San Francisco Federal Credit Union

I recently moved to the area (let alone the country) and was looking for a bank where I didn’t have to worry about those pesky fees and high minimum balances. I had great experiences with my credit union in Toronto and I’m pleased to say it’s no different with this institution.
Yesterday I met with the branch manager, Rena, who was not only a pleasure to meet and chat with, but seamlessly set up my online checking and savings account along with a card approval for their rewards VISA. I was encouraged to use my Canadian FICO score and work history to supplement the credit card application which was great, since those scores don’t transfer across the border. Anyone who’s starting out in a new country would know about the pains of rebuilding credit from scratch!
Not to me mention, the online banking product is very intuitive and modern — not an eye sore or a throwback to the 90’s like I’ve seen with some other banks.
The products and perks at this credit union surpassed my expectations, plus the service by Rena was phenomenal! Highly recommended if you want a more personable bank where your contributions and loyalty are recognized and rewarded.

I love my bank (SFFCU) and it’s really convenient to have a branch in my neighborhood now… but…
They are so slow that even if there is just one person ahead of me in line it will take a minimum of 10 minutes to get my banking done. I have belonged to loads of banks in my lifetime and never found any of them nearly as slow as this particular branch. I will chock it up to them being new and working out the kinks, but at this stage I would not be able to recommend this branch to anyone.

I moved to San Francisco earlier this year and had a very small credit union back home that offered zero «sister branch» options. After dealing with serval bank account issues; checks going to the wrong account, and terrible service at another bank in the city, I finally decided to open an account at SF federal credit union. I’ve heard so many great things, and I thought I might as well try it out, since the worst had already happened in the past month. Let me just say that Miguelina helped me open an account, and set up my online banking. She was so helpful and sweet that it made being there really nice, unlike other banks. I feel like the people that work here are just so down to earth and friendly, and they offer genuine customer service. They will help you if they can, and they can. I know that this was definitely the best choice and I’m grateful to have this branch so close to my house.

Everyone is always polite and well educated about thier job. I always went in for small stuff (transfers, withdrawal.) Went in today and applying for a credit card was safe and easy. Will definitely return.

Loved the friendly and community based service. Rena the Branch Manager was able to not only open an account and start a membership for me but also lower my 16% interest rate on my auto loan to 4%! Wow, right! So happy to have moved over to SF Credit Union versus my former bank. 5 stars all the way! Looking forward to being a member here.

I’ve been coming here for a few months now. Excellent service and everyone is extremely friendly. After having so many negative experiences with the banks nearby, I’m glad to finally have such a great credit union in the neighborhood. Leave your bank and bring your money to these guys!

I recently opened an account at the Mission location and couldn’t be happier! Everyone was very nice, especially the manager, Rena Macapagal. She made the process of setting up my new account easy. She was very helpful, kind, and patient and the included services are excellent. I love being part of my new community credit union!

I’ve been a happy member of SF Federal CU for over 5 years and this branch by far provided the best customer service yet! I immediately felt welcomed when I came in the door with everyone happy to see me, including the security guard! The manager even came out to great me and make sure I was satisfied with my business account.
As you know, details are everything. I loved that I was able to sit down at a counter to organize my deposit. Haven’t seen that at any bank before. I was offered some of the best tasting green tea I’ve ever had. Who knew a credit union could be that classy!
I had a transaction with my teller Miguelina, and she was just lovely. Her warm-​hearted nature was there making sure everything was being provided and even showed interest in my business.
I was moved to write this review because my experience there stood out from any other credit union or bank I’ve been in before. Great décor and great customer service.
And for those of you who drive, there was easy access parking on Alemany Blvd. As you know parking is a hot commodity in this city.

Tragically, this is the shared co-​op credit union closest to my residence. I’ve noticed that the businesses on the block have a generally slow approach. (Safeway, for one.) Which is great if you’re elderly, retired, or need to kill a loooot of time. San Francisco Credit Union in Excelsior leads the pack. I have been to this location at least five times in the last two months. I see generally the same three employees at the counters. I know that one was in training based on the lack of urgency to process my deposit. I now know a second is also in training because she needed assistance from the other in today’s experience. The one gentleman that works there is seasoned and he is the smoothest teller. Definitely doesn’t dilly dally. I don’t have an issue with anyone in training, especially in a financial institution where my accounts are involved. Take your time, do it right, and I’ll be checking my statement before I leave your presence to ensure we correct it. However, out of the five experiences here, four have been painstakingly slow. I swear I do nothing complicated. I fill out my shared deposit slip correctly, I hand over my drivers license to save a step, and we should be done in a few minutes, no?.. It appears that one teller doesn’t look at the slip filled out for the dollar amount, even though they write all over this slip and ‘acknowledge’ it; and they don’t verify the spelled out dollar amount matches the numerical figure on a personal check. They go about it robotically. This I know because they deposited the wrong amount in my account. They never have any shared credit union slips at the self-​courtesy counter when you walk in. I like to fill out my stuff rather than hold up a line, but they don’t seem to mind that. I’ve been lucky that every time I visit, the place is virtually empty, no accountholders in front of me. But while I wait at the counter during service, it amounts to be the time I would wait if five people were in front of me. I’ve never gone to a bank or credit union, asked for a roll of quarters and been denied a roll, because there are none up front. Except for this place. How do you not have at least one roll of quarters handy up front? That someone needs to get approval from a higher up to enter the back to obtain rolls of quarters. This boggles me. If the place is empty when I arrive, shouldn’t someone be restocking shared credit union deposit slips or restocking rolls of quarters in the teller’s drawers? Obviously, people request both of these things, because I personally constantly seek them out – but the thoughtfulness at this location is nonexistent. Their famous phrase spoken aloud to one another on every visit is, «Oh, we’re out of those? We should probably put more of them out.» But then, they don’t. It’s good to talk about these things. Quite often times, they are slowly putting my check in their machine, it’ll repeatedly get caught, and they slowly try to figure it out. Or, they have to put my cash into a clearance machine, and there’s always one bill that needs repeated running through. Then they look at it like, why didn’t it go through? That’s strange. And that becomes an event. *I have a suggestion. There are these amazing pens in this world that you can strike through all of the bills manually in one shot to determine if any are counterfeit. Takes four seconds. You can get rid of your faulty machine and save on your electric bill. But what’s the sense in that?.. They do have a security guard here, which is comforting for the sketchy, gritty neighborhood. Though he’s half the time sitting on the job and because he’s up in there in age, I feel I’m more qualified to save the day than this guy, so really, no added comfort. He’s a nice guy, don’t get me wrong. I’m certain this is his post-​retirement gig. The place looks shiny and kept up, and they have a coffee area for those who like coffee. And I do like they have a tv that silently updates me on major league baseball scores from the day prior, while I endlessly wait at the counter. This saves them from a one star. I’m gonna give this locale another month or two shot, and if the employees still don’t value the customer’s time and have a sense of urgency, I will drive out of my way to another shared branch, cause this place currently blows monkey chunks. Note, they are closed on Mondays because they are as important as a city museum. Not really.