University Federal Credit Union

Whatever outsourced algorithm
based third party pos security system they use… fail.
I don’t live in Austin. Could I please get more than $ 100 out of an out of area ATM sometimes???
Same ATM’s. Same fails.
Really?

I made the switch to UFCU about four years ago to take my money out of the bank system. After a few disappointing years I have transferred to another credit union that provides a much better online system, improved app, quicker transfers, and better service.

Ufcu is a great bank. I bought my first car through them and it went well. They don’t have a ton of ATMs but come on its 2015 who uses cash. Aside from that my only other complaint is that they don’t exchange foreign currency. Their tellers are friendly, the lobby is clean but I’m not sure if they have lollipops. They probably do. They have water.

No phone banking support. My card was decline while out of town for labor day snd I was left hanging.

First off, I’ve been with UFCU for 9 years. I’ve had credit cards, auto loans, savings, checking and currently an IRA with them. I’ve always preferred to ‘bank’ with credit unions because they’re seemingly not salivating at the thought of screwing you over to make money, I’m looking at you Chase. That said, in the last 6 months I’ve had some TERRIBLE experiences at this branch, which bums me out because it’s closest to me. I’ve had holds placed on checks without being notified. I’ve had tellers attempt to place holds on my PAYCHECK for no reason other than it not being drawn on their bank. Listen, I’ve worked for banks in the past, I know and understand the criteria for placing holds. I was/haven’t been in any of the areas of criteria needed for such. What’s worse? Going inside and speaking to a representative who basically just shrugged it off and acted like my complaints weren’t valid and didn’t offer any type of sympathy/​empathy towards me whatsoever. I was tempted to close every account I have with them that day. Oh yeah! I asked to speak to a manager! They said «We currently don’t have a manager here.» AWESOME. Thankfully, I cooled off and went to another branch and spoke to a representative there. Before even explaining my situation, I had him pull up my account and look into my history. I knew what questions to ask and the criteria to look at in regards to holding checks. He apologized profusely and assured it wouldn’t happen again. My advice? Avoid this location like the plague unless you have a transaction that doesn’t include possible denial.

They have grown a lot lately. Was surprised to see all of the new locations that sprouted up during our recent stint in California. They are a very consistent and fair credit union that is well organized. They have great underwriters that work with you and tellers are eager to assist. All-​in-​all a very solid credit union. I’ve only had one issue with them before but he was over the phone — if not for him, I would have given them five stars.

These guys are miracle workers. After years of being treated like a peasant or pond scum by every other bank it’s so nice to come into a place and know your representative, and be treated like a person, and to know on top of that that they are not using your money for evil. We had a data breach and they were able to get us all brand new accounts in 20 minutes. I will never go back to a normal bank again. Bless the UFCU.

I very recently opened my account at this location. I was made every promise in the world that they would be better than my last bank. Maybe it’s just this location, I don’t know, I’ve jist had my funds held at a complete surprise to me for what is «policy» to them.
Policies should be made clear to account holders, but apparently that isn’t priority. I’ve now had three people tell me without any concerns for my, their customers, well being to not pay my rent because that’s their only answer to my funds being held when they were never held before.
Let’s make this better and point out that their tellers are behind a thin wall. In order to communicate with them you must pick up a sticky phone only to put it down and hear them mocking their customers or telling severely inappropriate stories through the panels. If you enjoy the prison experience this may be the branch for you.
Add insult to injury and layer on their online banking never working. Ever. As in I’ve set this up several times. Ask to fix this and they don’t care. Let’s talk about my available funds like I don’t know instead.
To top it all off, I’ve had to prove everything their bankers have promised me in writing in order to have the bank itself honor it. If you’re trying to achieve independence after a divorce or break up go elsewhere. If you do decide to come here get everything in writing and maybe keep a savings account somewhere else. Just in case they decide your rent can wait.

Great bank, worst branch!
I moved to Austin a year ago, and I opened my bank account at UFCU on 2244 Guadalupe St., the one right by the campus. It was always busy there and parking in that area is awful, but the staff was always super nice, and still patient and friendly enough even though it was extremely crowded in there (e.g., right before the semester starts). Because I live closer to the branch on 4611 Guadalupe and because their parking is a way better, I went over there four times within the last couple of weeks. Every single time, I was treated so badly and was shocked about their bad service.
(1) I wanted to deposit some cash on my account and the receptionist referred me to their tube-​system. I went over there and did not understand how it worked. So, I went back to her, asked for help, and she explained it really shortly. I went back to the cabin with the tubes, and still couldn’t figure it out (that was the first time that I’ve seen one of those). So, I again asked her for help. She looked at me as I was retarded and then finally got her ass over and showed it to me (it was very empty in the branch, so she wasn’t even busy).
(2) I just wanted to get some checks printed out. Not a big deal. The person at the reception took forever to get things in order with the customer in front of me. Both of us were waiting forever… At the end, it was the receptionist herself who had to walk over to the printer and get checks for me. It took her 20 (!!!) minutes (at 3 pm in the afternoon, not even the busiest time). She of course did not even care to apology.
(3) I only wanted to use their ATM but both of the were out of order (around a week ago).
(4) Today, I wanted to use their ATM again, and two people were there trying to fix/​refill/​empty it. I waited a bit, and none of them even tried to say a word like: «That will take a bit.» to me. So I went inside and the receptionist ignored me for 10 minutes, then he looked at me without saying a word, so I just asked if they had an ATM inside as well and he said no, but I could use their tube-​system (I am traumatized about…) in order to get some cash. I told him, I needed money from my international bank account and that could be difficult. His response: «Sorry, I cannot help you with that, I am quite busy right now.» BUSY? It was me and one other person at 3 pm in the afternoon!
NEVER AGAIN! UFCU is great, especially the branch on campus. But this one, I really do not know what kind of criteria applicants have to fulfill in order to get a job as a receptionist at that branch. I guess «being an asshole» is #1.

The Guadalupe location next to the Triangle is the dirtiest bank I have ever been in! They use a prison style booth with video monitor, camera and pick-​up-​the-​phone communication as their teller booths. The booth has graffiti on all the soft wood surfaces that they haven’t covered with plastic and it’s dirty. Seriously, every little corner is caked with grime and dirt. I don’t want their tellers to get shot but just hire off-​duty police officer if your bank is that much of a target. Contrast that with any other bank in Austin and you get face-​to-​face contact in a place that looks like its a model house with clean carpets, granite, and not a spec of dirt.

Great bank! That is, as long as you are residing in Austin and able to go in and talk about your situation with bankers. If you need to make any arrangements by e-​mail, or dare I say it, phone, you are best served elsewhere. Like the situation I am going through presently where I have moved to Dallas and MUST deal with the attrocious customer service that exists outside the friendly tellers and staff at the branches. The only conclusion I can draw from my horrible experiences with customer service and any and all representatives I deal with over the phone or via email is met with unfriendly, uncaring and above all incompetent responses from those I must deal with. Even reaching someone in Collections is near impossible as the wait times are bordering on ridiculous (45 minutes) plus it helps no one ever answers their direct line, even when they call and leave their extension. Either they must have very amateur staff/​management or do not pay well beyond the positions in the actual branches themselves, is just a couple educated guesses on my part. Either way I am taking my business to USAA including loan and other business and would advise others to stay away as these bad practices are ruining what used to be a very reputable financial organization.

Smart money goes here.

Do not ever get a bank account at ufcu ever. This is the worst bank ever. They will lock your card for paying bills as fraud protection then not call beforehand like they’re suppose too. Also there is no ²⁴⁄₇ customer service so when they lock your card you get to wait until the next day to unlock it. Go to frost or bank of America or anywhere else trust me. I’m shutting down my account and taking all the money out cause they are the worst bank I’ve ever dealt with. I opened a account at frost I’ve had none of the problems I have with ufcu so be sure not to do business with these people it’s not worth the headaches.

Super friendly staff, and willing to help! I bank with an associated credit union, and I have never had any issues!

I did not enjoy my experience with this branch.
After finally getting to the counter at the front and handing over some cash I was depositing the woman behind the counter rather rudely said I needed to «face» the bills for her and that it’s policy. I then asked her to show me said policy in any of their literature and she could not find a single instance. Tidy banking is their job, not mine.
Second thing is that I sometimes don’t bother counting my cash before I come in… instead just deferring to them to do the count for me. as I trust my bank… and the fact that they have to count it in front of my anyways regardless of if I count it or not.
They gave me big attitude because of this.
I will never be back to this branch. The other branches are way better. This might be in part them them having to deal with students all day but this is just not how you treat a member.

I am giving them a solid 4 on this review.
First of all, they are super helpful. I really feel like they treat me like its small town bank, and I know that because I have banked in my small town before. Now that I am in Austin, I was looking for something that gave me the same feel. This was awesome. I honestly dont use them for my personal account but I do use them for my business account.
Business account. Do not look for anything fancy, the site is kinda ehh, but trust me there, are some hidden gems and people *when you push* get back to you about just anything that you might need.
The place is always clean at this location and I wish they were open earlier, but I still like this weirdly placed location.

I have recently moved to Austin from the Midwest so maybe I am just not «with it» but having the tellers behind a wall communicating only through a tv screen is strange and very dystopian. Everyone I interacted with was friendly but I doubt I will be choosing UFCU as my new credit union based off that weird fact.

As far as banks and various cash keepers go I usually hate and despise them. Ive been banking with UFCU for 5years and honestly they impress me every time!
When I had no credit and tried to get a loan they were they only bank that would give me a fair interest rate at 4% not the 16% compass, my loooong time bank, was offering. Also I paid a credit card thru a system outside UFCU and overdrafted my account when it finally took the funds out days later. Bo, at the guad location, not only informed me of a better way to pay, he reversed the charge and helped me get my savings into a better higher paying account.
No bank has ever reversed those NFS charges let alone also suggested ways to improve my accounts. Helping me make more money, not them. Way to go Bo and UFCU!!!

Oh thank God, they reversed the fees when I went in to the Drag branch to talk to them last week. Woohoo! I guess I’ll give your checking account another try, UFCU.
When I went in to talk to customer service, they also told me that there are no-​fee ATMs across the country that are available to UFCU customers. I didn’t know that! Awesome! No more fees when I’m in NYC or Boston.
I’d like to give an even more glowing review, but UFCU’s iPhone app requires you to answer about 10 security questions and create a new mobile account, and all that is just not worth it. Once you finally get into the app, the features are hard to use. Bank of America’s app, unfortunately, is way better. It’s even easier to find bank locations using Google than it is using the app.

You should most definitely put your money in a credit union in lieu of a major bank. The cooperative principles and transparent model are worthy, and, unless you’ve been on another planet the past ten years, you know how toxic the big ‘uns have been to our economy.
However, think twice before you use UFCU. The teller transactions (even in the lobby!) are conducted via closed-​circuit screens and tube systems. The sign-​up for individual help is often done by computer interface. When you finally do get actual humans in face-​to-​face interactions, it is done at a desk in an open space (not even cubicles!)– no consideration of privacy or confidentiality there!
The couple of times I’ve needed to clarify «issues», it has meant a trip down to the Guadalupe branch to meet with a service representative. To be fair, once you are able to speak with someone in person, the result is likely to be a fair and logical resolution.
Short version: transactions here are likely to be cold, dehumanizing, and screen-​driven. Don’t be fooled by the folksy media campaigns: these guys are more wing-​tip than two-​step.