Sorry. I never intended any disrespect. Let me say that my very FIRST experience with NFCU, as a brand spanking new member quite a few years ago, was a horribly failed attempt to ACH funds out of my savings account. I got my ears boxed. I had failed to read the account terms they sent me. Bad on me.
So I thereafter did the obvious: I opened an NFCU checking account. It was no bigee. They have free checking. I keep a dollar in the account when it is not in use. In all the years since, NFCU has never hassled me about my checking account.
Okay, so an NFCU CD matures and I want to withdraw the dough via ACH. I have two choices, both of which rely on the automatic movement of my funds, at maturity, into checking. This is an account feature at NFCU:
I can initiate an ACH withdrawal at Alliant once I see the funds in NFCU checking. This costs me one day of interest on any day except Friday and works up to $100,000. Or, and usually better
Once I see the matured CD funds in NFCU checking I can initiate an ACH pull at PurePoint. This works even on a Friday and it works up to a million bucks. There is no loss of interest whatsoever this way. I do not have any CD accounts anywhere near to a million $$$. If you do, why are you here instead of out sunning yourself at your palatial Caribbean island villa.
Bottom line the NFCU checking account ACH thing is a non-event once you are aware of the restriction. The workarounds are easy peasy if you have the right hub accounts.
Now as for the notion of using Ally Bank as a hub . . . or anything else for that matter . . . I had better not get started on that insanity!!
Your descriptions of NFCU’s procedures were “difficult, quirky, puzzling,” For me, approaching things this way makes it hard to conduct business and I wanted to point out that people have successfully navigated this issue.
This is exactly why I am so confused. People are talking about losing interest because of the CD>Checking>elsewhere hoops they must jump through. However, the reality is that you can transfer from the CD to checking instantly, and then elsewhere as if the money were going directly from the CD (timing wise). I don’t understand why this warrants so much grief. Sounds to me like people feel entitled to not have to do that, since their other accounts don’t have that same limitation. Why not just deal with it and move on with life? It’s literally 30 seconds extra, if that, compared to going CD>elsewhere.
Some of us will drive around to numerous malls or stores to buy $500 gift cards, just to net a few bucks per card, while spending a LOT of time and energy. Yet people have such a huge problem because they have to do a few more mouse clicks from their couch?
No one is, or should be, freaking out to the extent you are implying with words like “so much grief” and “huge problem”. And it is more than a few mouse clicks. It’s another account to maintain, something else to reconcile, another hit on Chex, etc. And God forbid the checking account earn a penny of interest, then there would (legally) be a tax consequence! But as I said, these things are manageable if the benefits of having CDs there outweigh it, and I think they do.
In a thread that is dedicated to a discussion of dealing with a specific financial institution, there’s nothing wrong with pointing out that NFCU has a few practices that are different from most all other financial institutions a particular person (representing one data point) has seen.
In my opinion, the last 10 posts in this thread say otherwise. But to each their own. My point is, the limitations are known and have been stated. Either live with it or don’t. It’s simple.
And hence my “entitled” comment above. This isn’t explained anywhere that you could find, no other institution does it, so it’s an annoyance, per your post. So really, people are butt hurt over some policy that has basically no real adverse effect on them, and are just acting entitled.
It’s funny you say everyone can have their own opinions and then the next sentence, you basically tell my that my opinion is wrong. You may need to step back and smell the roses a bit. By the way, I don’t think I ever even quoted you. Why are you responding so hostile toward me? Relax. It’s not that big of a deal. Good luck with your adventures.
There appears to be an opportunity cost in opening and/or maintaining an NFCU CD.
This appears to be a cost that does not exist with other financial institutions.
Everything else about opinions on how annoying it is, etc. is just noise. Describe the cost so people understand it, and they can determine for themselves whether or not to open a CD with NFCU.
Actually NFCU will do that for you. All of my new NFCU CD accounts are already set up for auto-transfer upon maturity . . . which will not happen for five years.
But of course I totally agree with the thrust of your post, pattyb53. This thread has descended into silliness.
So you cannot ACH out of NFCU savings. So what! It’s a complete, quintessential, non-event!! Of course:
If they ever commence charging me for checking, like GTE does now for example well, then I will be singing an entirely different tune.
Just for the record, I also do not understand your shorthand, and your reply to pattyb53 provides no clarification.
If you are saying, in your shorthanded manner, that delay of receipt of funds from NFCU can cause reinvestment opportunity elsewhere to be lost . . . . .
I would respond there is no delay whatsoever.
But really that is merely a guess. I don’t do shorthand. I write in plain English. It’s an effort to convey my meaning to as many readers as I’m able. I do this also out of respect for those reading what I write.
People were going back and forth about how big of a problem this inability to/difficulty of transferring funds.
I said that this cost (i.e., inability to do something in the manner that the poster wanted to do it) should be described so that others are aware of it, but we don’t need so much back and forth and attacking people about whether it actually is a cost or not. The individual, once they know the issue, can decide what the cost to them is.
Then pattyb53 responded to my post trying to argue about whether there was a cost associated with this difference/problem/quirk/whatever you want to call it.
So I used the facepalm emoji because the whole point of my post was that we should not be arguing about what the individual cost is.
We know the problem. We know the other methods to achieve what needs to be achieved.
Can anyone answer this? I need to confess to a measure of misunderstanding here, for which I apologize. I thought the issue related to movement of funds, via ACH, out of NFCU savings. But this was my error.
The earlier questioner actually had a concern related to movement of funds, via ACH, into NFCU savings.
On that question I have uncertainty, which is why I’m asking. My best memory is that NFCU does allow ACH of funds into savings . . . just not out. But it has been many years since this came up for me personally, and my memory could be askew.
Does anyone know whether it is permitted to move funds, via ACH, into NFCU savings?
Thanks, Argyll. This entire matter continues to become more and more weird and convoluted.
So you’re saying I cannot go (for example) into my PurePoint account online and initiate there a successful movement of funds, via ACH, into my NFCU savings?
(remember PurePoint does not offer checking so, in the above, I would be moving funds from PurePoint savings to NFCU savings)
Agreed, Argyll. I think this might have been the misunderstanding all along. Initiation of an ACH transfer at NFCU could harbor all sorts of perils and limitations. I never have done such a thing. I never would do such a thing.
So how do their $$ limitations and speed compare with PurePoint and Alliant? Do the ACH funds movements you initiate at NFCU, in or out, complete overnight? How much dough does NFCU allow you to move in or out, via ACH, at once. Do they limit the number of outside accounts you are permitted to link?
I never considered using NFCU as a hub. Perhaps I have overlooked an opportunity? Hmmmm . . . . . .
Since we are back to talking about facts, I’ll join back in.
You cannot ACH OUT from any NFCU savings account to any external institution. You must have a checking account with them to ACH out. Your alternative is to pay $14 for a wire transfer, or I believe now they also do Zelle (but I wouldn’t advise that).
You cannot ACH IN external funds to any NFCU savings or checking by doing a pull from NFCU. You should be able to do an ACH in to either savings or checking if you push from the external institution.
I believe someone in this thread earlier indicated that it is possible to workaround these rules in some cases with a phone call.
[You may not be able to get to these answers directly. After logging in, go to Contact Us / Send a Message, then “Find Answers/FAQ”. This takes you to the FAQ where this information can be found.
Clicking the Help tag at the top takes you off to https://nfcucloud.custhelp.com and searching that site for information about ACH or external transfers comes up with nothing really relevant.]
Since I can no longer transfer between Ally and NFCU (because I once tried to transfer money out), I went to a local NFCU branch and pulled out every penny less the required $5 minimum.
