Rivermark Community Credit Union

Had an awesome experience refinancing our second car with a loan officer at the Hawthorne location. Very helpful and we were in and out in less than an hour.

My husband just recently paid off an auto loan that was set up through auto-​bill pay. I was checking our bank account today and realized Rivermark took money out of our checking account for a loan that is paid off. I contacted Rivermark and was told my husband has to go into the branch to stop the automatic bill pay or request the paperwork by mail. This is such an inconvenience to members. I have never heard of such a thing! If a loan has a zero balance, there is no payment due! Update your systems!

Rivermark is awesome. Alisa Drumright especially, she helped me out in a major way. Thanks Alisa!!! For the Record Leslie F. is one of those Unilocalers that cannot be helped no matter what the service is. You gotta wonder what the motivation is with some people. These are the people that are ruining Portland. Don’t you have anything better to do?

Not sure how people manage to have such horrible experiences. I joined a while back at the suggestion of a coworker in a credit department. Lowered my car loan rate immediately and refinanced lower yet again a year later, while my car year was still eligible.
After that, i opened up a visa loan and got a good rate, though i was a little bummed i didn’t qualify for a larger amount. Not long ago, i also opened up a business account. While i haven’t done much with it, it has been free so far.
I don’t hit atms very often. That makes the surcharge refund nice.
The parking can be a pain, but it’s on Hawthorne and that kinda goes without saying. Occasionally, i also run into lines during the peak hours, which will happen anywhere.
Not big on the live person atms, but that’s a personal choice. I go inside or use one of the sidewalk atms, depending on what i need, which is about once or twice a week on average.

Very poor customer service. I have sent emails several times with no answer or a very delayed answer. Since revising their mobile app, things have gone downhill severely. I am on the verge of changing to another CU. Very disappointed! The new app is temperamental and performs poorly.

If you like 30 min + hold times, then this is your place
If you value your time, then this is not the bank for you.
I have called several times and the service is ridiculous! Maybe if I could actually get a hold of someone in a timely manner then I would feel otherwise.
Based off of their reviews, It is obvious that I am not alone

My car loan was financed through Rivermark Community Credit Union. Initially their website was antiquated and a bit nonsensical, but ultimately it was manageable.
Now, however, they’ve «upgraded» to a new website. The problem is that their new website is no longer capable of connecting to my bank account, and I can no longer pay my car loan without sitting on hold for an hour.
It has become evident beyond a doubt that this institution is nothing more that a BAD JOKE. Avoid Rivermark at all costs!

hire more tellers. I shouldn’t have to wait this long in line. Or maybe train some of the sit down bankers to be able to fill in so they’re not sitting around chatting with 12 people in line, 2 working teller, one teller chatting with his friends and one teller training the others. ugh

Lets see. got an auto loan (with a 14% rate!) but whatever, needed it. now fast forward 14 months. I have paid off the account in full. I call rivermark and speak with a rep, i ask and make sure that all payments have been received and that the auto loan is paid off IN FULL. «yes sir, payment was received and the loan is paid off in full». OK. cool. Now i also had $ 50 in the savings account cause they said I have to have an open account to be able to get the loan in the first place. ok, whatever. So I ask the rep to CLOSE ALL ACCOUNTS. She does, and 5 days later I got the check in the mail for the remainder of my balances. All accounts should be closed now and I should never have to deal with rivermark again right? WRONG!, another week goes by, and they automatically withdraw the monthly payment of $ 150 from my bank account! What the crap! I closed these accounts two weeks ago, why are you taking my money still! so i call and after being on hold for close to 30 minutes I get some girl that tells me something about how its an ach payment, and those dont stop withdrawing unless i sign some other form and tell them to stop… so what, you were just going to keep withdrawing money from me month after month? even though the loan is paid off and i owe you nothing? and you will keep doing this until I fill out some other form and verbally say stop? ISNT THAT WHY I CLOSED THE ACCOUNT! Oh, so I call, but then because the withdrawal is still showing pending on my bank, they cant refund my money yet. But the money is out of my account now. how does this make sense at all to anyone? Open loan… pay off loan… close account. that should be it. and payments should be done. I shouldnt have to go fill something else out, to basically say a second time, STOP. so stupid. never going back, and telling everyone to stay away. process took over a week to clear up and finally get my $ 150 back. Its a good thing i pay attention to my accounts, otherwise who knows how long they would have kept taking my money AFTER I paid off the loan and closed my accounts.

It really breaks my heart to write this review about rivermark since I have been with them since they were Safeway community credit union. I have never been treated so poorly or offended by a company as I was today. My husband is a fisherman for part of the year in Alaska so because of that we make large deposits in the 10k range a few times a year. Everytime this happens they tell us because of the large amount they need to place a hold on the funds and then we complain and the manager reviews our account history and makes the funds available. The whole process is ridiculous and unnecessary. Today was no different except the teller told me that they could give me only a small portion of my check available to which i said was unacceptable. The teller then asked «WHAT DO YOU NEED THE MONEY FOR?» Are you kidding me? How is it any of their business what I need MY money for? I then asked to talk to a manager and was put on hold yet again. The manager was unable to talk to me and I was told to call William. They also told me to go to the bank where my check was from and cash it and bring it back to them. I had my 1 year old twins in the car and since they closed the Clackamas branch the drive was already an hour round trip and that wasn’t going to work with my babies in the car. My husband put a call into «William» and we have been waiting for the return call all day.
The service was unacceptable today and i will be looking for another bank to take our four accounts, two car loans, and one credit card. Oh and we were going to refinance our house with them but after the horrible treatment today that won’t be happening.

I was with Oregon Territory forever and before that it was called MARPO. Then Rivermark took over and closed the local branch. Well isn’t that fabulous! Having to deal with some of the incompetent idiots over the phone at Rivermark is getting to be a regular occurrence. I asked to have my line of credit discontinued and what did they do? They removed my line of credit AND cancelled the credit card I was using. BRAVO you idiots. Time to find a new credit union closer to home.

I went to credit unions years ago to avoid the nonsense that the banks get into with their «customers». First, let me say that banks are OUR customers, not the other way around. They borrow our money and use it to make investments — and make a ton of money off our money. They pay us interest for the use of our money. In the case of a CU, it’s called a dividend. My dividend last quarter was $.45. Well, as many of you know, that model wasn’t working for their bottom line, so some years ago they adjusted it to make it look like we’re the customers. So they charge us for everything, now. If you don’t use auto-​billing, Rivermark charges you. Let me reiterate: If you don’t use their service, they charge you for not using their service. Hmmmmm… scratches head in wonderment.
I am a Realtor, and I don’t fit the mould of the every two week auto-​deposit member. And somehow, they can’t for the life of them figure out how to put my money in my account. I have been putting large sums of money into my account for two and a half years. Clockwork, every couple of months, it’s the same story. I have to explain to them why I am putting 7k or more into my acct at one time. It always comes from the same place, always clears, and is always put in in the same way. They ALWAYS act like it’s a magic leprechaun transaction that was just now invented by the money gods to confuse them, and they want to hold it for a week to make sure the pot of gold is real. I have bills to pay, they’re not magical, they are real, and it’s been 2 months since I got paid last. I need my money clear. After respectfully complaining every time, they throw me a bone and say, «we’ll give you $ 500, or a thousand, but that’s it».
Screw you, Rivermark. I’m out. If you can’t figure out how to deposit MY MONEY into MY ACCOUNT, then you don’t deserve to be my customer.
The reason I gave them two stars instead of one is two fold: First, they’re better than Unitus. Unitus is COMPLETELY USELESS. Second, they stopped a local dealership from stealing my money when I got a car loan through Rivermark. The dealership tried to make up the free warranty by adding it onto the back end, but the transaction had already funded. The Rivermark rep went to bat for me. But that’s an individual. The institution, and the industry, are toast. If you can’t operate normally with a cu, after telling them over and over again that that’s how you operate, they are stupid or they are screwing with you.
Here’s my conclusion. These guys make investments with our money. As soon as it’s in the account, that money is freed up for them to make investments with. If they can hold the money for a week, they’re making money on our money during that week because it’s stuck in the acct. If they repeat this pattern with many transactions over years, their profits go up by a pretty substantial margin. This is my theory for why they hold checks. It’s another way of making money, and they make it look like we’re doing something weird so they can make it look punitive, instead of a money grab.
Sorry for the long one. We should have all the information necessary to make our choices. It’s our livelihood. We have a right to be treated correctly by our banking institution.
Rivermark:FAILURE!

I have been with Rivermark for over 20 years. I have never had an issue with them. I even live out of state and still use them because I like them so much. I was also surprised to see so many bad reviews because I have always been very pleased with their service, especially in comparison to some of the other big name banks (who are awful and steal your money). I see many of the reviews are regarding waiting in line. I guess I don’t understand why you would ever need to do that if you have an online account unless you have a large deposit. I take pictures of check to deposit them or have direct deposit set up and I can transfer funds between accounts very easily. I even pay my bills through my online account. I think some of the bad reviews are from people who need to upgrade the way they bank. We are living in a digital world now my friends… no need to stand in line!!!

Alisa Drumright is amazing. She went completely above and beyond. She helped me set up a personal checking account, counseled me on student loan options and repayment plan, helped me set up my business account and offered all kinds of wonderful advice throughout each process — and was completely friendly and enthusiastic the whole time.
She was also incredibly respectful and queer-​savvy, and didn’t misgender me or my partner. Literally the first time that has EVER happened at a bank, and it was actually really really affirming. May not seem like a big deal to some, but I felt seen and validated at the BANK! Who knew that could even happen? Will be back.

I’ve been a customer for almost 9 years. I’ve run hundreds of thousands of dollars through this institution. Had multiple loans that have all been paid on time and many paid off early.
I bring a $ 15k bank check from key bank and you want to put a hold on it? Then you leave me sitting in drive through for 10 minutes?
I’m done with you guys. Your website is subpar and the level of service has diminished over the years.

MISTAKES, MISTAKES, MISTAKES!!!
About 10 – 12 years ago, the State of Oregon opened the floodgates for Credit Unions to take memberships beyond their original membership requirements. Rivermark was a Credit Union for Safeway employees, much like OnPoint was Portland Teachers Credit Union serving teachers and people in the non-​profit industry. When these credit unions expanded their memberships, it seems that none have managed to handle it well.
Mistake #1: New Car Loan — Rivermark was supposed to set up automatic payments. They didn’t and my auto loan payment was late. They corrected this.
Mistake #2: Holiday Skip Payment — Rivermark offered me an opportunity to skip a car payment during the holidays. I took it, paid the $ 30 fee and they still deducted the car payment from my bank account at another bank. They corrected it, but I had to run around town to get it resolved by picking up a check from Rivermark and depositing it into my bank account at my other institution, otherwise I would have to wait 3 – 4 days.
Mistake #3: My girlfriend and I applied for a car loan for a used car for her — sold by owner. Somehow, Rivermark did 2 credit pulls — one from the Credit Union and one through the CUDL system. CUDL is used when you buy a car from a dealer, not direct from owners.
Mistake #4: Rivermark reported that I missed a credit card payment to the credit bureau earlier this year. Not only did I make the payment on time, it was a $ 500 payment on a $ 30 minimum payment due. They wanted me to dispute it with the credit union.
Mistake #5: My girlfriend wanted to refinance her car to pay off a bill. So, we did that through Rivermark last week. On Tuesday ⁸⁄₁₈ we were told that they stopped the upcoming payment on the old loan for ⁸⁄₂₅. We were told we gave enough notice on it. On Monday (⁸⁄₂₅) they took the payment on the old car loan out of my bank account at another institution. I have a special account set up for auto-​payments and checks, to cover anything that I know will be processed.
They made a mess of my account, and instead of being cooperative, they want me to go to my bank and get copies of my bank account to prove to them I was charged fees. My concept here is that they charge overdraft fees of $ 30 if you overdraw a bank account. They should pay me the $ 30 as well for overdrawing my account due to their error.
I asked for a manager, and was told one would call me back within an hour. 4 hours later I get a call back, but I was taking a family member to the hospital so I couldn’t talk. I called her back 20 minutes later and still haven’t heard from them the next day.
Terrible service!!!

I am not a member of Rivermark but they have been a member of a co-​op and credit unions are always great. HOWEVER…
Rivermark IS NO LONGER A CO-​OP for inside transactions. And they are NOT cash friendly.
My experience here was the same stupidity that caused me to leave Bank of America and switch to a credit union, which Rivermark no longer seems to function as.
If you want a credit union, which I highly recommend, do not use Rivermark!

Extremely frustrating bank… Waited in line for about 15 minutes to cash a check while only two people worked the counter and 4 – 5 others walked around seemingly doing nothing. A long line formed behind me and several customers left. Finally reaching the counter I was informed I would be charged a 5 dollar FEE for cashing a check…
Ridiculous.

This review is a shout out for Alisa Drumright, Account Officer, who helped us out during an appointment after we opened our account online. We also made the appointment online, which was pretty easy.
My wife and I had just moved to Portland and had a bunch of questions regarding switching from our old credit union, and she made us feel comfortable during the process and was very thorough about answering all of our «dumb» questions.
It definitely seemed to us like she «knew what she was doing», and she was sensitive to boot!
Can’t speak for other staff necessarily, but we felt good after that appointment and would recommend Rivermark to others.

I initially switched from Rivermark CU to Advantis for the higher checking APY and significantly shorter lines around 5 months ago. However, I am going to switch back to Rivermark for my primary checking account. At Rivermark, debits and smartphone check deposits are posted on my online statement immediately after the transaction takes place, which makes it much easier to keep track of my money. At Rivermark, I have to wait one to two business days for debits and smartphone check deposits to show up on my online statement.
Also, the Rivermark online checking deposit system is much less finicky than Advantis’; photos of checks taken from my smart phone come out much clearer and requires fewer retakes than the Advantis online checking deposit system. When taking photos of checks to deposit to my Advantis account, my hands have to remain very still and lighting has to be perfect with minimal shadows.
Rivermark members can also link external accounts from other financial institution to their Rivermark account and transfer funds between the accounts. Advantis does not allow their members to link external accounts and only allows transfers between various Advantis accounts.
As for the long lines at the Hawthorne branch, since I rarely see bank tellers in person the long lines do not matter. Furthermore, Rivermark is part of the co-​op shared branch network, which allows me to perform most in-​person banking transactions at Advantis or other CU’s within the network.
The sliver of icing on the cake is that Rivermark’s checking APY has jumped ahead of Advantis’ and is now .25% higher, but the rates tend to be fairly close to each other that it doesn’t matter much.