First Northern Credit Union

FNCU is a fantastic credit union that I recommend to anyone who is eligible for membership. The entire staff is friendly and helpful — James in particular always goes the extra mile to help in any way he can. They also have a fantastic program called Credit Sense which you should definitely inquire about if you are trying to rebuild your credit score.

Great customer service. From loans to transfers to questions about hours, I’ve always managed to stay in touch with great response via email with many FNCU employees.

First Northern has been my primary financial servicer for nearly two years. The staff are helpful as well as friendly, I have never caught them making any mistake with my account, and they actually pay a teeny tiny amount of interest on the checking account. Furthermore, as a pedestrian, I appreciate that their Evanston office has no parking lot (there is street parking and municipal lots nearby).
Not an ideal institution, however. First, if you need to phone them and don’t know the extension number of a staff person at the Evanston office, you are dumped into voice mail jail and may never get thru to anyone. Second, on several occasions I have found their web site to be down when I needed it– maybe just an unfortunate coincidence, but quite inconvenient. Third, for all their verbiage about being «member-​owned,» when I set up my account they asked me to sign a perpetual proxy, meaning I’d have no more voice in choosing their board than I would at a mega-​bank. Finally, there is no night deposit slot. If you go in after hours to deposit a check, and if the ATM happens to be out of service (as it is today), you are out of luck.
Edit 9÷27÷13: Checks ain’t free. They just charged me nearly $ 20 for a small box of basic checks. Still four stars, tho, since to my knowledge they haven’t done anything criminal, thus putting them above so many banks.
Another Edit 2÷2÷14: Unilocal don’t know it yet, but FNCU have moved around the corner to 1705 Sherman. That’s fine, they needed more space. But their website has spent the weekend out of service, which means I can’t get bills paid ’til Monday — or later.

I want to thank Jame and Christina from the Evanston branch. I believe they went the mile it took to getting me approved for a car loan. I was worried about me get a car through the dealership, but now that I have my credit union on my side worries out the door. Thanks First Northern Credit Union

I’m a transplant to the Chicago area, an another perk to this credit union is that it belongs to a network of credit unions, which allows me to do my banking with my home credit union out-​of-​state. I prefer to leave all my business with my original credit union, so accessing my account here makes that a breeze.

I saved $ 3,300 by joining the credit union. I went to a dealership and was offered a car loan for 18.99% interest! I applied for a loan at my bank, Chase, and was turned down. Then I read somewhere online that a credit union will sometimes offer a loan to a member who has been turned down by other institutions. I thought, «Well, might as well try.» I did… and I was offered a rate of 7.99%!!! I couldn’t believe it! I was almost crying!
Mr. Smith is unlike any other banker or financial manager I have ever met. He is thoughtful, patient, and genuinely concerned about the well being of his customers.
If you are eligible to join FNCU, then I strongly urge you to do so.

Switching to a credit union must be one of the best financial decisions I’ve made.
I used to bank with Wachovia and never had problems. C used Chevy Chase Bank, a local bank in the DC area, and they treated him like crap. They held his check for up to 7 days and charged many fees. Their customer service was absolutely horrid.
Why did I choose credit unions over traditional banks?
— They are non-​profit organizations and local/​community businesses.
— Members of a credit union are the owners. They do not exist to financially benefit investors.
— Credit unions are known to be very customer-​service centric. (More on this branch’s financial advisors in a moment.)
— Credit unions offer the same services as banks — checking, savings, loans, et cetera, but with better interest rates.
— Membership for FNCU is limited to residents and employees working in Evanston and certain counties and companies (check their website). Yes, Northwestern students can bank here!
— Extensive shared network of surcharge-​free ATMs.
The only major con of a credit union (including FNCU) is the lack of locations. In my case, this is a slight positive because less access to money means less spending.
Anyway, about this branch. I do all of my banking here. It’s a short walk from the Davis St. station. The financial advisors are very cool and friendly. In fact, Curtis and I would joke about how Alayna and Ryan were the only two people we’ve known since moving to Evanston. James Smith, the manager, is extremely apt at processing paperwork and returning calls.
I have no huge complaints about FNCU so far. I just have a checking and saving account with them. Their online banking is a bit tedious to access, as you need to input your account number, pin, the answer to a security question, and finally, your password. Whew! Checking history isn’t updated as quickly as regular banks.
Consider credit unions, especially if you’re fed up with the low quality of customer service that is so evident of many national banks.