About company
Community First Credit Union is a division of Your Neighbourhood Credit Union — one of the largest Ontario-based credit unions. Community First Credit Union operates in Northern Ontario primarily, while its YNCU-branded branches operate throughout Southwestern Ontario. Community First Credit Union provides a wide range of personal and business banking solutions while keeping the funds local and investing them back into the community.
Features
All member-owners have equal voting rights when discussing matters of concern, making policy decisions, and electing the Board of Directors at the credit union's annual meetings. In addition, each member has an opportunity to join the Board of Directors.
Each year, Community First Credit Union returns a portion of its profits to its members in the form of patronage dividends. The potential dividend amount can range from $2.00 to $200.00.
Community First Credit Union has a referral program in place making both you and a person you refer eligible for an up to $100 reward.
Community First Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing all the solutions that banks do. But, unlike banks, the credit union re-invests funds deposited by its members back into community-focused programs, partnerships, scholarships, and awards.
Pros and cons
Here are the pros of Community First Credit Union:
A full range of banking products and services
Attractive rates for GICs and select savings accounts
Safety of eligible deposits guaranteed by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA)
Online and mobile banking available
The cons are:
Limited geographic availability of banking solutions
The lack of transparency about loan rates
Products
Personal banking products from Community First Credit Union include:
Chequing accounts that differ in transaction volumes to meet your daily banking needs
Savings accounts enabling you to earn a return on deposited funds with up to 3.00% interest rates
Loans with pre-set terms of one to five years, flexible repayment schedules, and competitive fixed and variable rates
Secured and unsecured lines of credit providing access to a predefined financing amount, with the interest, applied only to what you borrow
Credit cards with interest rates of 11.99% to 20.99% and additional perks like zero fees, cash back, and rewards
Conventional, insured, and construction mortgages with fixed and variable rates ranging from 5.24% to 5.89%
Redeemable and non-redeemable term deposits or GICs providing an attractive return at up to 5.25% rates, with market-linked GIC options available
Class A shares enabling you to invest in the credit union and potentially earn a competitive return
Combination savings account providing tiered interest rates of 0.05% to 2.40% depending on the deposited amount, with an option to access your funds at any time
Registered plans such as RRSPs, RRIFs, and RESPs allowing you to grow your savings and investments tax-sheltered
For business members, there are the following products at Community First Credit Union:
Chequing accounts with 5 to 200 monthly transactions included
Savings accounts providing tiered interest rates based on the account balance
Loans available for one to five-year terms at fixed and variable rates
Lines of credit providing ongoing access to the predetermined amount of funds to support the cash flow of your business
Letters of credit providing a guarantee of your payment to a third party
Credit cards with 12.99% to 20.99% interest rates and benefits like zero fees, cash back, and rewards
Short-term and long-term providing a competitive return, with redeemable and non-redeemable options available
Services
Both personal and business members can reach out to Community First Credit Union for the following services:
Wealth management services that involve investing advice and guidance on a suitable line of investment products
Planning and advisory services to help you achieve your life and business goals
For businesses, there are the following services:
Merchant services to receive and process credit and debit card payments from your customers
Payroll services to simplify your payments to employees and business partners
