Northern Credit Union is headquartered in Watertown and is the 30th largest credit union in the state of New York. It is also the 648th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1955 and as of December of 2022, it had grown to 151 employees and 43,361 members at 11 locations. Northern Credit Union has an A health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Northern Credit Union is open to those who live, work or regularly conduct business, worship, or go to school in Clinton, Franklin, Lewis, Madison, Oswego, or St. Lawrence counties. Membership is also available to immediate family of current members, and employees of Zinc Corp of America, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Watertown, 3G Volunteer Fire Department, or any one of the more than 150 SEGs.
See current membership details
Super Efficient!
Northern Credit Union is a small local bank that focuses upon the community. With several branches spread it is easy to find a location close to where you need it. They are also a part of a group of different CU's that work together, so finding an ATM or going to an actual CU (different from Northern) you may be able to make deposits or withdraw directly from your account. If you use an out of network ATM, don't worry! They will cover ATM fees up to so many a month. I believe my limit is 4 a month, but I hardly use ATMs and when I do it's nice to see that $3 go back into my account.
They also have an outstanding fraud department that constantly monitors your debit cards' activity from anything unusual. They have saved me several times from credit card theft.
One of the best parts about them is that they are understanding. Everyone makes mistakes every now and again, and having too little in your checking account can be one of them. However, if you quickly realize the error of your ways you may be able to reverse the $30 overdraft fee. Of course this isn't a guarantee but it has happened to me before. Also having a debit card synced to both your checking and savings account can help keep those fees from becoming a problem. Although, you can only have your card withdraw from your savings so many times a month. If you exceed the limit you will be charged.
Northern Federal Credit Union - Premium Choice Checking ; Top Tier Rate Dropped From 4.26% To 3.76%
From the website, 0.5% drop accross the board, effective April 1st.....No Joke.......Not even funny!
3.76% APY* on balances up to $25,000 - (Was 4.26%)
0.75% APY* on balances from $25,001 to $50,000 - (Was 1.25%)
0.25% APY* on balances over $50,000 - (Was 0.50%)
Dissatisfied Member Of NFCU
I had multiple issues with my auto loan through Northern Federal Credit Union. Every time I went to have this issue resolved, the women that I spoke with were very rude. I was told "sorry I don't know how to help you" and that was as far as their resolution went until I spoke with a manager. I would like to mention that I have never been late on any account nor I have ever overdrawn an account. This issue was finally resolved 2 years later.
Do Not Do Business With Them
I got an account with this bank not long ago and a friend did as well. I have found that they are rude, condescending and supervisors do not return calls. I had multiple problems with Kathy, a supervisor in Adams and tried repeatedly to contact her supervisors and they never bothered returning the calls. The bank obviously does not care about its members.
5 Isolated Incidents Explain Why NFCU Is TERRIBLE
1. Charged a fee twice for less than $5 in my savings account when they shouldn't have because the account is set up for an auto loan.
2. Tried to withdraw $500 from a NFCU ATM using another banks card. Because there was a charge for this from NFCU and the daily allowed limit is only $500 it wouldn't allow the transaction. The ATM recorded that I had indeed recieved the money when I actually hadn't. They blamed it on the other bank but it was their ATMs problem. They refused to balance their ATM to find the balance was $500 because they only do it once a week; not banking standard by any means. They would not make an exception. They did find the $500+ in their ATM balance.
3. Wouldn't cash a reimbursment check for $10 because it was written on a company Key Bank check. Said I was a "new" customer, in-fact I've been one for three years. They said I could deposit it without putting a hold on it first. I did have money in my account to cover this amount.
4. Making an auto loan payment with a debit card from another bank with my wifes debit card. They ran it through and check the name on the card after the transaction. Then they told me they had to void it out because my name wasn't on the card.My wifes name is on our NFCU account though. The money was then on-hold at my other ban.
5. Every time I switch my auto insurance policy I have to bring in paperwork to prove it. In the most recent case, I provided paperwork directly from my insurance company and they told me it wasnt enough. I then had to work with their 'headquarters' or an outsouced brance in TEXAS? Two months had gone by before it got straigtened out and they were charging me $30 extra per month for a policy they bought to protect 'themselves'. After all this, I recieved a call that everything was fixed. I asked what my payment would be next month and apparently it would be $20 higher than before even though they had refunded the amount of the additional insurance. They took another two days to figure this out.
Do Not Bank With This Institution Unless You Enjoy Encountering Problems Every Time You Need
Do not bank with this institution unless you enjoy encountering problems every time you need information or a document. Do not deal with this institution unless you enjoy banks that add fees and rules after you have an established account. This bank is awful.
Data as of Q4 2022
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 68696 |
| Year Chartered | 1955 |
| Employees | 151 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 0.55% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 5.49% |
| Annual Interest Income | $21.5MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $598.5MM$434.6MM |
| Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $517.6MM$373.6MM |
| Deposits | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $523.1MM$391.9MM |
| Equity Capital | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $60.5MM$28.9MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $4.9MM$3.7MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $3.9MM$1.0MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $0$193.00K |
