Interior Federal Credit Union Boosts 12-Month CD Rate

Early Withdrawal Penalty

As stated in the Membership Agreement (page 31), the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

Terms of 12 months to less than 24 months – 90 days' dividends

CSR confirmed that partial withdrawals are allowed, but any withdrawal made within 90 days of account opening will reduce the principal. There is a $10 Early Closure Fee if a Share Certificate Special is closed within 90 days of opening.

7-Month Share Certificate Special

About two weeks ago, I wrote about Interior FCU’s new 7-month Share Certificate Special that offers a near rate-leading 5.75% APY. The 7-month Share Certificate Share requires a minimum deposit of $500 of new money. For more details, please refer to the November 3, 2023 blog post.

Availability

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Interior Federal Credit Union’s field of membership provides virtually all U.S. citizens and resident aliens (18 years or older, with a valid Social Security number) with a way to join. Interior FCU’s online application lists five different routes to membership:

1. ”I work for or am retired from” (68 named organizations, including several Department of the Interior Bureaus).

2. ”I volunteer for” (44 named organizations).

3. ”I am a family member of” (Interior FCU member’s name). “Family member” is defined spouse, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, and grandchildren, with step- and adoptive relationships included.

4. ”I am an associate/member of” (19 named associations).

And finally, #5:

Need another way to join? If you join our partner association, the New Mexico
Wildlife Federation, you are eligible for Credit Union membership. No cost to join.

Interior FCU’s Eligibility page contains a detailed list of the various organizations and associations that provide membership eligibility.

Account Opening

Joining Interior FCU and/or opening a Share Certificate Special can be done online or at either the Washington, D.C. branch, located in the U.S. Department of the Interior Building, or at the Reston, Virginia branch.

Establish your membership and earn competitive dividends with
a Prime Savings account. Open your account with as little as $25.

Interior FCU is a member of the CO-OP Shared Branching Network, allowing members to do transactions free of charge in more than 5,600 credit union branches throughout the United States.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from a conversation with CSR.

Funding – ACH, wire (no fee), or shared branch transfer.
CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly with automatic transfer to Interior FCU liquid account possible.
Maturing Funds – ACH, wire ($25 fee), or internal transfer.
Beneficiaries – Up to 6 (2 online, 4 manually added) with equal shares; Social Security numbers required for beneficiaries added online.
Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
Credit Check – Hard pull from Equifax when joining.

Credit Union Overview

Interior Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 6.99% (excellent), based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Interior FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $37.13 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 16.33%. Please refer to our financial overview of Interior Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 319) for more details.

Originally established in 1935 as the Department of the Interior Federal Credit Union, the Credit Union opened its doors for business during the Great Depression. At that time, many Department of the Interior employees were unable to get credit at local banks, so the Credit Union was formed to solve that problem. With nearly 23,000 members, Interior FCU is currently the fifth largest credit union headquartered in the District of Columbia, with assets in excess of $310 million.

How the 12-Month Share Certificate Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally, have fixed rates, and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, two credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Interior Federal Credit Union 12-Month Share Certificate Special. The following table compares the 12-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 11/16/2023.

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