SEFCU is headquartered in Albany and is the 7th largest credit union in the state of New York. It is also the 55th largest credit union in the nation. It was established in 1934 and as of March of 2021, it had grown to 912 employees and 361,533 members at 47 locations. SEFCU has an A health rating.
Field of Membership Restrictions
Membership in SEFCU is open to those who are employees (current or retired), member, or volunteer of a participating SEFCU member group or live, work, attend school, or worship in one of these cities or towns: Albany, Amherst, Barker - Binghamton, Barton, Berkshire, Binghamton, Buffalo, Candor, Cohoes, Colesville, Conklin, Dickinson, Green Island, Kirkwood, Lisle, Lackawanna, Maine, Mechanicville, Montgomery County, Nichols, Nanticoke, Otsego County, Rensselaer, Richford, Sanford, Schenectady, Spencer, Syracuse, Triangle, Troy, Union or Watervliet. Membership is also open to employees of the state of New York, New York Power Authority, and over 1,000 Select Employer Groups.
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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.
Competent and Easy Banking
It was very easy to open new accounts with SEFCU when I first moved to this area. My husband and I went in person to the branch and they quickly sat us down with an employee to discuss what types of account we needed. I believe all we needed to bring was our photo IDs and either $25 or $50 to open the checking account. They gave us a few starter checks and got us set up to do online banking that day. Their online banking system looks just like the old credit union where we used to live. I liked that it was familiar and sort of standardized between different companies. I can view my accounts, download transaction histories or get bank statements, and transfer money between our checking and savings account easily. Mostly we use direct deposit and online banking, but when I have gone into the branch or through the drive-thru, the employees have always been very friendly and efficient with my transaction.
SEFCU is a great credit union.
SEFCU (State Employee's Federal Credit Union) has met all of my banking needs completely while avoiding the hassles that accompanying using a big bank. Formerly open to only NYS employees, the credit union has expanded and is better than ever. Their online account management site and mobile app are modern and seamless, and allow for all the modern features you love such as automatic payments, online transfers via your cellphone, and statement viewing. The customer service is outstanding, no waiting in line as tellers take forever to do the most menial tasks. I've heard a rumor that SEFCU pays it's tellers quite a bit more than the average bank or credit union, and I feel it shows. I have become quite close to several tellers there who know me by first name and are quite lovely people. I fully recommend this credit union. Quick tip, if you are a New York State employee, SEFCU will have your direct deposit a full business day before every other bank and credit union.
SEFCU Has Become Worse, Avoid This Bank
Dealing with this bank has recently become a nightmare and I would advise to stay away from them.
I have been a member for 8 years. I was researching loan info to purchase a property and the mortgage representative I was sent to (after the 1st one I contacted failed to forward my number to the right dept), Bo* Kel** gave me 5 minutes while he was driving and directed me to an online loan application. When I wrote him back saying I was still doing research and had other questions, he ignored my e-mail and never responded. I guess I wasn’t quick money for him.
Recently I have had money sent to me from Canada. SEFCU has acccepted some transfers, but not others within a 2 week period. The banks are less than 250 miles apart from eachother. They consistently give contradictory and inconsistent information that fools one into continuing in the hope they can effect a simple banking transaction. Meanwhile, sums of money to be used as a down payment for a property have been sent multiple times at a cost each time, and yet the money is sometimes accepted and sometimes not. This also drags out the home buying process and adds yet more stress to it, and for no rational reason apart from a bank that does not know what it is doing. Today they rejected another transfer after giving the information their customer reps told me to give and that I verified with them over 3x. They then tell me to go to the Canadian bank to find out why SEFCU rejected the transfer after I adhered to what the SEFCU representatives told me. Apparently, when I call and ask customer service for correct info to have money sent that information is not correct. They are clearly unable to give correct information and have consistent policies. This is extremely unprofessional, not to mention infuriating and costly at $50.00 for each attempt to send money.
SEFCU can handle functions at the basic teller level well. They have good tellers. The rest of their operation is unprofessional and I would recommend avoiding them.
Data as of Q1 2021
Learn why bank health mattersHealth Grade Components
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| NCUA # | 51 |
| Year Chartered | 1934 |
| Employees | 912 |
| Primary Regulator | |
| Profit Margin | |
|---|---|
| Return on Assets - YTD | 1.05% |
| Return on Equity - YTD | 14.98% |
| Annual Interest Income | $30.1MM |
| Assets and Liabilities | ||
|---|---|---|
| Assets | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $5.26B$4.23B |
| Loans | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $2.67B$2.60B |
| Deposits | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $4.85B$3.86B |
| Equity Capital | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $354.8MM$331.3MM |
| Loan Loss Allowance | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $37.4MM$31.9MM |
| Unbacked Noncurrent Loans | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $10.5MM$18.7MM |
| Real Estate Owned | Q1 2021vs Q1 2020 | $3.4MM$4.3MM |
