Credit unions are formed to promote the interest of the members by working without any external obligations towards stake holders or the government agencies. These co-operative bodies work on a very low scale by considering the common interests of the members on non-profit basis. Credit unions are therefore a means to develop a community and to secure the financial interest of the members within its group. State employees’ credit union is one of the top ranked financial institutions to provide beneficial financial services to active and retired state and public school employees.
A wide range of services to the member community and ensuring total safety of their finances is the motto of state employees’ credit union. With a well spread network across north Carolina, the firm has successfully penetrated to the key member groups. With shared interests within the group towards developmental aspects of the community and also self, the co-operative is ranked amongst the finest in the country.
State employees’ credit union boasts of many services that are meant to help out the privileged members. Some of them include deposit accounts with a zero balance facility, educational loans for students of the members, credit cards at minimum transaction fee per annum, insurance services, estate planning and other access to online account management. All of the above services are rendered with maximum perfection so as to provide flawless service to the members.
Although the co-operative works on a non-profit basis, there are some pros and cons related to the organization. Most of the observations are based upon the experience of first hand clients or members of the group.
Pros:
Safety of the assets is always an important parameter to judge a financial institution. Since state employees’ credit union is not bound to any external agency or shareholders, the funds are not divested into financial transactions. The board chooses to invest on a conservative basis in the US treasury securities in order to provide better circulation of the assets to generate better pay out for each member. Apart from the above said advantage of choosing this credit union, there are multiple benefits that can be availed by the members. Some of them are listed as follows.
- SECU is completely prepared for any kind of financial crisis owing to its able management that keeps the expenses in check. With expenses at just 1.8% to the credit union peer average of 2.43%, SECU remains as the safest credit union that is well protected from any kind of adversities.
- With lowest rates charged for deposits and other value added services, SECU clearly works for the interests of members.
- A broader network covering 230 centers across North Carolina makes the organization the most accessible and committed credit unions at the moment.
- The dividends are accrued on a daily basis depending upon the performance of the assets and are paid out on a monthly basis. Other services like the Laddered STC( share term certificates) provide better interest to the principal
- Laddered STC also has many interesting features like transferring the benefits to a different beneficiary and availing loans by using STC as collateral.
- Members can indulge in safe banking on a global platform with the revolutionary cash point’s global platform which is a hassle free account service that bears no overdraft charges NSF fees. With a completely electronic banking system, cash points global are one of the best means to avoid fraud.
- The fear of maintaining a minimum balance in the checking account is ruled out since most of the credit unions work at a less expense rate.
- All of the banking accounts are insured which is why no account gets charged for overdrafts or other penalties.
After observing some of the major positives about the credit union services, let us notice some of the disadvantages of using SECU. Although mild in comparison to the overall services provided by the organization, they still need to be sorted out in order to work towards a common goal.
Cons:
- Since SECU is a privately formed body that consists of limited number of member, the access to technology and other important services is limited. When compared to banks, SECU lacks in terms of penetration in key markets.
- The availability of ATM’s and other banking support systems is very low for members of SECU.
- Deposit or drawing money with the help of third party banking documents can be time taking which puts the member at a slight disadvantage to other banks.
- The accesses to loans from other banks are restricted with the support of checking accounts provided by SECU. Although educational loans are provided with the help of STC (share term certificates), the access to other forms of lending is completely restricted.
- SECU is not accessible to all sects of the society. Only those who belong to the state onward public and private schools would be eligible to avail the benefits.
Conclusion:
SECU is a breakthrough phenomenon in co-operative banking. By choosing the right kind of services provided by state employees’ credit union will help the members to secure their financial future in a great way. Ensuring safety and giving top priority to the members’ interest is the key aspect of state employees’ credit union.
With a wide range of services backed with total security of the assets makes SECU undoubtedly one of the finest credit unions. The impact of financial crisis and other issues will have less impact on the interest rates of the assets. The dividends are paid out to the account holders on a consistent basis which is why the benefits accrued are also pretty high.
Investing in securities and mutual funds can also be done with the support of the investor advisors who act as volunteers for the group. Credit unions make sure to address key issues that are affecting the members from time to time.
Saving large amounts of money by avoiding various fees and gaining significant returns is the key factor that motivates people to stay with SECU for lifetime.
To open up and account or to know the eligibility, log on to www.ncsecu.org or contact (888)-732-8562.