GTE Financial is a member-owned federal credit union chartered in the midst of the Great Depression that offers a variety of depository banking and lending products. It is an active participant in serving organizations located in the community it serves and also helps businesses with growth and start-up financing.
On its personal banking side, GTE Financial offers savings, checking, money market, share certificate, IRA, and credit card accounts to meet the needs of it membership. Its checking account options include a basic, free account that is eligible for a member advantage program, and a youth account that comes with reduced insufficient fund charges and once-a-month forgiveness for overdraft fees. Both checking accounts come with unlimited check writing, referral incentives, and free debit cards. A basic savings account as well as a money market account are available and offer interest at varying levels based on account balances. Share certificates and IRA certificates range in term lengths from 6 to 60 months. GTE’s rewards program offers cash back incentives for using its Visa credit card or MasterCard debit card.
GTE Financial online banking provides a web-based platform for members to manage their accounts, pay bills, transfer funds and make loan payments. The credit union is part of the CO-OP ATM network and allows free money withdrawal from an ATM that is part of the network. GTE also provides financial education and resources to help guide members through decisions related to purchasing a mortgage and opening up various deposit accounts.
GTE Financial was originally chartered in 1935 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The credit union serves hundreds of thousands of members through a number of branches spread across the state of Florida.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in GTE Financial is open to anyone through joining CUSavers ($10 one-time membership fee). Membership is also open to those who live, work, attend school or worship in select areas of zip codes 33602, 33603, 33604, 33605, 33606, 33607, 33609, 33610, and 33619 in the Tampa area.
See current membership details
Related Posts
3/29 - GTE Financial Has Promo CDs With Unlimited Add-Ons
3/29 - Add-On Promo Certificate 3% 5Yr (Easy & Free Eligibility)
9/7 - GTE Add-On Share Certificate Specials Are Back
7/13 - GTE: 5-Yr. 3.04% APY; 3.30% For Iras; $500 Minimum
6/26 - WARNING - Free Checking Is Changing
Phenomenal Customer Service For New Account
I just had one of the BEST Customer Service experiences EVER while opening a new account at GTE Financial. Not only was their website a joy to navigate (unlike most others I've dealt with), the phone support I needed (having recently frozen my credit reports at all major bureau's) was superb. Service Rep walked me (by phone) through every convoluted step required to temporarily unlock my credit freezes. I haven't had such a positive experience at a financial institution in years! And their current CD rates are the icing on the cake!
Good service and convenience.
I have been a member of GTE Financial since 2014. I set up direct deposit with them through my new job in 2014, and have been pleased by their service and convenience. They do not have many locations, but one is a 30 second walk from my office and has a 24 hour ATM. In addition it is staffed by students who have great customer skills and greet me every time. There was one issue where I had difficulty depositing larger sums of cash ($300-500), due to rent money from a tenant, but it was resolved in less than a day. As a credit union, I have access to my checking account through multiple ATMS in 7-11 convenience stores which I use often. I cannot deposit checks (or cash) through those non-GTE financial ATMs, but they do have a deposit-on-the-go APP, so I can take a picture of the check to deposit and it goes right in. Their savings requirement is only $5- which is also nice.I really only use them for checking purposes and never had any major problems so far!
Watch Those Fees
Just realized today that the CD special ends friday. Got money moved around, and made a deposit via the shared branch. Then I got hit with a $3 fee for using the shared branch.
Free checking, as long as you buy checks.
Going to have to spend some time to discover other fees that may show up. I agree with ENDUSER, great rates but lots of gotchas. Watch out. I do not recommend them unless you are gong to have huge CDs to make up for the fees.
HSA - fees. IRA - fees. Want basic checks - $$. External transfer - $$
AND watch out for 6 months on dormancy.
I think there is a charge for coming, and going.
RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN
I applied for a simple savings account over two weeks ago. They asked me for more documentation than my mortgage company did. They advertise fast and simple they are everything but that. I’ve provided my drivers license, social security card, complete bank statement, picture of my debit card and a copy of my utility bill. Absolute worst customer service ever. They put me on hold then disconnect the line. I call back the girl gets huffy is very rude and it never fails the line gets disconnected. I have wasted hours on the phone trying to figure out what is so hard about opening a savings account. Not to mention the unauthorized credit pull they did three days after I applied. I’ve tried chatting with a live agent but only to be told they didn’t receive all my documents. Lies, lies and more lies. I’m done with them. I will be calling first thing in the morning to cancel my application. Then contacting the credit bureau about the illegal hard pull they did. I have excellent credit and a very nice income and have never bounced a check or paid a payment late ever. My credit utilization is a zero. There is absolutely no reason to be treated like this. So glad I figured this out before I deposited a great deal of money into this institution. Do not waste your time applying for anything with this horrible institution. I would not give them a one star ?? rating but that’s not an option on here.
Data as of Q4 2018
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 196 |
| Year Chartered | 1935 |
| Employees | 440 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.61% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 7.55% |
| Annual Interest Income | $75.5MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $2.09B$1.98B |
| Loans | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $1.84B$1.67B |
| Deposits | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $1.80B$1.81B |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $166.3MM$152.7MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $13.6MM$15.4MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $20.1MM$29.0MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2018vs Q4 2017 | $1.2MM$200.00K |
This section lists recent deals, promotions and rate changes submitted by our community within the past 90 days. Always verify official rates and promotions with the bank or credit union.
0.25% Rate Bump For CD Renewal
It didn't strike me as a great deal, but it is a data point to consider.
Add-On Promo Certificate 3% 5Yr (Easy & Free Eligibility)
"Open with as little as $500.
We’ve included the Add-on feature** to all Promotional Share Certificates. That means, you can add money at any time during your term, in as little as $20 increments.
There’s no cap to how much you can deposit during this special (typically there is a $6,000 cap)."
https://www.gtefinancial.org/for-members/current-offers/share-certificate-special/share-certificate-special
Rates for GTE Financial are currently being reviewed.
