Pentagon Federal Credit Union ("PenFed"), a DepositAccounts.com advertiser, serves more than 1.6 million members, including many in the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. PenFed is one of the largest credit unions in the country and offers a range of banking products and services, in addition to credit cards and loans.
On its personal banking side, PenFed offers savings accounts including checking accounts, Money Market accounts, Certificates, Coverdell Education Savings Certificates, and IRA accounts. PenFed’s Access America Checking earns dividends and comes with free online bill payment and mobile check deposit. PenFed’s regular savings account earns dividends, which are compounded daily and credited monthly. Money Market Savings accounts are available and come with free checks, have no regular service fees, and offer tiered rates of dividends for greater account balances. DepositAccounts.com has featured PenFed’s Certificates, referred to as ‘Money Market Certificates,’ repeatedly in the past for their competitive dividend rates. IRA accounts are also available, providing a retirement savings alternative.
PenFed online banking is a secure banking platform through which members can access their accounts, transfer funds, pay bills, and view transaction history. The credit union has optimized its website for mobile banking and released a mobile app to make account management easy and convenient on the go. The credit union introduced its ACH online transfer service in the spring of 2012, making it easy for members to transfer funds into and out of these liquid accounts.
Pentagon Federal Credit Union has more than $23 billion in assets. It was originally established in 1935 and is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The credit union serves members in each U.S. state and at military bases in Puerto Rico, Guam, and Okinawa. PenFed is federally insured by the NCUA.
Membership in PenFed is now open to all U.S. citizens/resident aliens who open a Share Savings Account with a $5 minimum deposit.
See current membership details
PenFed has very friendly and helpful team members. Just want to lead with that. This isn't a complaint but more of an oops/aha.
Recently, I internally transferred $500 from checking to Premium online savings to get a round number for ACH transfer initiated at/to another bank. I verified the correct balance which appeared immediately after tranfer online. However, I didn't drill down to see the "available funds" didn't reflect the added amount. It was only when I got a UCF rejection and a $10 fee a couple of days later that I realized something was amiss.
I called PENfed and spoke to a very nice CSR. She reversed the fee on her own accord as I asked why an internal transfer wouldn't be available almost immediately. She explained that it was in the disclosures for Premium Online Savings (POS) that internally transferred funds into POS wouldn't be available for "6 business days". I asked if she could explain why and she said it was unique to POS.
So I looked through the disclosures and:
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR PREMIUM ONLINE SAVINGS ACCOUNT ONLY: The following special rules apply to all deposits made in to the Premium Online Savings account: The following types of deposits will be available on the 6th business day after the date of the transaction: • All checks • Internal transfers • ACH deposits (when originated at PenFed) The following types of deposits will be available immediately: • Preauthorized credits, such as social security benefits, civil service pensions, active and retired military allotments, and other payroll payments • Cash • Wire Transfers (received by 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time).
So forewarned is forearmed ...still doesn't make sense to me.
I have purchased Cds from Pen Fed for many years as they usually are very competitive on their rates. Recently I was unable to gain access to info on the CDs I currently own. When I sent a request to list my CDs the response was I had too many CDs to list. If I had a specific request about a particular CD they would give me access to it. This is really a poor program and makes me want to stop purchasing any more CDs from PenFed. I immediately purchased a CD from another financial institution with a better rate.
Presently, PenFed has an appalling low HYSA rate. Anyone who keeps money there is asking to be taken advantage of. I pulled all of my money out, and placed it with Atlantic Federal Credit Union through the Savebetter website, at 4.40%. I will say that their customer service representatives were prompt in replying to my requests to close my accounts. So, there is that.
Recently opened several accounts at PenFed and have had numerous problems, the worst being customer service.
If you need help they will "start you a support ticket".
I don't want a ticket, I want a rep.
Even the call for the support ticket never arrived.
After reading through the horror stories here I will begin closing my accounts. PenFed had a great reputation at one time. Don't know what caused the reversal but I'm pulling the plug before it gets worse.
When PedFed asks why I'm closing my accounts I'll tell them that I'll fill out a support ticket and get back to them.
Overall | |
---|---|
NCUA # | 227 |
Year Chartered | 1935 |
Employees | 3402 |
Primary Regulator |
Profit Margin | |
---|---|
Return on Assets - YTD | 0.68% |
Return on Equity - YTD | 3.12% |
Annual Interest Income | $1.46B |
Assets and Liabilities | ||
---|---|---|
Assets | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $35.53B$32.52B |
Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $29.73B$23.75B |
Deposits | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $27.72B$23.09B |
Equity Capital | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $7.79B$8.97B |
Loan Loss Allowance | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $280.8MM$251.4MM |
Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $469.0MM$290.6MM |
Real Estate Owned | Q4 2022vs Q4 2021 | $0$502.00K |
Always verify rates and promotions with the bank or credit union. We are not PenFed Credit Union; we are a rate comparison website and cannot provide official rates or promotions.
* The APY shown varies based on the deposit amount. Expand the listing to see APYs for other deposit amounts.
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS |
---|---|---|---|---|
2.70% | - | - | Premium Online Savings | |
0.05% | - | $2.5k | Regular Savings | |
0.05% | - | - | IRA Savings Account | |
0.05% | $10k | - | IRA Premier Account |
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.15%* | $100k* | - | Money Market Savings Account | ||
OTHER TIERS: 0.05% → Up to $10k | 0.10% → $10k - $100k |
APY | MIN | MAX | ACCOUNT NAME | VIEW DETAILS | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0.35%* | $20k* | $50k | Access America Checking | ||
OTHER TIERS: 0.15% → Up to $20k |