Answering Your Questions and Responding To Your Concerns

We received a variety of excellent questions leading up to, during, and following the 2021 Annual Meeting from members and, in addition to responding to each question directly, we wanted to share those same answers with all our members along with further helpful information pertaining to the services we received questions about. Those questions are as follows:  

• Are all annual meetings going to be virtual from now on?

  Not necessarily. Like you, we are looking forward to safely being able to host our upcoming Annual Meetings in-person again! WSFCU was permitted by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) to host our Annual Meeting last year and this year virtually due to the pandemic. As long as the CDC, North Carolina state government, and the credit union determines it is safe to host meetings in-person again, we will do so. 

• Very informative. Thank you for the information. When you resume the regular (annual) meetings, will you also continue with the virtual meeting? It was very easy to sign in and participate.

  We plan to have an in-person Annual Meeting in 2022 unless something unusual happens like we experienced in 2020 and 2021. We understand that many members found it more convenient to attend the Annual Meeting virtually as it was held in 2020 and 2021. For this reason we are researching how to broadcast the 2022 in-person Annual Meeting via live-streaming through an internet service. WSFCU is member owned and we want as many members who want to attend the Annual Meeting to be able to do so. 

• Not a question but a comment. Thank you for the new drive thru. The lines are much smoother now and less wait time in the drive thru and in the lobby. You’re welcome! We are excited about the new drive-thru improving wait times, as well!

• What is the reason for terminating the Cure Club for Seniors?
  WSFCU's CURE Club has not been terminated. It is still ongoing with the following benefits:
  1. Add 10 basis points to our high yield Share Certificates
  2. Free Checks – free standard check orders, a $25 value per order
  3. Free Wire Transfers, a $15 value per wire transfer
  4. Free Statement and Check Copies, a $3 value per requested copy 
• How do I become a CURE club member?

  All WSFCU members are automatically enrolled in CURE Club when they turn 55. Members do not need to do anything to become a CURE Club member. The credit union applies CURE Club status to the members' accounts.

• Why is there now a $3.00 charge per check request?  Why can’t members who are in good standing be offered a free cashier’s check per month or 3 per quarter?
  The credit union added a $3.00 fee for cashier’s checks for the following reasons:
  1. Because this was a free service, members were ordering many Cashier’s Checks. Due to the nature of a Cashier’s Check, the teller must spend considerably more time to issue a Cashier’s Check than most other teller transactions. Members requesting multiple Cashier’s Checks created an unacceptable amount of wait times for members waiting in line to be served. The fee is not designed to be a profit center, but rather cover the cost of providing the service and offer an incentive for members to use other methods of payment so that it would not create an excessive amount of wait times.
  2. The credit union incurs a lot of expense with servicing Cashier’s Checks. After a Cashier’s Check is issued, members sometimes request stop payment of the Cashier’s Checks. Processing a stop payment on a Cashier’s Check is governed by UCC laws and requires a significant amount of employee time to execute.
  3. After a Cashier’s Check is issued, many of these checks are never cashed and the Credit Union must follow North Carolina escheat law for the escheatment of these checks.
     The Credit Union makes every effort to return the money back to the member. Again, this takes a considerable amount of time for employees to execute.
  4. The Credit Union issued over 20,000 Official’s Checks in 2019. Issuing these checks at the teller line required a significant amount of teller time which adversely impacted member wait times in the lobby. Subsequent service for stop payments and escheatment was a significant expense to the credit union.
  5. Many Cashier’s Checks, because they are negotiable instruments, will require Bank Secrecy Act compliance which requires recordkeeping by staff and oversight by auditors, and regulators.

     For the reasons above, Cashier’s Checks are not intended to be used for a member’s personal checking needs. The Credit Union offers for free personal checking and online bill pay for members. Additionally, credit union staff can assist members with our Internet Café service if they wish to pay merchants through the merchant’s website. This service also is free of charge. The Internet Café was removed due to COVID-19 safety requirements, but it will soon be back in service. If a member is making a withdrawal from their savings account, they will not be charged the Cashier’s Check fee.

• Why are we being charged for paying our loans, etc. by phone?  Most companies encourage patrons to use “phone option - which is a free service” versus using the customer service feature!
  The Credit Union added a fee for payments made with a credit card or debit card. The fee covers the cost the credit union incurs from third parties to process these payments. All other methods of payments for loans excepting payments made with a debit or credit card through our new Online Payment Center, whether by phone or in-branch, remain free as they have always been. These payment methods include:
  1. Loan payments made in branch
  2. Share to loan transfer requests by phone
  3. Share to loan transfer via Online Banking
  4. Payroll deduction
  5. Member periodic payment
  6. Recurring payment
  7. From another Financial Institution via ACH or Online Banking A2A 
• Why are there so many new tellers?  Every time I come to the Credit Union now, I’m not seeing the same people I saw the month before?  Is the CU a training site for tellers?
  The Credit Union increased the number of Part-Time tellers from 3 to 5 in 2020. These additional tellers will help us reduce wait times for members and improve member service. We also prefer to fill open positions internally and many times our tellers are candidates for these positions.