First Tech Federal Credit Union

redesigning their web site again! now it doesn’t even work! how can you do online banking with a web site that doesn’t work. FAIL!!!

New online banking is horrible. Lack of access to Mint. Problems signing in. Overly complicated bill pay. The list just grows. Very slow response to queries and feedback.

Recently there was an issue with our bank account. We went in to this location hoping they could help us get everything straightened out. They understood the issue quickly and addressed it right away. Everyone was so nice and apologized for what had happened. I couldn’t believe how easy they made the process and how quickly the addressed the issue.
I’ve been banking with First Tech for the last 5 years and have loved it. After today, I’m not sure I would ever bank anywhere else!

I’ve been member of First Tech credit union for about 7 to 10 years somewhere in there and I have really enjoyed the services that they offer. I have my car loan through the credit union as well as my credit card. There are no hidden fees very few fees at all and I love the fact that they do not charge you for any overdraft fees if you have a savings account connected to your checking account. The staff are always friendly and helpful and willing to take whatever amount of time is necessary to help me with whatever I came in to talk to them about. After reading several of the negative reviews here I decided that these people who have written them are just dumb and never took the time to fully read and understand the rules and regulations regarding auto bill pay and other amenities offered. Never in my life have I enjoyed the financial institution as much as I’ve enjoyed first Tech credit Union. I recommend them highly to everyone I know and my family will be using them for the foreseeable future. The only downside to this credit union is a lack of locations however this seems to be of no concern as you can use any other credit unions ATM machine to access your funds for free.

Can’t login in First Techs website any more from my iPad after the website update, as it keeps switching back to the mobile website.
Whoever designed this website should try to find a new job.

I’ve been a customer since this credit union was known as Addison Avenue since 1996. Back then service was good and people were friendly on the phone. Not any more. I have encountered extremely rude service people on the phone and I had a paypal issue where paypal presented the same transaction tree times even though there was unsufficient fees the first time around. First Tech refused to reverse any of the fees charged to me and told me to simply talk to PayPal. I’m extremely disappointed with this credit union.

We have absolutely LOVED being with First Tech Credit Union. We switched from Bank of America (which felt like going through a divorce). The staff at this branch is always friendly. We have refinanced a car loan, had personal loans and credit cards with them in addition to our checking and savings account. Last year we started doing Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball and paying off our debt and canceling credit card was a breeze. One of the tellers always asks how our debt pay off is going and encourages us, and we met with the investor (who is conveniently a Dave Ramsey ELP) about advice on our retirement we get from work.
Our only «negative» experience was using the insurance agent for renters/​auto. They were friendly but it was difficult to reach the agent and always took a while to get any response back. When our year renewal was up they recommended just keeping the same policy. I comparison checked with a Dave Ramsey ELP agent and they agreed to keep the same insurance company but re-​wrote the policy to get us more coverage for a little less. Plus they can always be reached (which came in handy with a few auto incidents we had the past year.) Maybe the FTCU agent would have been easier to reach in time of need, but I wouldn’t know since we didn’t have any incidents until after changing agents.
Overall, we recommend credit unions, we recommend FTCU, and we think the staff at this branch is great.

The staff are wonderfully helpful. They have always been polite, professional, and a pleasure to work with.

WATCH OUT, online bill pay is UNRELIABLE and UNTRUSTWORTHY.
Scenario: Online bill pay doesn’t allow for Saturday or Sunday scheduling, So
1) Bill due Sunday February 1^st
2) On Jan. 28^th, scheduled payment for Monday February 2.
3) On Wednesday February 4^th, payment was received
* NOTE: payment «GRACE» period allowed for on-​time payment up until February 3^rd., payment received was 2 days after my scheduled date along with a nice LATE FEE.
First Tech refused to reimburse me. Don’t TRUST ON-​LINE BILL PAY, write checks or go to different Credit Union.

Because of their loan department, we lost our dream home! Never again will we do business with such an unorganized and downright infuriating company.

I needed to open a new checking/​savings account. Not just the lady that was helping me, but everyone there was really really nice. Not fake nice, but genuine and really fun to talk to. I’ve done business with First Tech in other places, but this was probably the most fun I’ve had at a bank… I repeat, at a Bank!
The bank is a little out of the way for me, but I would totally make a trek to this place, because of how nice the tellers were.
Thanks FTFCU!
PS. A few days later, I also got a hand written note in the mail. Not just a few words, but a couple paragraphs! That takes work! I can’t even write a sentence these days without getting a hand cramp.

I have been a First Technology Credit union customer for over a decade. Prior to the recent acquisition I seldom had any problems and if there were problems their service has been quick and courteous. Unfortunately ever since the acquisition their services have gone down hill rapidly. They present themselves as your friendly local credit union and the reality is that they are just a «mega bank» presenting themselves as your friendly local credit union. Avoid these guys there are better options out there ;(.

After Washington Mutual got bought out by Chase, I was pissed. I had a Chase Manhattan account when I lived in NYC and thought they were the devil. I was pretty close to being right, but that’s another story.
I liked dealing with WaMu… they did a damn fine job and I never had anything to complain about. Nothing to shout about, but my checking was free and they had a lot of ATM’s.
But then Chase came in, renamed everything but made it sound as though nothing was changing. Oh, but it changed.
They charged me for this. They charged me for that. They charged me for everything I could think of. Finally, I was done.
I left and went to First Tech Federal Credit Union, because many of my friends and coworkers banked there. The branch I opened with had been the State Employees Credit Union, but they merged. Everyone assured me that First Tech was still a good place to be.
And damn were they right.
I didn’t think that I could actually –like– a bank. It’s just a bank. But I get my free checking, great online banking that’s up to the minute, competitive rates.
When I got divorced, I decided to move my car loan from Toyota Motor Corporation to First Tech. My monthly payments were lower, even with my ex-​wife and her excellent credit removed from the loan. Later when I took out a personal loan to buy a motorcycle, they got me approved and a check in my account within the day.
They also have a program, wherein if you meet certain requirements each month, you get rewards. For example, I have direct deposit, make 12 debit card transactions every month, and receive e-​statements each month instead of paper. What does that reward me?
EVERY TIME I USE ANOTHER BANKS ATM AND GET CHARGED A FEE, FIRST TECH REFUNDS THAT CHARGE TO MY ACCOUNT!
Which means that I basically have NO ATM CHARGE FEES NATION WIDE! How freaking AWESOME is that?
This particular location is interesting, though. It’s tucked off in the corner of a larger corporate building, but the security guard knows exactly where it is. The staff are always super friendly, very efficient, and exceptionally helpful. Plus, as soon as you’re done with your transaction, they will refund your parking.
Once I said, «Well, yea, I paid $ 1.50, but I’ve been doing other things downtown too.» He shrugged and handed me a dollar fifty.
Seriously. Chase treated me like it was an honor and a privilege that they allowed me to keep my money with them. First Tech, at all the branches I’ve ever gone to, make me feel like we’re all members looking out for each other.
I’m all for that.

My husband and I have been long time customers (over thirteen years) with FTFCU and have just discovered that we have absolutely no customer standing with this bank. They hired a third party fraud/​security department that blocked my debit card from any transactions on Fri, ³⁄₂₃. No one from First Tech informed us of any fraudulent activity, nor did the third party security department have any communication to contact me directly, claiming FTFCU did not have a contact number to give them.
After hours on the phone, inconveniencing my husband on a camping trip to call and making several calls of my own, no one, including Annette, the supervisor knew what was going on or what to do with my situation. Now, I received a new debit card on 2/​27, only to have an online purchased DECLINED again on ³⁄₂₈.
My husband is on the phone again with FTFCU. At this point, we will be shopping for a new bank, removing all of our accounts from this nightmare of an institution.
I highly DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone to fund FTFCU with their money. BUYER BEWARE. How can a bank tote they have technology at their finger tips when they don’t even have simple communication between their departments, then have absolutely no follow-​up on their own ineptitude.

Think again before you attempt to get a home loan through First Tech. Loan officers are unresponsive and more than likely you will not close on your home on time! Customer service in the home loan department is lacking — simply never return your calls.

Wow — I never thought I’d say I love my bank, but I love First Tech. Free checking, with good interest. You can use any ATM and they reimburse the fees. The CU network is huge and I’m never far from a place I can deposit (which I can also do electronically). They are all super nice and helpful, and actually care about you. So refreshing to be out of the big banks! First tech is definitely the way to go.

Calls to the published customer service numbers reveal their system is badly broken. I tried every option their recording offered, and either got looped back or hung up on. Never could get to a real person just recording after recording until they hung up. Can’t even tell them their system is malfunctioning, because every published phone number goes to the broken call system first.
I hear very good things about this credit union, but their phone system is infuriating to interact with.

In this time of bank blah, I have to admit I let my savvy friends do the research and then recommend a credit union to me and this is who came out on top.
I love them!
1. No minimum balance for reward checking.
2. Checking pays 2.54% interest
3. 7-​eleven atm by my house and you can make deposits and get a scanned check receipt
4. after 90 days you can scan checks from home and do direct deposit electronically w.o. using atm
5. free checks
6. I need to look into an IRA now that I am consulting/​contracting
PS I think the Sees candy bars at the counter were free ;). Whole bars holla!
PPS They reimburse you for parking.

I’ve never loved a bank before. I never knew I could. What’s to love? But I think I love First Tech Credit Union.
The reasons why:
1. When I joined, they gave me my debit card right then.
2. They don’t make me fill out a deposit slip. I used to do it, and they told me I didn’t have to.
3. They have an awesome website with all the awesome stuff my old mean bank had.
4. They ask if I paid for parking, and if I did, they hand me cash to reimburse me.
5. I received a handwritten note, for no reason, thanking me for being a member and complementing me on the NAILPOLISH I was wearing last time I was there!
I’ll never leave.
Thanks for being awesome, First Tech.

I know this is the standard thing that credit union customers say, but it really feels great to actually be treated like a person by a financial institution. It’s crazy, I stopped in maybe 3 or 4 times, and they were already greeting me by my first name as soon as I walked through the front door!
I was a bit reluctant to switch from Wells Fargo since I had been with them for many years and they had so many amenities that I had become accustomed to. Fortunately, First Tech had everything that I WF had and that much more. Free Bill Pay? Check. Massive amount of ATMs? Check. Awesome online banking? Yep. The ability to deposit checks through the iPhone? Hell yes!
Overall, I’ve been really impressed with First Tech and I’m really glad that I made the switch. I make a lot of trips down to the Bay Area and it’s really awesome to know that they have locations down here (as well as share branching with a shit ton of other banks in the US).