UNIFY Financial Credit Union Adds Competitive 9-Month CD
Texas-based UNIFY Financial Credit Union (UNIFY) continues to offer “High-Fives” with its new 9-month Share Certificate, which (appropriately) earns 5.00% APY. In addition to the competitive rate, the 9-month Share Certificate also offers one additional deposit (no dollar amount limit) within 30 days of account opening. The minimum opening deposit is $500, with no stated balance cap. This limited-time offer is “subject to change without notice and may end at any time."
While the 9-month Share Certificate is available as an IRA Share Certificate (Traditional and Roth), it must be opened in-branch.
DA readers may remember the 15-month Share Certificate that UNIFY introduced in January. While its initial 5.00% APY is still in effect, the rate has lost its competitive edge as rates climbed in the past three months. As of this writing, there are ten other financial institutions offering a higher APY on 15-19 month CDs.
As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:
For Share Certificate accounts, the amount of the early withdrawal penalty for your account is up to 90 days’ dividends.
In other words, if the account has been open for more than 90 days, you will forfeit 90 days of dividends. If the account has been opened 90 days or less, you would forfeit any dividends earned since account opening. Penalty will not reduce your principal.
Availability
Headquartered in Allen, Texas, UNIFY Financial Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is varied, with U.S. citizens and permanent residents qualifying for membership through residency, employment, or organization membership.
Easy Membership: Individuals who join the Friends of Hobbs (a non-profit state park) qualify for UNIFY membership. According to UNIFY’s online application, “We pay your contribution to Friends of Hobbs.”
Employment: Hundreds of companies throughout the US offer membership in UNIFY as part of their employee benefits package, including Toyota and Northrop Grumman.
Residency: Individuals who live, work, worship, or attend school in select areas of 16 states are also eligible for membership. UNIFY’s website used to have a "Search for your Zip Code" page to help determine eligibility, but that page no longer exists. UNIFY does, however, offer "Live Chat" on their website to assist in clarifying eligibility status.
Relationship: Immediate family members of current UNIFY members are automatically eligible for membership.
Account Opening
Joining UNIFY and/or opening a 9-month Share Certificate can be done online or at any of 43 full-service branches located in Alabama, Arkansas (6), Arizona, California (17), Florida, Georgia (2), Indiana, Kentucky (2), Michigan (2), Mississippi, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas (5), Virginia, and West Virginia.
Current UNIFY members can open the 9-month Share Certificate by using UNIFY’s ebanking platform.
As a condition of membership, a Regular Savings Account ($5 minimum) must be opened and maintained. A $200 minimum average daily balance is required to earn dividends. Should the monthly balance fall below $200, a $1 fee will assessed and all dividends will be forfeited.
In addition to participating in the CO-OP Shared Branch and ATM networks,
members can find an ATM just about anywhere. Just look for the Alliance One,
Allpoint, CO-OP or CUHere logos, and you’re good to go … surcharge-free.
Funding and Other Details
The following information is from a Live Chat.
- Funding – ACH ($54k max deposit when opening online), wire, check.
- Additional Deposit – can be made in-branch or by mail (ACH, wire, or check).
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – Yes.
- Dividends – Compounded/credited monthly; can be withdrawn penalty free.
- Maturing Funds – Wire ($25 fee), ACH*, cashier’s check to address on file, or internal transfer to savings or checking account.
- Beneficiaries – Unlimited, equal shares, Social Security numbers required.
- Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal as a 6-month CD.
- Credit Check – None.
*UNIFY limits outgoing ACH transfers to $5k per month, even if the ACH is initiated by an external financial institution.
Credit Union Overview
UNIFY Financial Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 9.64% (excellent) based on December 31, 2022 data. In the past year, UNIFY has increased its total non-brokered deposits by $23.22 million, an above average annual growth rate of 0.76%. Please refer to our financial overview of UNIFY Financial Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 15732) for more details.
Established in the late 1940s as the Western Air Credit Union, UNIFY Financial Credit Union is currently the seventh largest credit union headquartered in Texas and the 101st largest credit union in the country. When Western Airlines merged into Delta Airline in the 1980s, the credit union became known as simply Western Credit Union and rebranded as UNIFY in 2016. As a result of several mergers (including TRW Systems FCU in 2003 and Toyota FCU in 2007) over the past 18 years, UNIFY has grown to nearly 2939,000 members and assets in excess of $4.1 billion.
How the 9-Month Share Certificate Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, two banks and one credit union have higher rates than currently offered on the UNIFY Financial Credit Union 9-month Share Certificate. The following table compares the 9-month Share Certificate 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 4/14/2023.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
