NAPUS Federal Credit Union Articles

Enhanced Fraud Protection Plus offers new Level of Security to Members

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 09:15:00 -0500

Identity theft has become America’s fastest-growing financial crime. Every 3.5 seconds, someone else becomes victim to identity theft.* Protecting yourself from becoming a victim has never been more important, which is why NAPUS FCU now offers members a solution to help do just that.

Click Fraud Protection Plus to get more information and to enroll today. Fraud Protection Plus provides six levels of increased security:

$10,000 Identity Theft Insurance with Fraud Assistance¹

Members will receive up to $10,000 in financial compensation for qualified expenses along with Fraud Assistance, a comprehensive service designed to help with the hassle of clearing their good name. (Identity Theft Insurance is not available to residents of the state of New York.)

Triple-Bureau Credit Reports2

Get a full picture of your credit strength with credit reporting and scoring from all three major credit reporting agencies – Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

Credit Alert®3

With 24-hour, daily credit monitoring, members are alerted automatically of certain negative changes to their credit. While it can’t prevent identity theft, Credit Alert® can greatly reduce its impact by allowing the member to minimize the damage. If there are no changes to members’ credit, they’ll even receive a quarterly notification letting them know that nothing has changed.

Card PatrolSM5

Identity thieves care about two things – stealing personal information and selling it to make money. Our sophisticated, real-time, early warning technology monitors various chat rooms across cyberspace for members’ personal information. In the event that identity theft occurs, members will be assigned a personal caseworker to take them through the resolution process.

Payment Card Protection

Members are covered for verified, unauthorized charges to their registered credit or debit cards. With this service, member’s cards are cancelled within 24 hours of notice. Call toll-free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

MyIDMattersSM

Stay up to date on identity theft-related issues with access to myidmatters.net. This educational website is designed to keep you informed of topics associated with personal identity and security fraud. Consider this your one stop for fraud and identity protection news and education.

NAPUS FCU urges members to take steps now to significantly reduce their chances of becoming a fraud crime statistic with Enhanced Fraud Protection Plus. For more information or to enroll Click Fraud Protection Plus.

*Javelin Strategy and Research, February 2007

1 Identity Theft Insurance is offered through the insurance company named on the Benefit Summary included in the membership kit. Please refer to the Summary for complete details of coverage, limitations and exclusions.

2 Neither Affinion Benefits Group, its credit information subcontractors, nor Financial Services Association shall have any liability for the accuracy of the information contained in the credit reports or credit scores which you receive, including any liability for damages, direct or indirect, consequential or incidental. The service is not a credit counseling or repair service and does not promise to help you obtain a loan or improve your credit record, history, or rating.

In addition to other rights, you are entitled by law to request and receive a free report every twelve months from each of the national credit reporting agencies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax). Information regarding these and other FCRA rights is available at www.ftc.gov.

3 Credit Alert® is not a credit counseling service and does not promise to help you obtain a loan or improve your credit record, history or rating. The Credit Alert® service may be modified or improved at any time and without prior notice. Credit Alert® is a registered service mark of Affinion Publishing, LLC. Daily monitoring will notify members of any inquiries, significant changes in credit score, certain derogatory information, or accounts that have been added to their credit reports as reported by one of the three major credit reporting agencies. If no information has been added or changed, then the member will receive a quarterly notification stating that no information has changed within their credit file. Neither the Plan Administrator, the provider of the Credit Alert® service, or its credit information subcontractors, nor Financial Services Association shall have any liability for the accuracy of the information contained in the Credit Alert® reports which you receive, including any liability for damages, direct or indirect, consequential or incidental.

5 Card PatrolSM monitors major credit and debit cards that are affiliated with one of the major credit card issuers (VISA®, MasterCard®, American Express®, Discover® and Diners Club®). Card PatrolSM monitors your registered card numbers and can alert you if other personal information is found on the Internet. It is impossible to ensure all sources of information have been searched; therefore, your reports may not contain or apprise you of all of your personal information that may have been compromised.

Phone System Update

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:15:00 -0500

After months of unresolved problems with our current telephone vendor, the Credit Union has taken steps to replace the existing system with one that will handle the volume of calls we are taking. We recognize that this has been a frustrating time for you and ask you for your patience while we correct the problems. We are committed to having the new system installed by August 1, 2009. It has always been our goal to provide you with excellent member service; the current system has not helped us reach that goal and has proved to be a tremendous disappointment. We sincerely apologize for the problems you’ve encountered with this system.

On-line Check Copies Temporarily Unavilable.

Tue, 26 May 2009 10:15:00 -0500

Check copies are currently unavailable on Internet Teller, we regret the inconvenience. We are working with the Federal Reserve Bank to get the issue resolved and hope to have this service restored later this week. If you need a check copy that you normally could retrieve on-line (no older than six months), please call our toll-free number (800-336-0284) to speak with a Representative. You may also e-mail your request to cumail@napusfcu.org. Please have the following information available and let the Representative know how you would like to receive the check copy (Fax, mail or e-mail):

Check Number

Your checking account number (on the bottom of the check)

The dollar amount of the check

The date the check was written

Please note: If you request an e-mail of your check copy, the account/MICR information will be blacked out for security purposes.

Dormant Accounts and What you need to know!

Tue, 19 May 2009 12:13:00 -0500

A dormant account is a membership account that has no activity other than the earning of dividends for a period of 365 days. Dormant accounts also will not have any other accounts or services tied to their account. Members with dormant accounts will receive a letter notifying them that their account is considered to be in dormant status and requesting that they respond letting the Credit Union know if they wish to reactivate or close the account in question. If we do not receive a response from the dormant member within the requested time frame, the account will be charged an inactivity fee of $5.00 per month. This fee will be taken until the account has a zero balance. If after 5 years there is still a balance left on the account the funds must be turned over to the State of Virginia. If you have any questions regarding dormant accounts or think that you may have an account in trouble of being placed in dormant status please contact the Credit Union at 1-800-336-0284.

Visa Fraud Security on Alert for you!

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:11:00 -0500

In 2008, there was a breach by hackers at Heartland Payment Systems. Due to the Heartland Breach, Falcon, our Credit Card Company’s fraud alert, has taken steps to protect your accounts by becoming more vigilant than ever before. Their top priority is to ensure that they detect any possible fraud on your accounts quickly and early so that it limits the damage the thieves can inflict. Falcon is keeping a closer eye on all transactions and a red flag is raised for anything that is not normal spending for you. If a red flag is raised, a representative from Falcon will contact you to verify the charges. Because Falcon has stepped up it’s scrutiny of transactions it also means that you may receive a call or multiple calls to verify any information that causes a red flag. We know it is not always convenient to receive these calls but hope that you understand that this has been done to protect you. If you know that you are going to make a large purchase, multiple purchases, or make purchases while on vacation, please contact the Financial Services department to let them know that these transactions are going to be taking place. If you have any questions, please contact the Credit Union at 1-800- 336-0284.

The Tribe Has Spoken!

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:10:00 -0500

Don’t let yourself be eliminated from winning the $2000 grand prize!

OK, so you may not live on a deserted island. But your life is full of rugged adventure. Dealing with the natives in your carpool, facing the opposing tribes at the office, battling the wild animals on the freeway, contending with an economic hurricane, it’s enough to wear you down.

Fortunately, you’ve got a NAPUS FCU Visa on your team. For essential supplies, daily necessities, consolidating higher rate cards, or tickets to a more relaxing destination, there’s no easier way to pay. Now each qualifying transaction of $50 or more will earn you the chance to become the NAPUS FCU $2000 Survivor Winner!

Here’s how it works:

1. Contest runs from March 1, 2009 – July 31, 2009.

2. Charges of $50 and over will earn you an entry into the NAPUS FCU Survivor contest.

3. One survivor finalist will be chosen from all eligible purchases each month and will win $100.

4. Once we have our five survivor finalists, the tribal council will draw one winner from those five survivors to win the Grand Prize of $2000!

Apply today! Survive tomorrow.

Contact a Financial Service Representative at 1-800-336-0284 if you need your card to survive!

Telephone Issues

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:07:00 -0500

NAPUS FCU continues to experience some difficulties in getting members’ voice mail messages. We are working to correct the problem, but if you have left a message and have not received a call back within 48 hours, please accept our apologies.

We learned recently that the system had stopped recording messages and attempted to call back those members whose numbers had been left. However, if you leave a message and do not receive a call back within 48 hours, please attempt to reach us again. You may leave a message with our receptionist who will ensure your call is returned. We regret this inconvenience and ask for your patience while we correct the problem with our vendor.

Your Credit Union and the Corporate Credit Union system

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:00:00 -0500

Dear Member:

I am writing to address any concerns you may have about your Credit Union or the Corporate Credit Union system, which has been in the news of late.

The Corporate Credit Union system is made up of several large institutions whose members are natural person credit unions, like NAPUS FCU. These natural person credit unions use the corporate credit unions for services like borrowing, check-clearing, electronic payments and wire transmittals. This is a cost-effective way for many small credit unions to offer these services to their members. NAPUS FCU does not use its corporate credit union for these services; we offer all our services through the Federal Reserve and Federal Home Loan Bank system.

Currently, the corporate credit union system is experiencing shortages of cash because they have invested in the same mortgage backed securities as the banks we hear about. Those securities are now impaired under fair value accounting rules; they may continue to pay interest and principle until they mature, however, they have lost value in today’s markets. This has caused the corporate credit unions’ liquidity to be squeezed, thus affecting their ability to service their natural person credit union members.

Our regulator, NCUA, decided to stabilize this corporate system by using a portion of the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund to supplement the corporates’ available cash. As a federally insured credit union, NAPUS FCU, and others will be assessed a premium in order to bring the share insurance fund back up to its appropriate level. The impact of this assessment will have an effect on our earnings; however, we are well capitalized and able to sustain this impact without any change to the services we offer or our ability to operate.

NAPUS Federal Credit Union had assets of over $218 million at the end of February, 2009. We carry over $27 million in capital and remain well-capitalized at over 12%. We have never participated in sub-prime lending and our investment portfolio carries the majority of its investments in certificates of deposit, each insured to over $250,000. In addition, your accounts at the credit union are insured to $250,000 per member and more if you set them up with different joint members. Over the years, your Board of Directors has worked diligently to ensure the credit union is strong, safe and sound and will continue to do so. We appreciate your support and are committed to our mission to improve your financial life.

If you have questions about the corporate credit union system or about NAPUS FCU, please don’t hesitate to contact me or one of your officials. We are here to assist you.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Cuddy

Chief Executive Officer

IMPORTANT NOTE TO MEMBERS WITH REAL ESTATE LOANS

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:15:00 -0600

NAPUS FCU is proud to announce our new partnership with Cenlar. Through this partnership NAPUS FCU is able to enhance the servicing of your mortgage loan. Members will have improved access to mortgage information via the internet as well as extended call center hours. The credit union has already contacted all insurance companies and tax authorities on the members’ behalf. Members will continue to be able to make payments via internet teller, automatic transfer, teller transfer, and ACH. You should not experience any interruption in your normal payment process or in reviewing your mortgage payment history.

Improving your “Financial Life” is our mission.

NAPUS FCU Welcomes NAPS members

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:24:00 -0600

In November, 2008, the National Credit Union Administration approved the request by NAPUS FCU to begin offering membership services to the members of the National Association of Postal Supervisors and their family members. The demand for competitive financial services is always increasing and the need for our credit union to remain a strong, stable and dynamic institution amidst our competitors has prompted us to make decisions that ensure this. It was with this in mind that the credit union sought to bring the members of NAPS into our field of membership. As another arm of management in the USPS, NAPS shares a common bond with NAPUS; now the two organizations can share in the wide array of savings, loan and financial product offerings at NAPUS FCU.