West-AirComm Credit Union Offers Rate-Leading CDs In Western PA

For a limited time, West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union (WAFCU) is offering three Certificate Specials: 20-month (5.75% APY), 14-month (5.50% APY), and 7-month (5.00% APY). The minimum opening deposit for all three Certificate Specials is $1k, with new money required for at least 50% of the opening deposit. “New money” is simply defined as funds not already on deposit with WAFCU.

While no end-date is specified, the landing page does state the Certificate Specials “won’t be around for long.”

As stated in the Truth-in-Savings disclosure, the Early Withdrawal Penalty reads as follows:

Terms of one year or less, 30 days’ dividends.

Terms of more than one year, 90 days’ dividends.

If the account has not yet earned enough dividends or if the dividends have already been paid, the penalty will be deducted from the principal.

Thanks to DA reader, Carpline, for the recent Forum post about the WAFCU Certificate Specials.

Availability

Headquartered in Beaver, Pennsylvania, West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) is community-based, with those who live, work, worship, attend school, or volunteer in the western Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, Beaver, or Butler eligible to join.

Relatives (by blood or marriage) or a domestic partner of a current WAFCU member also qualify for membership, regardless of where they live.

Account Opening

Joining WAFCU and/or opening a Certificate Special can be done online, or at any of three Pennsylvania branches, located in Aliquippa, Beaver and Moon Township.

Opening a Share Savings Account with a minimum $5 deposit is required to establish a WAFCU membership.

Funding and Other Details

The following information is from the WAFCU website and a conversation with CSR.

• Funding – ACH, wire (no fee), internal transfer, or Shared Branch transaction.
• CO-OP Shared Branch Participate – Yes.
• Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
• Dividends – Compounded/credited quarterly and can be withdrawn penalty-free.
• Maturing Funds –Cashier’s check to address on file or transferred to a WAFCU Share Savings account.
• Grace Period – None, per se: “To avoid a withdrawal penalty, all withdrawals must be made on the maturity date.” The 7-month and 14-month will renew as a 12-month certificate and the 20-month will renew as a 24-month certificate.
• Beneficiaries – Application is limited to two, but more can be added; beneficiaries receive equal shares; Social Security numbers are required.
• Credit Check – ChexSystems, a credit check is only run when applying for a loan.

Credit Union Overview

West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union has an overall health grade of "A" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 1.73% (excellent), based on March 31, 2023 data. In the past year, WAFCU increased its total non-brokered deposits by $9.48 million, an excellent annual growth rate of 3.42%. Please refer to our financial overview of West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 6233) for more details.

Established in 1949 as the Westinghouse Beaver Federal Credit Union, the original FOM was exclusive to the hourly employees at the Westinghouse Electric plant in Beaver, Pennsylvania. In 1987, Westinghouse Beaver FCU and Pittsburgh Airport Chamber of Commerce merged and rebranded as West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union. The current tri-county community charter was approved in 2005 and includes Pennsylvania’s second-most populous county (Allegheny). Currently the 30^th largest credit union headquartered in Pennsylvania, West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union has nearly 21,000 members and assets in excess of $322 million.

How the 20-Month Certificate Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union 20-Month Certificate Special. The following table compares the 20-Month Certificate to the two highest-rate CDs from other credit unions and the two highest-rate CDs from banks.

How the 14-Month Certificate Special Compares

When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com that are available within the FOM and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no banks or credit unions have higher rates than currently offered on the West-Aircomm Federal Credit Union 14-Month Certificate Special. The following table compares the 14-Month 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 6/20/2023.

To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our Best CD Rates Table page.