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First Tech Federal Credit Union Review 2024

Updated January 5, 2024
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At a glance

4.0
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Caret Down Icon

CDs

Rating: 4.1 stars out of 5

Checking

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Savings

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

About Bankrate Score

Overview

First Tech Federal Credit Union is likely best for customers on the west coast, where most of its branches are located. It’s easy to open an account since there are no monthly fees and minimum deposits are relatively low. Moreover, the credit union offers competitive yields on its share certificates.

Highlights

  • 24/7 Customer Service
  • Low Min Deposit
  • No Monthly Fees
Sponsored offers
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These are sponsored offers rated highly by us for competitive rates, fees, and minimums.

Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.90
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 12/6/2024
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.90
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 12/6/2024
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer:
Bank logo
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.80
%
APY
APY
Info Icon
As of 12/6/2024
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$0
Min. balance for APY
View offer Arrow Right Icon
Promoted offer: It only takes about 5 minutes to open a fee-free account.

Overall

First Tech Federal Credit Union offers a large swath of financial services, ranging from traditional deposit products like savings and checking accounts to credit cards and home loans. Though the APYs for the credit union’s share certificates are competitive, the yields for most of its savings and checking accounts leave much to be desired.

Pros

  • Checkmark Icon

    There’s free access to over 30,000 CO-OP ATMs across the country.

  • Checkmark Icon

    Share certificates offer competitive APYs.

  • Checkmark Icon

    There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.

  • Checkmark Icon

    There’s nearly 6,000 CO-OP shared branch locations you can visit for help.

Cons

  • Higher yields for checking and savings accounts can be found elsewhere.

  • There aren’t fee rebates for ATMs outside of the CO-OP network for most deposit accounts.

CTA We want to know what you think about First Tech Federal Credit Union

We want to know what you think about First Tech Federal Credit Union

Do you have experience with First Tech Federal Credit Union? Let us know your thoughts.

First Tech Federal Credit Union banking products

3.0
/5
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
SCORE BREAKDOWN
APY offering:
0.01%
Rating: 1 stars out of 5
1/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance for APY:
$5.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Monthly service fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Minimum balance to avoid fee:
$0.00
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
Access to funds:
Great
Rating: 5 stars out of 5
5/5
Info Icon
FEATURES
Invest Rate Icon
0.01% APY
Info Icon
Savings Icon
$5 minimum balance for APY
Loan Icon
$5 minimum deposit to open

First Tech Federal Credit Union savings overview

First Tech offers a variety of savings accounts. The account scored for this section is called Instant Access Savings, which you can open with a minimum of $25. The yield for this account is higher than the national average, but higher APYs can generally be found elsewhere. This account is also tiered, meaning the more money you have in the account, the more you’ll earn in interest.

Three other savings accounts are available; two of them require much smaller opening deposits, but they also come with lower yields. The last account, called First Tech Rewards Savings, comes with a sizable APY for balances up to $25,000.

All accounts come with free online and mobile banking, and there’s no monthly fee. You can link your savings account with your checking to avoid overdraft fees.

Pros

  • Checkmark Icon

    None of the savings accounts charge monthly fees.

  • Checkmark Icon

    There is overdraft protection available.

  • Checkmark Icon

    Instant Access Savings is a tiered account.

  • Checkmark Icon

    A high-yield account option is available.

Cons

  • Higher yields can be found elsewhere.

  • See how rates for this account have changed over time. Interact with the trend lines to view APY by date.

    First Tech Federal Credit Union
    APY
    APY
    Info Icon
    National average APY
    How do we get this data?
    Info Icon

Bank fees

Fee Charged?
Overdraft fee $33
Non-sufficient funds fee None
Monthly maintenance fee None
Out-of-network ATM fee $2
Excessive transaction fee $2

Customer experience

Customer service. Customer service by phone is available 24/7, but you can also reach a representative through secure online messages or in-person and virtual appointments. 

Digital experience. Person-to-person payments can be made using Zelle, and the debit card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can also use your First Tech debit card to freely access over 30,000 CO-OP ATMs across the U.S. First Tech’s mobile app is highly rated by reviewers on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.

About First Tech Federal Credit Union Bank

Founded in 1952, First Tech Federal Credit Union is an NCUA-insured institution with its main address in San Jose, California. The credit union has more than $16 billion dollars in assets and more than 30 branches mainly concentrated in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. The credit union offers many personal banking products, including share certificates, checking accounts and savings accounts.

Review methodology

With so many financial institutions to choose from, it can be hard to know who to trust. Bankrate’s ever-growing list of bank and credit union reviews is updated regularly. Our editorial team analyzes and reviews each institution across deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs) and money market accounts (MMAs). Banks are rated by important factors such as offered interest rates, fees, minimum balance requirements, access to funds and more.

We assign a score to each type of account and its features, weigh them carefully based on importance to account holders and determine an overall score. Read our full review methodology.