Quorum Federal Credit Union 3-Year CD Has Near Rate-Leading APY

New York-based Quorum Federal Credit Union (Quorum) is offering competitive rates on a long-standing Term Savings CD and a newly added Term Savings CD (TSCD). Following a 185 bps rate increase, the 36-month TSCD offers 5.15% APY ($1k minimum) or 5.25% APY ($100k minimum). While not as competitive, the new 11-month TSCD has rates of 5.00% APY ($1k minimum) or 5.10% APY ($100k minimum). The 11-month TSCD requires new money, which is defined as “funds from an external source or funds that have been on deposit with Quorum for two weeks or less.” While deposits made in conjunction with a new Quorum membership cannot exceed $250k, additional TSCDs with a larger deposit can be opened once a membership is established.

While the higher APYs ($100k minimum) are not listed on the Quorum Rates page, the following does appear in the fine print on the Rates page.

Term Account deposits of $100,000 or more earn an additional 0.10% APY.

The TSCDs are also available as IRA TSCDs (Traditional and Roth), earning the same APYs with the same deposit requirements.

As stated on Quorum's Fees Schedule page, the Early Withdrawal Penalty (EWP) reads as follows:

2-11 month Term Accounts - 1% of amount withdrawn
never to exceed original principal balance.

25 month+ Term Accounts - 3% of amount withdrawn
never to exceed original principal balance.

I have called the Quorum EWPs harsh in the past. The EWPs have remained the same, but the higher TSCD rates make them less severe. For example, 3% of an amount withdrawn from a 36-month TSCD with a $100k deposit would equal approximately seven months of interest. While improved (albeit by higher rates), this EWP is still on the high side for a mid-term CD.

Buried away in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure (page 14), is this self-serving caveat:

Withdrawals: The principal invested in any term account may not be withdrawn until maturity. If the Credit Union allows a withdrawal of principal prior to maturity, there will be a penalty for any amount withdrawn (refer to the Credit Union Fee Schedule).

Unfortunately, it’s another case of an institution giving themselves the right to refuse an early withdrawal.

Availability

Headquartered in Purchase (Westchester County), New York, Quorum Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is open to employees, retirees, and associates of more than 65 select companies and affiliates (SEGs), including Kraft Heinz Company, Mastercard, and Avon. A complete list of these SEGs can be found on the Membership Eligibility page.

Family members of an employee/retiree of any of the SEGs are also eligible to join Quorum. “Family members” are defined as parent/stepparent, child/stepchild, sibling/stepsibling, grandparent/grandchild, spouse/domestic partner, and housemate.

Easy Membership - If you are not associated with any of the more than 65 groups, you can qualify by joining the Select Savers Club ($5 lifetime fee paid by Quorum) or the American Consumer Council. According to CSR, the "I would like to join through the following association" option (located in the Eligibility section of Quorum’s online application) allows the applicant to join either association and Quorum simultaneously.

Account Opening

While previously having branch locations in Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, Quorum now describes itself as “an online credit union.” Joining Quorum and/or opening a 11-month or 36-month TSCD can only be done online.

Establishing a Quorum membership requires a $5 minimum deposit in a Basic Savings account, which is opened automatically and funded by Quorum when your application is approved.

Use our easy, online application to become a Quorum member and open an account with us. During the application process, you can choose to open any savings product(s) you like.

The online application takes less than 5 minutes to complete! Once you submit your application, it may take between 24-48 hours to establish your account.

Current members can open a new TSCD using Quorum’s online banking platform.

Click on “Open Savings and Checking Accounts” in the main menu. Select the product(s) you wish to open, the follow the prompts to complete the application. Once you submit your application, the status will be presented on the screen.

Funding and Other Details

The following information was obtained from Quorum FAQs and from a conversation with CSR.

• Funding – Electronic ACH, mobile deposit, external transfer, or Shared Service Center transfer, all of which are described in detail in the Quorum FAQs.
• Maturing Funds – Check to the address on file or internal transfer to a Quorum savings account.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly, can be transferred to a Quorum savings account without penalty.
• Beneficiaries – Unlimited, percentages can be assigned, Social Security number, DOB, and physical address must be provided for each named beneficiary.
• Grace Period – 7 calendar days before automatic renewal. Quorum will send a notification at least 30 days before the maturity date.
• Credit Check – Soft pull.

When Quorum reviews a checking or savings account application, we may perform a soft pull on an applicant’s credit report through one of the three major credit reporting agencies (TransUnion, Experian, Equifax) for verification purposes, and also run the name through ChexSystems to see if there is a report in their system. Neither of these actions will impact an applicant's credit score in any way.

Credit Union Overview

Quorum Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 17.92% (above average) based on December 31, 2022 data. In the past year, Quorum increased its total non-brokered deposits by $51.76 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 5.63%. Please refer to our financial overview of Quorum Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 22769) for more details.

Founded in 1934 as the Kraft Foods Federal Credit Union, Quorum Federal Credit Union has grown to be New York State’s 21^st largest credit union, with more than 70,000 members and assets in excess of $1.1 billion. According to a recent press release, Quorum was name to Fortune’s February 2023 list of Best Online Banks and Credit Unions.

With so many banks catering to the online customer, finding the right account can be overwhelming. To help make your decision a little easier, the Fortune Recommends^TM editorial team ranked more than 30 different online banks and credit unions that offered checking and savings accounts. We weighed account annual percentage yields (APYs) for interest-earning accounts, monthly service fees, overdraft fees, mobile application ratings, free ATM access, account offerings and services, and customer service options.

How the 36-Month Term Savings CD Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally, only one credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Quorum Federal Credit Union 36-Month Term Savings CD, regardless of minimum deposit requirements. The following table compares the 36-Month Term Savings CD to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

How the 11-Month Term Savings CD Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationally, two banks have a higher rate than currently offered on the Quorum Federal Credit Union 11-Month Term Savings CD, regardless of minimum deposit requirements. The following table compares the 11-Month Term Savings CD 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 3/17/2023.

To look for the best CD rates, either nationwide or in your state, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.