“Selected an Excellent Choice Credit Union, Teachers Federal CU (TFCU) has a long history of providing great service in the areas Long Island, Queens, and Manhattan."
By: Allan R Kirby
We review Credit Unions:
Mysmallbank.com feels compelled to find the best credit unions and community banks to write a small review. These reviews are to help you learn more about community banking, 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: Hauppauge
Headquartered: 102 Motor Pkwy, Hauppauge, NY 11788.
Branches: 32
Year Established: 1952
Review:
Teachers, Federal Credit Union is one of the larger credit unions found in the United States with a total of 32 branch locations throughout Long Island, Queens, and Manhattan and a long history of providing great financial services in the communities they serve. Our decision to name TFCU Union, Excellent Choice Credit Union, was based on our own set of criteria such as; research on reviews, services offered as well as their commitment to their membership and the communities they serve. What we found was a great community credit union with lots of service offerings while only asking $1 to join them and just $1 for a minimum opening balance.
Teachers Federal Credit Union currently has just over $8 billion in assets, 32 branches, and nearly 350,000 members. ibanknet. Additionally, they have a history of providing services to their members since the Credit Union's founding in 1952.
"Our Review of Teachers Federal Credit Union highlights that credit unions can excelle in large urban centers and compete directly with the major banks."
When we started reviewing TFCU we quickly found that this is a well-run credit union with very few negative reviews relative to the over 350,000 members. Additionally, the very few problems or concerns we found were client-specific and did not reflect the true experience you will receive with the credit union. In fact, our review confirmed to us that members at Teachers Federal Credit Union rated their experience much higher than clients do at the major banks.
Teachers Federal CU does not stop at providing great personal banking services to their members, they also have a wide array of service offerings available to local businesses which include: Business banking, loans, credit cards, and even reduced rates on cloud hosting services! Specifically, Teachers Federal Credit union has partnered with Newtek Business Services to provide businesses with business web services, with: Only pay for what you use and Access to 24/7/365 U.S.-based support via phone, email, or live chat.
"Hauppauge is a hamlet in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 20,882 as of 2010"
The following highlights some of the specific products and services Teachers FCU provides its members as well as their commitment to their community.
Teachers Federal CU Credit Cards:
When looking at some of Teacher Credit Unions we liked their complete line of credit card offerings which includes the Visa Cash Back, Visa Secured, Visa Low Interest, Visa Student, and the:
The Teachers Visa Platinum Card
This is a great credit card with competitive rates, no annual fees, and everyday rewards.
Benefits:
Low, competitive rates
Discover Credit Union credit cards with high limits – the Teachers Visa Platinum gives you the highest possible credit limit ($2,500 - $25,000), plus the prestige of Platinum.
You'll be automatically enrolled in our exclusive Score Card program that awards you points every time you use your Platinum Card.
Choose from a wide range of merchandise items in the Visa Score Cards Rewards catalogue, or redeem your points for Visa Travel Rewards.
Youth Savings Accounts
We always love to see credit unions focusing on younger generations and Teachers Federal Credit Union does not disappoint. The credit union provides a Youth Savings account to help those under 18 learn about money management. They have a highly competitive rate of 3% on the first $1,000 deposited!
Details of the Youth savings account from Teachers Federal:
Savings account for minors only, ages up to 18.
3.00% APY.
Only a $1 balance is required to open an account.
Commitment to Community:
The Teachers Federal Credit Union has a Scholarship Program that provides
a total of $25,000 in scholarships to ten winners!
To be eligible, the student must a member of the TFCU and:
Graduate from high school in Spring 2021
Have a minimum GPA of 3.5
Attend an accredited college in Fall 2021 as a full-time student
Be a member in good standing with a savings and checking account.
2021 Robert G. Allen Scholarship Program
TFCU has another scholarship program for members in honor of the former Teachers CEO and President, Robert G. Allen. This program consists of five $2,500 scholarships.
Excellent Choice Credit Union:
With high customer satisfaction, great service offerings, and their long-standing commitment to their community it's not hard to see why this is such a great credit union. This is why Mysmallbank.com believes Teachers Federal CU is well deserved to receive the designation of Excellent choice, Credit Union [2]. So if you're looking for a great community-based credit union and you live or plan to live in the Long Island, Queens, and Manhattan areas where Teacher Federal CU operates, this could be a great financial institution for you.
Finally, we found that Teachers Federal CU is a federally insured credit union through NCUA [1].
Who is Eligible:
As per their website: Teachers Federal CU is a not-for-profit, member-owned financial institution, membership is easy. TFCU now offers financial services to all people and businesses. There are no restrictions!
Become a Teachers member and the credit union will help you switch from your old financial institution to a free Teachers savings and checking account for only $1!
Apply Now to become a member.
The following provides additional information on Teachers FCU services, branches as well as fees.
Services Offered:
Full-Service Credit Union: Yes
Teachers Federal Credit Union Routing Number: 221475786
Personal Banking:
Checking
IRAs
Money Market
Savings
Teachers FCU Loans:
Mortgages
Personal Lending
Vehicle Loans
Credit Cards Visa
Business Banking:
Business Checking
Business Certificates
Business Money Market
Business Savings
Teachers FCU business loans:
Business Credit Card
Closed-End Loan
Commercial Mortgages
Line of Credit
Vehicle Financing
Teachers FCU Online
Online and Mobile Banking: Yes
Teachers FCU Branch Location:
Central Islip Branch
South of Motor Parkway
118 Wheeler Rd
Central Islip, NY 11722
631-698-7000
Nesconset Branch
Nesconset Plaza
127 Smithtown Blvd
Nesconset, NY 11767
631-698-7000
Smithtown Branch
Bank Ave & Rte 25
1 West Main St
Smithtown, NY 11787
631-698-7000
Hauppauge Branch
102 Motor Parkway
Hauppauge, NY 11788
631-698-7000
Oakdale Branch
951 Montauk Highway
Oakdale, NY 11769
631-698-7000
Holbrook Branch
5439 Sunrise Highway
Holbrook, NY 11741
631-698-7000
Kings Park Branch
742 Route 25A
Kings Park, NY 11754
631-698-7000
Commack Branch
10 Vanderbilt Parkway
Commack, NY 11725
631-698-7000
South Setauket Branch
260A Pond Path
S.Setauket, NY 11720
631-698-7000
Bay Shore Branch
1360 Sunrise Hwy
Bay Shore, NY 11706
631-698-7000
Selden Branch
Middle Country Rd
301 Independence Plaza
Selden, NY 11784
631-698-7000
Farmingville Branch
2410 North Ocean Ave
Farmingville, NY 11738
631-698-7000
East Northport Branch
556 Larkfield Rd
East Northport, NY 11731
631-698-7000
Patchogue Branch
31 West Main St, Suite 23
Patchogue, NY 11772
631-698-7000
North Babylon Branch
1134 Deer Park Ave
N.Babylon, NY 11703
631-698-7000
Fee Schedule:
Yes: Click Here
Federal Credit Unions Better vs the big banks?
Federal Credit Unions banks are local banks that provide financial services to smaller communities and tend to be better than major banks for several reasons which include:
Better rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposits.
Competitive mortgage rates.
Fees tend to be lower at community banks.
Local deposits are used to make loans to local businesses.
Federal Credit Unions tend to have a better understanding of the communities they serve.
Federal Credit Unions tend to have a more personalized customer service experience and have higher customer satisfaction rates.
Federal Credit Unions provide local jobs and support local charities.
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 several 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) to be reviewed by Mysmallbank.com
Note: We take care when looking at reviews, especially emotionally charged negative reviews based on unique circumstances. These reviews may not accurately reflect the true experience you will receive when visiting a credit union.
In Review is a segment of the MySmallBank.com blog written by Allan R Kirby, who writes and produces Personal Finance articles and videos.
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.