Mountain Credit Union is headquartered in Waynesville and is the 18th largest credit union in the state of North Carolina. It is also the 938th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1963 and as of December of 2022, it had grown to 70 employees and 29,508 members at 8 locations. Mountain Credit Union's CD rates are 5X the national average, and it has an A health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Mountain Credit Union is open to those who live, work, worship, or attend school in Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison or Swain Counties (NC) or those who live or work on the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Membership is also open to all federal employees located in the 20 western counties of North Carolina, including field personnel paid from an office located in those counties, and to immediate family of current members.
See current membership details
Related Posts
Made a change from a big bank
I had been unhappy with my bank for quite some time. It's changed hands so many times. I was determined when I moved to find a small local financial institution. I found a branch only a few miles away and started researching reviews. After calling several small banks to obtain information about opening an account and leaving voicemails which were not returned, I was delighted to call Mountain and get a human on the phone, not a phone tree. They made the process quick and easy and were very friendly and helpful. I didn't feel like I was a faceless account number anymore.
Good place to bank
This is a great credit union. A wonderful credit union. The tellers are nice and the bankers are nice. There are no fees. There are no fees for anything unless you overdraw. The credit union reimburses your ATM fees so you can go anywhere without having to worry about paying a ridiculous fee. There is a great interest rate. This is a good alternative to a bank. Take the money away from big banks and help the little guys out.
Great local credit union
We had been looking for a small local bank since having a terrible experience with Wells Fargo recently. We've been customers at Wells Fargo for many years but after being victims of a fraud having to do with our account with them, we felt we could no longer trust them. There are several local banks/credit unions near our home and we started calling to get a feel for each. Only one were we connected to a human being without having to go through a phone tree. We drove to that credit union and spoke to a friendly and professional banker. She was able to answer all our questions and set us up with a new account.
Changes To Account
Just recieved a letter from MCU about the change in rate from 4.15 to 3.15 and change in applied max amount from $25,000 to $15,000.
Expect No Customer Service
Mountain Credit Union has excellent loan rates, but if you have a problem with your account(s), expect no customer service. Their web technology is extremely poor. You can snail mail bills faster than paying through bill pay. I guess they can offer competitive rates by cutting the rest of their services. I have also had one member of the Sylva office be extremely rude when I asked about a fee charged to my account.
Mountain Credit Union Is A Nightmare
Like many people who've grown disgusted with traditional banks, I decided to switch to my local Credit Union, in this case, Mountain Credit Union. Boy was that a mistake. I have never encountered a more inept, poorly run, Mickey Mouse financial institution in my life.
First and foremost, they have no way to verify and/or instantly exchange funds electronically with other financial institutions like traditional banks do. Their solution to this crippling deficiency is to just arbitrarily decide when to credit your account with a deposit that contains a check, and when they want to put a "hold" on the check.
There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to when they decide to sit on your money for 7-10 business days. They randomly do it with in-state checks and checks in the exact same amount, written by the exact same people, that they have promptly credited your account with before.
Their latest excuse for putting a 10 day hold on an in-state, Bank of American check is "We need a Manager's approval for a $1012.00 deposited check, and we don't have a Manager this week."
Even I, as a private citizen, can call Bank of America to verify funds on a check, so why they can't is completely beyond me? Do they need a Manager to show them how to use the telephone?
Since they lack even an ordinary person's ability to verify sufficient funds are present in an in-state, Bank of America account, one can only assume that they're using a Magic 8 Ball to decide when you can actually access your deposit?
Of course if you are counting on using the funds you deposited before the next ice age sets in, they wreak total havoc on your bill paying ability by not having anything that even remotely resembles a consistent policy on deposits.
Their attitude about holding funds drawn on an in-state, BoA account for what amounts to a week or two is "Oh well, too bad. We're going let it sit and collect interest for us until we get around to clearing it....and no, there is no Manager for you to talk to."
Their "on-line banking" is even worse. It can take up to a week for the bill you paid on-line to be received by the payee, even if it is an "instant pay" system like Duke Energy's, Direct TV's, etc.
Apparently since Mountain Credit Union does not have a "relationship" with other banks or utilities... Duke Energy, Frontier, Direct TV etc. they wait until they have a large sack of payments from their on-line Banking site, put it on the back of a donkey, stroll it across the mountains while allowing the donkey to graze occasionally, then eventually tie your payment to a rock and throw it on the payee's doorstep as they amble on by.
While the idea of not supporting the "Big Banks" is nice, having a Credit Union randomly sit on both payments and deposits for weeks is completely unacceptable.
It's no wonder the big banks are thriving if all credit unions are as archaic, inconsistent, and bovine slow as Mountain Credit Union. Don't make the mistake of opening an account with them...you'd be better off buying your own donkey.
Data as of Q4 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 68531 |
| Year Chartered | 1963 |
| Employees | 70 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.5% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 15.75% |
| Annual Interest Income | $11.5MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $333.1MM$320.7MM |
| Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $208.2MM$174.8MM |
| Deposits | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $299.8MM$293.6MM |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $31.7MM$26.4MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $722.00K$469.00K |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $809.00K$436.00K |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $0$0 |