Open a checking account

You may only have one joint account holder.

There is no limit to the number of free transfers from your checking account. 

That is why you should use your checking account as your spending account. Make sure you have enough money in the account to cover your expenses and debit card purchases. Your debit card will be linked to your checking account.

If you have both a savings and checking account, your debit card will be linked to your checking account. 

Some ATMs will give you the option to choose whether to take the money from your checking or savings account. If the ATM does not allow you to choose, the money will be withdrawn from your checking account.

Yes, the money in your savings, checking, and share certificate accounts is insured to at least $250,000. This insurance is provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an independent agency of the US government. View our guide for information on how your money is insured. 

You can earn the premium rate on balances up to $15,000 during each month that you: 

• Make 10 debit card purchases, and 
• Receive electronic statements via Digital Banking. 

Debit card purchases posted to your account by 17:00 New York time on the last business day of a month will count for that month. Later postings will be counted as purchases made in the next month.

A line of credit provides qualified members with up to $25,000 in overdraft protection for a checking account. Similar to a loan, you will be charged interest on the amount you use to cover overdrafts. 

If you do not have enough money in your checking account to cover a payment, Savings Overdraft can protect you. This service will automatically transfer money from your savings account to cover the payment from your checking account. It will even cover payments you had pre-scheduled for your UNFCU consumer loan and/or mortgage. You will be charged a fee each time money is transferred to cover an overdraft. 

To avoid this fee, increase the balance of your checking account to cover all your expenses for the month. You can also apply for a line of credit as another form of overdraft protection.

Canadian checks will be credited to your UNFCU account within five business days after they are cleared. For checks from other countries outside the US, the processing time varies. Some locations may take up to eight weeks.

Checks drawn in Canadian dollars will be accepted for any amount.  We will also accept checks in currencies other than USD if the converted amount is at least $250. The exchange rate for non-USD checks is determined by the payee bank or foreign exchange service performing the collection. There is a Canadian check processing fee and a foreign check processing fee.