“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:
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:
Basics of Personal Finance
Buying Your First Home
Psychology of Spending
College Financing 101
Using Credit Cards Wisely
Planning for Retirement
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
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:
Personal Loan
Debt Consolidation Loan
Mass Save HEAT Loan
Holiday Loan
Vacation Loan
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
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.