Connexus Credit Union 15-Month CD Special Is New Rate Leader

Earlier this week, Connexus Credit Union (Connexus) unveiled a very competitive 15-month Share Certificate Special. Earning 4.85% APY, the 15-month Share Certificate Special currently has the highest APY offered on nationally available 15-month and 18-month CDs. The minimum opening deposit is $5k, with no stated balance cap.

The Share Certificate Special is offered as an IRA Certificate Special (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.

As stated in the FAQs, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

If your account has an original maturity of more than one year, but less than five years:
The penalty will equal 180 days dividends on the amount withdrawn subject to penalty.

Funding and Maturing Funds

According to CSR, a Share Certificate can be funded through ACH, wire transfer, by check, or through an internal transfer. Connexus participates in the CO-OP Share Branch network, facilitating the transfer of funds.

As stated in the Certificate FAQs,

Dividends on Connexus Share Certificates are compounded and credited to your account quarterly. Alternatively, you may choose to have dividends automatically posted to another Connexus account quarterly or paid directly to you in the form of a check.

Maturing funds can be distributed by check (fee free) or transferred into another Connexus account. An outgoing ACH transfer initiated from Connexus is possible, but there are limitations:

If the amount is $25,000 or under an ACH could be processed with a $10 fee.
Anything over $25,000 would need to be wired and a $20 fee would apply.

There is a 10-day grace period before a Certificate automatically renews.

In a May 2022 Review, DA reader, ET, provided information about opening a Certificate.

• Soft pull w/Trans Union.
• Requires a copy of social security card, although not listed.
• Disregard their email, you need to be proactive as no one contacts you during approval process.
• Maximum ACH transfer is $250,000 for opening a CD account. Over that amount needs to be wired in.
• Your membership number is not the same as your account number.

Availability

Headquartered in Wausau, Wisconsin, Connexus Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) offers a way to join for virtually any U.S. citizen/resident alien with a valid Social Security number.

Easy membership requirement – Membership in Connexus Credit Union is open to virtually anyone by joining the Connexus Association, with a one-time $5 donation that will directly benefit one of many supported organizations.

Employment or Affiliation – Employees, retirees, family members, or members of more than 20 companies and organizations (including Liberty Mutual Insurance) qualify for membership.

Residency – Individuals who live in any of the following locations are eligible to join:

Illinois counties – Boone, Jo Daviess, Knox, Lake, McHenry, Stephenson, Warren, or Winnebago.

Minnesota communities – Brooklyn Center, Crystal, Golden Valley, Hopkins, Minneapolis, New Hope, Robbinsdale, or St. Louis Park.

Ohio communities – Cincinnati or Norwalk.

Wisconsin counties – Adams, Clark, Juneau, Langlade, Lincoln, Marathon, Portage, Shawano, Taylor, Waushara, or Wood

Wisconsin communities – Baron, Chippewa, Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Iowa, Milwaukee, Oneida, Ozaukee, Price, Racine, Rusk, Sauk, Washington, or Waukesha. Within 25 miles of Sheldon or within 15 miles of Chetek.

Relationship – “Spouses, family members, and those living in the same household of an existing member” are also welcome to apply.

Complete eligibility details are listed the Connexus Membership Eligibility page.

Joining Connexus and/or opening a Certificate can be done either online,* or in person at any of the eleven Wisconsin, three Illinois, or one Minnesota branch locations. According to the Connexus Branch and ATM Locations page, the Golden Valley (MN) and Honey-Minneapolis branch locations continue to be closed until further notice because of staffing issues.

As a member of the CO-OP Shared Branching network, Connexus provides its members with access to more than 6,000 shared branches throughout the country. Connexus also participates in CO-OP and Money Pass ATM networks, giving members surcharge-free access to more than 54,000 ATMs.

Credit Union Overview

Connexus Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 14.64% (above average), based on June 30, 2022 data. In the past year, Connexus increased its total non-brokered deposits by $1.1 billion, an excellent annual growth rate of 39.79%. Please refer to our financial overview of Connexus Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 66538) for more details.

Founded in 1935, the Credit Union was originally established to serve the employees of Employer’s Mutual, the predecessor of Wausau Insurance (1980). In 1998, Wausau Insurance was acquired by Liberty Mutual Insurance and membership was extended to all Liberty Mutual employees and retirees nationwide. Over the next 24 years, through acquisitions, mergers, and expansion, Connexus increased its membership to more than 435,000 members, with assets in excess of $4.8 billion.

How the 15-Month Share Certificate Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than offered on the Connexus Credit Union 15-month Share Certificate Special. The following table compares the 15-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 11/25/2022.

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