Jovia Financial Unveils Rate-Leading 40-Month Certificate
Long Island-based Jovia Financial Credit Union (the former NEFCU) has added a new 40-month Certificate to its product line. Earning 5.25% APY, the 40-month Certificate can be opened with a low $100 minimum deposit and has no stated balance cap.
The 40-month Certificate is also available as an IRA Certificate (Traditional, Roth, CESA), earning the same APY with the same deposit requirements.
Jovia offers a 5-day Certificate Rate Guarantee. As stated in the fine print on the Certificates page,
If the certificate rate increases within (5) five calendar days of the account opening, your certificate will earn the higher rate from the date the higher rate went into effect until the certificate’s maturity date.
The 40-month Certificate interest rate is 5.048%, which seems just not quite right. This has been a long-standing concern with Jovia certificates. DA reader, barry_NY, commented about this issue in a 2018 blog post, when Jovia was still known as NEFCU.
I had this APY issue before with NEFCU. Their calculation is a bit ****y, but it works.
It’s based on a 360 day calendar, compounded on a 365 day year. (1+R/360)^365.
If you do the math using barry_NY’s formula, the 5.048% rate works out to an APY of 5.25%. Thank you, barry_NY!
Early Withdrawal Penalty
The Certificate Truth-in-Savings (TIS) disclosure was removed from the Jovia website a couple years ago, which is unfortunate. In the recent past, CSR was able to calculate the penalty (using “the computer”) for a specific amount being withdrawn from a Certificate, but had no way of translating that dollar amount into a standard description of an early withdrawal penalty (EWP). I fully expected CSR not to be able to provide a EWP for the 40-month Certificate.
Surprise! In a Live Chat, CSR stated,
The penalty for [a 40-month Certificate] premature withdrawal/closeout is the loss of 270 days dividends on the amount withdrawn, whether earned or not.
Partial withdrawals are allowed, but any withdrawal made within 270 days of account opening will reduce the principal.
Online Savings Account
In 2022, Jovia began offering an Online Savings Account, and the rate has remained competitive. This month, the rate increased to 5.15% APY on all balances. The account has no monthly fees, and a debit/ATM card is available. External transfer to and from a non-Jovia account can be done through online or mobile banking. The account can't be managed at branches. Jovia branch or shared branch transactions are not permitted on the Online Savings Account.
For credit union online savings accounts, Jovia’s rate currently far exceeds the rates of the well-established ones, including PenFed (3.00% APY), Alliant (3.10% APY), and USALLIANCE Financial (4.65% APY).
Availability
Headquartered in Westbury, New York, Jovia Financial Credit Union’s field of membership (FOM) was substantially expanded earlier this year. All U.S. citizens and resident aliens are now eligible to join through membership in the a CrossState Credit Union Foundation, a non-profit which “promotes financial education, contributes to disaster relief, and helps community development in underserved areas.” There is a one-time $5 membership fee that will be paid compliments of Jovia.
Individuals who live, work, or attend school in anywhere on Long Island are also eligible to join.
Any existing Jovia member can sponsor an immediate family member (parent, child, grandparent, or sibling) for Jovia membership.
Account Opening
Joining Jovia and/or opening a Certificate can be done online or at any of 21 Long Island branches, which are located in Bay Shore, Commack, Deer Park, Franklin Square, Greenvale, Hampstead, Huntington, Huntington Station, Levittown, Massapequa, Newconset, New Hyde Park, Northport, Oceanside, Plainview, Rockville Centre, Syosset, Uniondale, Valley Stream, Wantagh, and Westbury. Appointments are available and can be scheduled online.
All that's required to open an account and start saving is $5 (that’s the cost of a cup of coffee these days!).
Funding and Other Details
The following information is from the Jovia website and a Live Chat with CSR.
- Funding – ACH, wire ($5 fee), internal transfer, or Shared Service Center transfer.
- CO-OP Shared Branch Participant – No, but does participate in the nationwide Shared Service Center Network.
- Ownership – Individual, joint, or trust.
- Maturing Funds – Check to the address on file or internal transfer to a Jovia savings or checking account.
- Dividends – Compounded daily/credited monthly, can be withdrawn at any time penalty-free.
- Beneficiaries – Up to five, percentages can be assigned, Social Security numbers are required.
- Grace Period – 10 calendar days before automatic renewal.
- Credit Check – Soft pull.
Credit Union Overview
Jovia Financial Credit Union has an overall health grade of "B+" at DepositAccounts.com, with a Texas Ratio of 8.22% (excellent), based on June 30, 2023 data. In the past year, Jovia increased its total non-brokered deposit by $107.52 million, an above average annual growth rate of 2.93%. Please refer to our financial overview of Jovia Financial Credit Union (NCUA Charter # 2760) for more details.
Jovia Financial Credit Union was founded in 1938 as the Valley Stream Teachers Federal Credit Union with 10 members and $50 in assets. The initial FOM included employees of Nassau County schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, and other affiliated groups. The name was changed to Nassau Educators Federal Credit Union (NEFCU) in 1981, to better reflect the growth and expansion of the credit union. NEFCU was granted a community charter in 2010, allowing for an even greater broadening of the FOM in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In 2019, the Jovia rebrand occurred as the FOM was “no longer geographically centered in Nassau County and by the fact that other companies had the NEFCU name.” Jovia is currently the eighth largest credit union headquartered in New York, with nearly 216,000 members and assets in excess of $4.3 billion.
How the 40-Month Certificate Compares
When compared to similar length-of-term CDs tracked by DepositAccounts.com which are available nationwide and have minimum deposit requirements of $10k or less, no bank or credit union has a higher rate than currently offered on the Jovia 40-month Certificate. The following table compares the 40-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 9/29/2023.
To look for the best CD rates, both nationwide and state specific, please refer to our CD Rates Table page.
