FAQs

Becoming a member of County Excellence FCU is simple.

Step 1. Before you begin, check the Welcome to County Excellence FCU section for eligibility.

Step 2. Request an application via E-mail County Excellence FCU will mail applicant(s) a formal application to be signed. To establish membership (open account), all documents must be completed upon return.

Credit unions are financial cooperatives owned and controlled by people who share a common bond, operated for them and by them on a non-profit or cost basis. The members pool their financial assets to provide themselves funds for loans and a wide variety of other financial services. In short, credit union cooperatives exist to serve their members and are dedicated to the credit union motto: "Not for profit, not for charity, but for service." This is the key difference between credit unions and other types of financial institutions.

The cooperative movement began in Europe in the 1800s. Working-class people began forming cooperatives of various kinds to assist themselves through economic hard times. Banks would not lend money to working-class people and they were forced to borrow from moneylenders (loan sharks) who often charged as much as 100% interest. As a result, some of these same people began forming cooperatives. Examples of the first successful cooperatives are as follows:

• One of the most successful early cooperatives began in Rochdale, England. A group of workers sold shares to its members to raise capital to buy goods at lower than retail price. The goods were then sold at a savings and members were entitled to a share of the earnings at the end of the year. This cooperative became the model for cooperatives formed later elsewhere in Europe and the world
• In Germany, farmworkers formed credit cooperatives around 1850. Although farmers could own their own land, they couldn't afford to buy equipment, seeds, livestock, and other supplies to make a decent living on their farms. By working together they escaped the grip of the moneylenders and survived the economic hardships of the times

The credit union philosophy is "Once a Member, Always a Member." If you move away and do not live, work, or do business in the eligible counties, you can still maintain an account with us FOR LIFE. As long as you maintain a minimum balance of $100 in a Regular Savings Account, your account will remain active with us.

Credit unions operate under a set of democratic principles. Each year the membership elects the Board of Directors through a nominating committee. The Board members are volunteers, and the positions are highly sought after. The Board meets each month to review the progress of the credit union and to set policies that govern the services members receive. The Board of Directors appoints a Supervisory Committee, which oversees the annual audit to ensure that day-to-day operations of the credit union are handled according to General Accounting Principles (GAP).

Yes, you can mail deposits to any County Excellence FCU location. For your convenience, we have a night drop at our Roselle Park and Somerville Locations. Check our County Educators FCU Directory section for additional information.

Our County Excellence FCU Directory section will give you all the location information, maps and directions.

Regulation "D" impacts the number of transactions County Excellence FCU may allow on your deposit accounts (including Regular Savings, Money Market and Club accounts). The Board that governs the Federal Reserve System, whose job is to ensure that financial institutions maintain adequate reserves for funds they have on deposit, implemented the regulation.

It limits the number of preauthorized, automatic or phone transactions you make each month on a deposit account to a maximum of six. Balance inquires, loan payments (between suffixes on one member number) and all transactions from Checking (Share Draft) accounts do not count as part of these transactions. There are no limitations to the number of transactions that you handle on any account in person, by mail or through an ATM. County Excellence FCU will refuse any transactions that are not in compliance with Regulation "D" (checks may be returned and a fee may apply). Regulation "D" is a directive of the Federal Government, not of County Excellence FCU.