cash inside a shoebox, and they weren’t sure if they’d ever see that $25 investment again. But they took that bold first step, and they called their proud new lending institution the Groton Shipbuilders Federal Credit Union – as a fitting tribute to their shipyard workers.
Charter Oak Credit Union has grown to become Connecticut’s third largest credit union, with more than 88,000 members and assets in excess of $1.5 billion.
How the 30-Month Share Certificate Special 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, two credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Charter Oak Credit Union 30-Month Share Certificate Special. The following table compares the 30-Month Share Certificate Special 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 4/6/2023.
To look for the best CD rates, either nationwide or in your state, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
