KEMBA FCU (OH) Has New Promo CDs: 44-Month and 14-Month

Now through April 30, 2018, KEMBA Financial Credit Union (KEMBA) is offering two Advantage Promotion Certificates: 14-Month (3.00% APY) and 44-month (4.00% APY). The minimum deposit is $10k of new money with a maximum deposit of $50k. New money is defined as funds “not on deposit with KEMBA in the past 12 months.”

Both Certificates are available as IRAs (Tradition and Roth), earning the same APYs with the funding and relationship requirements.

There is a limit of one Advantage Promotion Certificate per member: either a 14-month or a 44-month, not one of each.

If member has multiple accounts, member is only permitted one promotional Certificate in total.

According to CSR, the Early Withdrawal Penalty is either “half of all the interest earned on the amount being withdrawn or $25 dollars, whichever is greater.”

KEMBA Advantage

While the Advantage program is described as a perk,

As an Advantage member you can do more with your money and
get even more out of your membership! Advantage members receive
bonuses on most deposits, and a rate reduction on most loans.

the required qualifications make it sound more like a Rewards Checking Account.

To earn KEMBA Advantage member status, the following requirements must be met each month:

(1) Have an active checking account and make at least 15 qualifying transactions, which include any combination of the following: cleared checks, Debit Card signature transactions, online bill payments, electronic loan payments made from your KEMBA checking account, automatic deposits or withdrawals, and Virtual Deposits;

(2) Have Direct Deposit of your entire payroll, Social Security, or pension check (minimum of $1,000/month);

(3) Receive eStatements.

The fine print on the Certificate promotion page states,

Promotional rate available only to KEMBA Advantage members meeting program requirements for the full life of the Certificate; otherwise the 14-month Certificate
will adjust to 1.30% APY and the 44-month Certificate will adjust to 2.00% APY.

Approximately a year ago, KEMBA offered an Advantage promotional rate on a 60-month Certificate, but that commitment of five years of 15 monthly qualifying transactions and monthly $1k+ Direct Deposits only earned an additional 75 bps. Here’s how the numbers play out with the current offerings:

Thanks to DA reader, Juniper1 and alan1, for their Forum posts about the Advantage Promotion Certificates.

Availability

Headquartered in Gahanna, Ohio, KEMBA Financial Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is primarily residency based, with individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in the Ohio counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Licking, Logan, Madison, and Union eligible to join.

Employees/members of more than 280 Partner Companies (businesses and associations) qualify for membership.

In addition, family members of current KEMBA FCU members are welcome to apply.

Joining KEMBA can be done at any of eleven Ohio branches, located in Bellefontaine, Columbus (4), Gahanna (2), Grove City, Pickerington, Powell, and Westerville.

According to the Advantage Promotion Certificate promotion page, the Certificates can be opened in any of the above mentioned branches, or by phone (800.282.6420, option 4).

Credit Union Overview

KEMBA Financial Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 2.84% (excellent) based on December 31, 2017 data. In the past year, KEMBA increased its total non-brokered deposits by $127.91 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 16.31%. Please refer to our financial overview of KEMBA Financial Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 61623) for more details.

Founded in 1933, KEMBA (an acronym for Kroger Employee Mutual Benefits Associate) Financial Credit Union originally served the employees of The Kroger Company, a grocery store chain. The original branch was located in the Kroger Bakery in downtown Columbus, Ohio. KEMBA is currently Ohio’s third largest credit union, with more than 97,300 members and assets in excess of $1.2 billion.

How the Advantage Promo Certificates Compare

When compared to the 236 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that requires a minimum deposit of $10k or less and are available within the FOM, KEMBA Financial Credit Union’s 44-month Advantage Promo Certificate APY currently ranks first.

When compared to the 274 similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that requires a minimum deposit of $10k or less and are available within the FOM, KEMBA Financial Credit Union’s 14-month Advantage Promo Certificate APY currently ranks first.

The above rates are accurate as of 4/20/2018.

To compare the best CD rates, both nationwide and in your state, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.