Interior Federal Credit Union Offers Top Long-Term CD Rates
Interior Federal Credit Union (Interior FCU) is currently offering competitive rates on its long-term Jumbo Share Certificates: 48-month (4.59% APY) and 60-month (4.70% APY). The minimum opening deposit is $100k and is capped at $250k. The Interior FCU regular Share Certificates have APYs 10/11 bps lower and can be opened with a $500 minimum deposit.
The Share/Jumbo Share Certificates are also available as IRA Share/Jumbo Share Certificates (Traditional, Roth, and CESA), earning the same APYs with the same deposit requirements.
As stated in the Membership Agreement, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
Terms of 48 months and over – 365 days' dividends
Availability
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Interior Federal Credit Union 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 Jumbo Share Certificate 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 recent phone 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 ($20 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 3.15% (excellent), based on September 30, 2022 data. In the past year, Interior FCU has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $30.82 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 14.41%. 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 22,000 members, Interior FCU is currently the eighth largest credit union headquartered in the District of Columbia, with assets in excess of $287 million.
How the 60-Month Jumbo Share Certificate Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $100k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the Interior Federal Credit Union 60-Month Jumbo Share Certificate. The following table compares the 60-Month Jumbo Share Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.
How the 48-Month Jumbo Share Certificate Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally and have minimum deposit requirements of $100k or less, only one credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Interior Federal Credit Union 48-Month Jumbo Share Certificate. The following table compares the 48-Month Jumbo Share Certificate 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 12/29/2022.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
CU shows a hard pull. I don't know if that is a fact, but CFG CS told me they do not do either.
"A bit difficult to get a membership open if you have a number of Chexsystems inquiries from rate/bonus-chasing."
A slightly different version of this happened to me a couple of months ago at a CU where I was already a member. After I had wired funds into my account there, I was initially denied the right to open a new CD based solely on my ChexSystems report. I was applying in person and my only ChexSystems negative was too active an account opening record. There was no fraud or dishonesty of any sort.
I am not able to apply in person at Interior FCU. And it will cost me $25 to wire funds to them. If they are as ChexSystems crazy as I worry could be the case, will they allow me to open the five year CD? I dunno. But ChexSystems is a plague on us rate chasing savers.
It's probably best, if you're an existing Interior member with an active account opening record elsewhere, to telephone them and inquire whether or not ChexSystems can derail matters for existing members. We already know it can happen to those seeking new memberships.
Would be nice if you can get a reliable answer. But good luck. I have a hard time just getting a straight answer at many CUs about whether there's a hard pull or not. I use the best three out of five rule for that question. If 3 CSRs say there is a hard pull and 2 say there isn't it's a no-go. Still not perfect but it increases your odds.
I don't hold rate changes against an FI unless they play some kind of game where they're trying to obscure them. As long as they're transparent about it I can't blame them for changing their rates any more than they should blame me for shopping for the highest rate and passing up the lower rate. That's the way markets work. I can't expect them to lose money just to avoid disappointing me any more than I would be willing to lose money to avoid disappointing them. It's business.