In Review: Harvard University Employees Credit Union

“Selected an Excellent Choice Credit Union. Harvard University Employees CU has a long history of providing excellent service to its members in the Cambridge and Boston Areas."

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: Harvard University Employees Credit Union

Location: Cambridge

Headquartered: 104 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States

Branches: 5

Year Established: 1939

Review:

We recently came across a prospective customer who was concerned with some of the negatives reviews found on various sites about Harvard University Employees Credit Union. So we decided to investigate ourselves to see whether HUECU is in fact a good credit union to bank at or not. To determine this 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 not truly reflected as a result of a few bad reviews.

Harvard University Employees Credit Union currently has close to $841 million in assets, five branches and nearly 50,143 members. ibanknet. Additionally they have a long history of providing services to their members since the Credit Union's founding in 1939.

So when we reviewed the small number of complaints relative to the number of members we had no concerns about this credit union. In fact the more we researched the more we liked. We found the credit union does take the time to respond to members problems and concerns when members post on Yelp as well and Google. The credit union could simply ignore the complaints which we have seen with other financial institutions but this is not the case with HUECU. They engage with their members to try and correct issues, this is very positive in our view.

We did not focus just on the negative reviews, we also found many reviews that spoke highly of the credit union, it's always great to see members saying things such as "they are great!" or "Staff are knowledgeable and helpful". Clearly members feel they are getting great attention they are looking for at a credit union. In fact after taking the time to read all of the reiews it was evident that there are no major problems or concerns with this credit union

"After doing some rate comparisons we found HUECU does provide competitive loan rates to meet members needs."

Secondly looking at employee reviews working at the credit union we found employees spoke positively about working at the credit union and we found staff highly rated their benefits and pay they received. Secondly Employees who provided reviews highlighted the credit union as a "Friendly and Welcoming environment". We all know that a positive working environment provides a better experience for its members.

"Throughout the year, HUECU offers free in-person workshops and virtual webinars on a variety of financial topics. You do not have to be a member of the Credit Union to attend."

Financial Education and Social Responsibility

We love finding credit unions that actually help empower people to become better with their finances as well as supporting the communities they serve. HUECU is just another example of that. The Credit Union has developed numerous educational workshops and presents them frequently to members covering a variety of topics such as:

In addition, Harvard University Employees CU participates in a broad range of volunteer efforts and charity programs. Their ongoing support for Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless as well as Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund proves this is a credit union involved with their community

Student Banking and Loans

What stood out the most is the number of Banking and Loans available to help university students, as well as their educational workshops such as College Financing 101 and using Credit Cards Wisely. The credit union does keep to their roots in helping Harvard colleges students and staff.

Excellent Choice Credit Union

Sometimes you need to dig a little deeper to find the true value of a credit union, not just making a decision based on a few reviews. Mysmallbank.com found Harvard University Employees Credit Union to be committed to providing excellent service to their members while also keeping focused on being socially responsible in the communities they serve. We therefore we are giving HUECU the well deserved 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 Harvard University Credit Union serves, this could be a great financial institution for you.

Finally we found that Harvard University Employees Credit Union is a federally insured credit union through NCUA (Note 1) .

Who is Eligible

Harvard University Employees Credit Union (HUECU) provides financial services just like any other financial institution, however there is one difference, eligibility. In order to join HUECU you need to be eligible by being affiliated with the University which includes: faculty, staff, students, alumni, and retirees of Harvard University, Harvard teaching hospitals or through affiliated organizations. A complete list of affiliated organization can be found at the bottom of this page or click here

Once you become a member, your family members also qualify to be members.

Apply Now to become a member.

The following provides additional information on Harvard University Employees Credit Union (HUECU) services, branches as well as fees.

Services Offered:

Full Service Credit Union: Yes

Part of the CO-OP Shared Branch network: No

Routing Number: 211381738

Banking: Checking/Savings.

Student Banking:

• College Life Account

• Student Credit Card

• Student Organizations

Credit Union Loans:

Home and , Auto as well as:

Education Loans:

• Graduate Loans

• Bar & Residency Loan

• MGH Institute of Health Professions Education Loan

• Education Refinance Loan

• Parent Loan

• Education Loan Repayment

Harvard Credit Union Credit Card: Master Card

Harvard Credit Union Online

Online and Mobile Banking: Yes

Harvard University Employees CU Branch Locations:

Harvard Square (HSQ)

104 Mount Auburn Street

Cambridge, MA 02138

Phone: (617) 495-4460

Fax: (617) 495-0444

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)

Bulfinch Building Room 119
 55 Fruit Street
 Boston, MA 02114
 Phone: (617) 726-1630
 Fax: (617) 726-7409

Charlestown Navy Yard (CNY)

149 13th Street
 Charlestown, MA 02129
 Phone: (617) 726-1630
 Fax: (617) 724-9979

Longwood Medical Area (LMA)

Kresge Building, Room 108
 677 Huntington Avenue
 Boston, MA 02115
 Phone: (617) 495-4460
 Fax: (617) 432-2854

Partners, Assembly Row (PAR)

399 Revolution Drive, East Building, STE 345
 Somerville, MA 02145
 Phone: (857) 282-7366

(Check location for hours of service).

Harvard Credit Union Fee Schedule:

Yes: Click Here

Complete list of Harvard University Partners Employees CU's Affiliated Organizations

Check these affiliates to see if your eligible:

AllWays Health Partners

American Repertory Theater (The A.R.T)

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)

Boston Children’s Hospital

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)

Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA)

Center for Astrophysics (CFA)

Child Care Centers (operating on Harvard Property)

Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library

Forsyth Institute

Harvard Business Publishing

Harvard Business School (HBS)

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Harvard College

Harvard Divinity School

Harvard Division of Continuing Education (DCE)

Harvard Faculty of Arts of Science (FAS)

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS)

Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD)

Harvard Graduate School of Education (GSE)

Harvard Kennedy School of Government (HKS)

Harvard Law School (HLS)

Harvard Management Company (HMC)

Harvard Medical School (HMS)

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care

Harvard School of Dental Medicine (HSDM)

Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)

Harvard University (Faculty, Staff, Museums, Libraries)

Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates

Hebrew SeniorLife

Joslin Diabetes Center

Judge Baker Children’s Center

Lesley University (Students, Alumni, Faculty and Staff)

Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI)

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)

Massachusetts Mental Health Center (MMHC)

McLean Hospital

Medical, Academic and Scientific Community Organization (MASCO)

MGH Institute of Health Professions (IHP)

Mount Auburn Hospital (MAH)

Partners HealthCare System (PHS)

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard

Schepens Eye Research Institute

Shriners Hospital for Children

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital

The Coop

VA Boston Healthcare System

WGBH Boston

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; Harvard Credit Union for this article. The article is our opinion only and is written to help readers learn more about local credit unions.