State Employees Federal Credit Union

SEFCU

SEFCU (State Employees Federal Credit Union) is a small credit union with branches around upstate New York. I have three accounts there because they are a pleasure to work with. At my old credit union, I used to bounce checks regularly -- because they held all of my deposits for days (including my state paycheck!), but debited any outgoing checks in milliseconds. So they collected tons of fees. My financial habits haven't changed, but I've never had to pay an overdraft fee at SEFCU because they apply the same timing to incoming and outgoing checks. The credit union offers a full range of checking, savings, CDs and loans with competitive rates. None of my accounts are large, but the employees at SEFCU treat me with respect. At the branch I visit most often, the tellers greet me by my first name before I get to the counter. ATMs are conveniently located and do not charge any fees. Some branches have coin-counting machines, with the option of depositing some or all of the coin total directly into your account -- this is quick and convenient if you accumulate pennies and nickels like I do.