In Review: Access Federal Credit Union

“Selected an Excellent Choice Credit Union. Access Federal CU is great credit union with a high level of customer satisfaction, serving the areas of Oneida County and the City of Oneida"

By: Allan R Kirby

We review Credit Unions:

Mysmallbank.com feels compelled to find the best credit unions and community banks in order to write a small review. These reviews are to help you learn more about community banks, possibly one that's in your area that you might be interested in. In this review we are choosing the following local Credit Union:

Name: Access Federal Credit Union

Location: Clinton

Headquartered: 6 Franklin Ave, PO Box 308, Clinton, NY 13323

Branches: 5

Year Established: 1947

Review:

We found Access Federal Credit Union one of those hidden gems that seems to go unnoticed with the exception of those who are already members at one of their five branches. In fact with 23,000 members you would be hard pressed to find any serious negative comments about this credit union. However to determine how we felt about the Access Federal Credit Union we needed to look at reviews, services offered as well as their commitment to their membership and the communities they serve. What we found was this is a great credit union that is clearly shown by the high satisfaction and positive reviews.

Access Federal Credit Union currently has close to $190 million in assets, five branches and nearly 23,000 members. ibanknet. Additionally they have a history of providing services to their members since the Credit Union's founding in 1947.

When we reviewed this credit union we were happy to see so many positive responses over the years. When you read about members that have banked at the same credit union for over 30 years, the tell us that members stick with this credit union over the long term. However let's be clear we do not ignore any negative reviews and do read them to see if there are any real identifiable issues. However what we found was people who spoke highly of the credit union clearly articulated why. This cannot be said with some of the negative reviews which did not clearly state the issues or the issues were minor in nature.

Products and Services

What we liked best was the fact that they had very competitive vehicle loan rates. We did some research at a number of larger regional banks and found Access Federal Credit Union beat their rates every time. Although the difference was not substantial especially if you actually call the regionals banks. You can get a better discount to the posted rate if you negotiate with the regional however we still found on average you got a .25% to .5% better rate at Access Federal CU.

Helping out the Younger Generations. We where pleased to see the Gen Y Checking account that is offered to younger members which is designed to help them develop good financial habits early. This account has no minimum balance to open. Benefits: The first order of the ACCESS exclusive checks is free and you get a I-Tune Card, worth $15.00 value as well when you open an account.

"We found this credit union has a high level of satisfaction from its members"

Secondly looking at employee reviews working at the credit union we found employees spoke highly about working at the credit union. Specifically we found staff liked the work environment and their coworkers. It appears overall employees felt this is a good place to work at. Employees who provided reviews highlighted that working at the credit union is "Very fun and fast pace job at times" or as one specific employee highlighed "This place is nice to work for. The team is wonderful. Couldn't ask for better peers to work with." We all know that a positive working environment provides a better experience for its members.

Excellent Choice Credit Union

It's not hard to see why this is such a great Credit Union, they have great reviews, competitive rates, good services and happy staff. Mysmallbank.com believes Access Federal Credit Union is well deserved to receive the designation of Excellent choice, Credit Union. (Note 2) . So if you're looking for a great community based credit union and you live or plan to live in the areas Access Federal CU operates this could be a great financial institution for you.

Finally we found that Access Federal Credit Union is a federally insured credit union through NCUA (Note 1) .

Who is Eligible

As per their website: If you live, work, worship, or go to school anywhere in Oneida County or the City of Oneida, you are now eligible to join ACCESS Federal Credit Union. Also, businesses (and other legal entities) located within Oneida County or the City of Oneida are eligible to join ACCESS.
 
 Additionally the credit union highlights that Immediate family members of any ACCESS Federal Credit Union member are also eligible for membership. For example if an Oneida County resident joins the Credit Union, then their spouse is eligible for membership. Once the spouse joins, the spouse's brothers and sisters may also join. After the brothers and sisters become members, their spouses may join. Next their brothers and sisters may join, etc. If you have a family member that would like to join.

Apply Now to become a member.

The following provides additional information on Access Federal CU services, branches as well as fees.

Services Offered:

Full Service Credit Union: Yes

Part of the CO-OP Shared Branch network: Yes

Routing Number: 221379895

Banking:

Credit Union Loans:

Business Banking

Credit Card: Visa

Credit Union Online

Online and Mobile Banking: Yes

Access Federal CU Branch Location:

Clinton Branch

6 Franklin Ave

Clinton, NY 13323

Telephone (315) 557-1000

Fax (315) 557-1004

Lobby Hours:

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday 9:00 am - Noon

Drive Up Hours:

Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday 7:30 am - Noon

Camden Branch

74-76 Main St.

PO Box 438

Camden, NY 13316

Telephone(315) 245-2148

Fax(315) 245-0055

Hours:

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday 9:00 am - Noon

Oneida Branch

2094 Glenwood Shopping Plaza

Oneida, NY 13421

Telephone (315) 366-9840

Fax (315) 366-9826

Hours:

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday 9:00 am - Noon

Rome Office

230 S James Street

Rome, NY 13440

Telephone (315) 339-3000

Fax (315) 339-3039

Hours:

Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Saturday 9:00 am - Noon

Sherrill Branch

Highbridge Road

PO Box 8

Sherrill, NY 13461

Telephone (315) 693-0035

Fax (315) 361-5067

Drive Up Hours

Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 5:00 pm

(Check location for hours of service).

Fee Schedule:

Yes: Click Here

Are Federal Credit Unions Better vs Banks?

Federal Credit Unions banks are local banks that provide financial services to smaller communities and tend to be better than major banks for a number of reason which include:

Notes:

1. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. depository institutions. NCUA's standard maximum share insurance amount at $250,000.00.

2. Periodically Mysmallbank.com will name a credit union as a top choice (Top credit union) based on a number of criteria such as customer and employee reviews, complaints, satisfaction, growth, locations, brand and social responsibility. We only select the best credit unions, so they must meet minimum standards of excellences (Excellent Choice) in order to be reviewed by Mysmallbank.com

In Review is a segment of the MySmallBank.com blog written by Allan R Kirby, who writes and produces Personal Finance articles and videos along with My Success Magazine.

Disclosure: mysmallbank.com nor the author received any compensation from the mentioned credit union for this article. The article is our opinion only and is written to help readers learn more about local credit unions.