Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Pushes 48-Month CD To New Heights

Pennsylvania-based Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (FMFCU) added 160 bps to its 48-month Certificate this week, more than doubling the APY to 3.00%. The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap. The 48-month Youth Certificate (for members under 18 years of age) earns the same 3.00% APY, but can be opened with a $250 minimum deposit.

The CD is also available as an IRA (Traditional, Roth, CESA), earning the same APY with the same funding requirements.

FMFCU’s “Agreements and Disclosures” is now part of the online application, but a search for Agreements and Disclosures produced several certificate FAQs including,

What is the penalty for an early withdrawal on a Certificate?

Accounts having a term greater than one year the penalty imposed
will equal the lesser of 180 days of dividends or all accrued dividends.

Unlimited individuals can be names as beneficiaries, with Social Security numbers required for each beneficiary.

Dividends are compounded daily and posted monthly or quarterly, depending upon the term-length. Dividends can be added back into the certificate or distributed by check to the address on file.

There is a 10 calendar day grace period in which “to close, add to, or do a partial withdrawal from your certificate, without a penalty."

Thanks to DA reader, Carpline, for his Forum post about FMFCU’s latest deal.

Availability

Headquartered in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) provides a path to membership for almost any resident of southeast Pennsylvania and northern Delaware.

Easy Membership – Members of the FMFCU Foundation (minimum $10 contribution) are eligible for FMFCU membership. According to the FMFCU Foundation’s website “As a donor, you can become a member of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union.” While anyone, regardless of residency, can join the Foundation, FMFCU’s online capabilities are limited and some transactions (like opening a CD) can only be done in-branch.

Residency – Individuals who live, work, worship, attend school, volunteer, or regularly do business in specific areas of Pennsylvania and Delaware: portions of Philadelphia, Delaware, and New Castle Counties, the Borough of West Chester, or Norristown are eligible to join.

SEGs – Employees/members of many SEGs, affiliated associations, and organizations (including the FMFCU Foundation) also qualify for membership.

Relationship – Immediate family members (spouse, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild including step relations) and domestic partners of current FMFCU members are also welcome to apply.

Joining FMFCU can be done online or at any of the 15 Pennsylvania branches, located in Brookhaven, Broomall, Chadds Ford, Downington, Eddystone, Folsom, Glen Mills, Haverford, Havertown, Kennett Square, Media, Newtown Square, Philadelphia, Springfield, and West Chester. FMFCU also has a single Delaware branch, located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Wilmington. (On June 1, 2022, the merger between FMFCU and WECU (Wawa Employees Credit Union) was completed and the WECU Wawa branch location in Media, PA has been closed.)

While checking, savings, and money market accounts can be opened online, opening a CD can only be done in-branch. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.

An Ownership Share account, with a minimum $5 deposit is required to join FMFCU.

FMFCU participates in both the CO-OP Shared Branch network and the CO-OP ATM network.

Credit Union Overview

Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 3.40% (excellent) based on March 31, 2022 data. In the past year, FMFCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $122.34 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 8.94%. Please refer to our financial overview of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 20042) for more details.

Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union is currently the ninth largest credit union in Pennsylvania, with more than 127,000 members and assets in excess of $1.6 billion. Established in 1970 for the benefit of Franklin Mint employees, the Credit Union’s FOM became so diversified that when Franklin Mint closed its doors in 2004, the effect on FMFCU was minimal. Credit for the FOM diversification goes to John Unangst.

When John Unangst joined Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union in 1976, he knew little about credit unions, but he did realize what could happen if the single-sponsor CU failed.

Back in the civilian world, he had seen companies close their doors and his relatives lose their jobs. When the companies ceased to exist, so did their credit unions. So he quickly decided it was vital to pursue other sponsors, or as FMFCU likes to call them, partnering organizations.

How the 48-Month 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 FMFCU 48-month Certificate. The following table compares the 48-month Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other banks and the two highest-rate CDs from credit unions.

The above information and rates are accurate as of 6/21/2022.

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