Frequently asked questions

If you have a smartphone, you can use the LGFCU app right now to deposit checks, including paychecks.

A range of cash solutions are planned for member transactions.

• We're anticipating opening 11 branches in 2024, and you'll have the option deposit and withdraw cash at these locations. 

• In addition, we'll provide other cash deposit solutions statewide through networked retailers, ATMs, etc.

• Plus, you'll still have access to hundreds of CashPoints(R) ATMs across North Carolina. 

Yes, you’ll able to transfer funds between external financial institutions without a fee.

Yes, existing LGFCU loans, rates and terms will be transferred over to the new platform once we separate from State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) in 2025.

If you have a loan with a fixed rate, the loan’s terms will remain as they are.

Variable loan rates will not be adjusted based on our separation from SECU. If you have an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), your mortgage’s terms will remain in place until the scheduled adjustment, and then the rate may go up or down, based on market conditions. If you have a loan with a variable rate, that rate may also change based on market conditions

When you use our mobile app, $500 is immediately available, then up to $5,000 on day 2, and the remainder of the funds become available on day 4.

This is another popular branch service we’re working on. We’re considering options that can best serve members across the state.

Absolutely, you can still write paper checks and pay bills with checks.

And you can continue to use mobile check deposit using a mobile app, too.

Wire transfers will still be offered. Members will call us or use an online portal for domestic and international wires.

We already have access to digital notary services you can use from the comfort of your own home.

We will be able to issue cashier's checks and will send them through an overnight service (if needed) or through standard delivery channels.

You will still have access to real people. And you’ll have a variety of in-person services, which include a physical presence in areas of the state. Plus, we will have people ready to answer your questions by phone, text or video chat, and email, 24/7. We're already in your community, at your events, and in your local government spaces. We have a dedicated team of people just for you. The same people who created LGFCU remain committed to meeting your financial needs.

We will move your scheduled transactions to our new platform in 2025. We’re working to make sure you won’t have to do anything, and the data will shift over.

Our goal is to retain account numbers for checking, share savings and other deposit accounts, and we continue to work with vendors on this. We'll update you as the transition progresses.

LGFCU will shift your accounts over to the new platform automatically when we separate account management operations from SECU in 2025.

Yes. You can continue to use CashPoints® ATMs with no surcharge.

We will not be exclusively cloud-based. We will be primarily digital-first, using the robust technology platform of our other credit union, Civic. In addition, we're opening 11 branches across the state as Civic Credit Union in 2024. After 2025, we also plan to offer cash options through State Employees' Credit Union (SECU), as well as hundreds of retailers statewide. Plus, you can continue to use CashPoints(R) ATMs surcharge-free. 

We will meet with members in person. In addition to creating a physical presence in some areas of the state, we’re also building a larger network of people to work in the field directly with you on your needs.

We're working in partnership with State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) to provide cash solutions for deposits and withdrawals after June 2025. This proposed in-branch solution will allow members to deposit and withdraw cash. 

Yes, we will! We're opening 11 branches as Civic Credit Union in 2024. Along with our Raleigh Center, we will be on the ground in Ahoskie, Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, Greenville, Hickory, Lumberton, Murphy and Wilmington. These branches will give you the chance to experience Civic services firsthand and to meet our employees in person. The branch locations will be within 30 miles of 80% of LGFCU members. 

We recognize some areas have poor broadband service. Right now, we’re working with broadband advocates and organizations across the state. We’re adding our voice to the efforts to bring better service to signal-challenged regions.

If you’re interested in adding comments or assisting with this initiative about your local service, please send us an email.

You are still a member of LGFCU as you have always been.

Separation only ends the agreement for SECU to manage account operations and access to the SECU branch network.

LGFCU now has access to a banking system that will allow us to conduct and process daily transactions. This means we will serve members on our own. We will build the products and services our members already have and have requested. And we’ll provide direct member service with employees who have always worked on your behalf.

Your Credit Union membership with LGFCU does not make you eligible for membership with SECU.

LGFCU and SECU have always operated under separate charters that legally define the specific fields of membership each can serve, and the eligibility requirements for joining each credit union.

• SECU serves state employees, teachers and their families.
• LGFCU serves North Carolina local government employees and volunteers and their families, among other groups.
• You can check the SECU website to see if you qualify for membership.

Yes, we’ll have kids’ accounts. Existing accounts for children and teens will be moved over to the new platform for you.

Both LGFCU and Civic are committed to offering the best interest rates possible. That will continue with Civic even after separation. The ability for the credit union to offer competitive dividend rates is influenced by U.S. Treasury’s adjustment of interest rates. If the Fed increases rates, we can increase our rates. Our rates adjust up or down depending upon how the Treasury adjusts rates. Adjustments impact interest on loans and other investment products as well. Since we don’t know when adjustments will be made, members should take advantage of the great rates as quickly as possible.

Yes, mortgages and HELOCs will be offered. If you have an existing account, we’ll move that to the new platform for you.

Yes, Health Savings Accounts will still be offered. We are in contact with our members’ Human Resources and Benefits staff to keep them updated on how these will be moved over.

Yes. We're creating a money manager that will initially have expense tracking, transaction categorization, and reporting available. We plan to add other features soon after launch.

Insurance policies through the Credit Union will continue to be in effect after we separate from SECU.

We'll have many of the same products you've come to expect, plus several new, member-requested products. Almost all of these products will be available in 2024, and many are available right now. The list includes traditional savings, certificates and money markets, checking accounts and debit cards, IRAs, health savings accounts (HSAs), youth and teen savings accounts, rewards and classic credit cards, mortgages, home equity lines of credit (HELOC), auto loans, personal loans, personal lines of credit, emergency loans and credit builder loans. There is a suite of financial products available for small business and nonprofits as well.

Both Civic and LGFCU have a responsibility to protect our members' account information from unauthorized access or disclosure. Here are some ways we will continue to do this:

• We use multifactor authentication, which requires you to provide more than one form of information (something you have, something you know) to access your accounts. This helps to prevent unauthorized access, even if a password or username is stolen or compromised.
• We utilize firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and other security technologies to protect our network and systems from external threats.
• We conduct regular security assessments and audits to help identify potential vulnerabilities in our systems and processes, and they allow for timely remediation to minimize risks.
• Our staff regularly receives security awareness training to ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to safeguard your account information.
• Our incident response plans outline procedures for responding to security incidents and minimizing the impact on members.

All these measures work together to ensure our member account information is kept secure and confidential, and that Civic and LGFCU can detect and respond to security incidents promptly.

Separation from State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) means that after 2025, your accounts will be managed by the LGFCU and Civic team that's been working with SECU on your behalf for years. After 2025, you'll have access to most of the same services you're accustomed to, plus some new ways to contact us. Here's what will change after separation in June 2025: 

• Anytime phone access to our live team 

• Use of SECU branches, limited to cash withdrawals and deposits

• Access to 11 Civic branches opening statewide in 2024

• Live and virtual support using digital channels such as email, chat, texting, video conferencing, web co-browsing

• Continued use of CashPoints® ATMs, surcharge-free

• Additional cash solutions with hundreds of retailers across NC 

• Co-learning opportunities, offered on your schedule at a local government location near you 

No, we're not going cashless. You'll have access to a range of cash options, in addition to digital channels that use Civic's technology. In fact, you'll have more ways to reach us and access your money than you've ever had before.  

We recognize that a change like this can be unsettling for members. From a regulatory standpoint, decisions such as a change in service delivery channels do not rise to the level of a decision requiring a membership vote.

Member feedback, however, is considered along with many other factors when the Board of Directors and senior leadership consider these types of strategic decisions. In this instance there were other factors that spurred the move forward to independence quickly.

Our target date for separation is 2025. There are many legal and regulatory requirements we must meet along the way to get there.

We welcome your ideas at independence@lgfcu.org. Tell us about products you want or solutions that could work for a digital credit union.

We’re also scheduling conversations with members across the state. If you would like to be included, please email us with the subject line “Member summit.”

LGFCU will separate from State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) in June 2025, and Civic’s technology and channels will serve members after separation. There are several reasons for this change. 

• Our Board and leadership have an obligation to our membership to foster the right conditions for the credit union to thrive, and to continue offering the financial products and services that help members achieve their financial goals and prosper. Separation will allow us to provide members with new and expanded products and services specifically tailored to them, and a modern credit union experience that meets their needs both now and into the future.

• The financial services industry is being flipped on its head. The traditional model is no longer feasible in the face of competition from Google, Venmo, Apple and Amazon, to name a few. 

• At the same time, members have consistently shared that better rates are key to living a better financial life, and we agree. But no financial institution will be able to pay higher rates on a traditional branch model, invest in technology, and create a better digital experience. 

• Our members are telling us they want more, and their transactions show us that they are choosing non-branch activities more often. 

• If we do not adapt and evolve our members will not be served as well as they should be.  

The separation will allow both credit unions to fully focus on their own members.