$11,000 in scholarship money available through the FIC

The Minnesota Family Involvement Council (FIC) has $11,000 available in scholarship money for credit union members who are continuing their education!

The FIC is offering two $1,000 scholarships and eighteen $500 scholarships to 20 credit union members. Any individual attending a college or university, graduate or law school, two- or four-year program or community or technical college in the fall of 2010/spring 2011 is eligible. Those interested in applying need to complete a one-page application form and an essay (up to 500 words in length) on the specified topic by Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. The 20 scholarship recipients will be selected and announced in the spring of 2010.

For an application packet, please contact Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union at 535-1460 or toll free at 800-535-2129 or apply online at www.mnfic.org/scholarships.html. Scholarship information will be available in October.

Loan Due Date Changes

Some changes in federal law have driven the need to make changes in loan due dates. If you have questions other than those adressed below, or want to discuss these changes further, please contact the Credit Union at 507-535-1460 or toll free 1-800-535-2129.

1. Why is this happening? The United States Congress created and the President signed a new bill called the "Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosures Act of 2009 (CARD Act)". While the bill was originally targeted to make sweeping changes to how credit card issuers operate, the bill also included language that affects ALL open-end loans. All loans, with the exception of fixed rate home equity loans at Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union (MEFCU) are open-end. Thus, we were required to make these changes to comply with the new regulations.
2. Why is my loan due date being changed to the 28th? One of the provisions of the law requires the financial institution to notify the borrower at least 21 days in advance of the actual payment due date. Your monthly statement includes the next payment due date. Since statements are usually mailed by the 3rd of each month, moving the due date to the 28th of each month allows for proper notification to you, the member, about your next loan payment.
3. My loans are on payroll deduction/automatic transfer/paid through direct deposit. How will this be affected? If your loans are automatically paid through payroll deduction, direct deposit, or an automated transfer, you do not need to do anything. Your payments will continue as always, whether they are set up as weekly, biweekly, twice a month, or monthly.
4. I mail a check each month to pay my loan, how will I be affected? There will be no change; you may continue to send your check monthly to pay your loan.
5. I want to keep paying my loan on the date I already have; that fits into my budget. Do I have to change? No, you may continue to pay your loan on the same day as before, as long as the monthly payment is satisfied by the new due date.
6. I still have coupons with my original due date, can I use them? Yes. When you re-order your new coupon book, the due date will show the new due date of the 28th.
7. What happens if my loans are paid ahead? If your loans are paid ahead, your next loan payment date will be advanced to the 28th of the next month.
8. Will my monthly payment amount remain the same? Yes, your monthly payment amount remains the same; the only change is when the payment is due. The due date of your September loan payment will be moved to September 28th.
9. Will my interest rate change? No. Your interest rate will remain the same.
10. How will this change affect the amount of interest due on my loan? Interest on your loan accrues daily. For example, if your loan is paid bi-weekly, each payment includes 14 days worth of interest. If you pay your loan monthly on the same day, you usually pay 30 or 31 days of interest each month, depending on the number of days between payments. If you continue to make your payments as before, there should be no change in the interest collected over the course of the loan. If you choose to wait until the new due date of the 28th, the amount of interest will be the number of days between payments multiplied by the daily interest rate.
11. Will this affect my credit report or rating? As long as you continue to make your regularly scheduled payments by the due date, there will be no negative effect on your credit report or rating.

The Making Home Affordable Program

President Obama announced the Administration's plan to further prevent foreclosures and assist borrowers with mortgage loan modifications in our country. We ask for your patience, as these programs are in their infancy. The necessary program details, procedures and approved forms must be developed, coordinated, and distributed by the US Treasury, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other agencies before these programs can be implemented.

The refinance program will be available for loans closing prior to June 10, 2010. New borrowers will be accepted in the modification program until December 31, 2012. As more information becomes available, we will post on this page. Check back for updates.

Self-Assessment Tools
The official U.S. Treasury site contains a self-assessment tool designed to see if you are among the 7 to 9 million homeowners who may benefit from the refinance or modification programs available through this government program. The site also has a borrower Q&A available to download.

We encourage you to use the resources from the Making Home Affordable program.

Your Money is Safe at MEFCU

The money of Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union members is protected by federal insurance at their credit union, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) pointed out today — insurance coverage that is similar to that provided to banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporationz(FDIC).

Virtually every credit union across the nation has federal deposit insurance. Just like FDIC insurance at banks, savings are insured to at least $250,000. The federal insurance safety net at credit unions is provided by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. Government Agency. Additionally, the credit union insurance (just like the FDIC) is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. In fact, no one with their savings at a federally insured credit union has ever lost any part of their savings.

Here at the Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union your deposits are first insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) up to $250,000 on regular deposits and up to $250,000 on your IRA deposits. These numbers are based on how deposits are structured, so in some cases NCUA coverage is actually much higher than this. The Credit Union has also purchased additional deposit insurance from Excess Share Insurance, the largest private deposit insurer. Excess Share Insurance insures your deposits above and beyond NCUA by an additional $250,000 bringing total insurance on regular deposits to $500,000 and IRA deposits to $500,000.

If your deposits are coming close to one of these limits we would encourage you to stop in and speak with one of our Member Service Representatives who can look at your deposit structure in order to maximize the safety of your deposits.

Here at the Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union, for many years we held true to a very conservative approach for investing your money. We have always invested in insured certificates with other financial institutions and government backed investments. We did not purchase mortgage backed securities that came with a higher, attractive return.

Strong, conservative fiscal management has been a hallmark of this credit union throughout our history and in times like this you can feel very secure in the lending and investing practices we have chosen.

You can rest assured your Credit Union offers safety and security of your deposits at the highest level. If you have any concerns or questions, please stop in one of our branches and speak with a Member Service Representative.

To learn more about federal savings insurance and to determine how much of your savings at your credit union is covered by federal insurance, visit the NCUA insurance calculator.

Scam Alert!

With this particular scam, members receive a phone call stating their debit card or credit card has been deactivated. Members are instructed to press 1 to reactivate their card. Then they are instructed to enter their 16-digit card number and PIN. All of this is on an automated system. THIS IS A SCAM. Do NOT do this. Mayo Employees Federal Credit Union will never ask for your PIN, and if your card is deactivated for any reason, a real person will call you, not an automated system. Please make everyone in your family who carries a debit or credit card aware of this.

Fraud Alert!

You may have received an email from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) asking you to fill out a new application for a monetary award. This is a "phishing" scam. Do not click on the link in the email or provide any information. CUNA is the trade association for Credit Unions. CUNA does not maintain any type of customer/member financial information. Additionally, MEFCU would never request personal identification information over the phone or via an e-mail solicitation. If you did respond to this e-mail, contact MEFCU at 535-1460 or (800) 535-2129.

Online Banking Login Procedure

There is a new procedure for logging in to Online Banking. MEFCU has partnered with Safe2Login, a company specializing in protection of credit union online banking sites, to provide extra security when logging in. When you click on Online Banking, you will initially be required to register with Safe2Login, creating a password and a specific word to be used as your safecode. After that, logging in will require one extra click. We are doing this for two reasons: to help protect your valuable identity and because the FFIEC and NCUA (two federal regulatory agencies) require it. For more information, click the Safe2Login FAQ button on the login page. If you still have questions, call our Phone Center at 507-535-1460 or 800-535-2129 and speak with one of our helpful representatives.

Email Scam Alert (Phishing)

An email that is circulating which appears to come from the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) asks the reader to click on a link and enter his or her credit card number and PIN number. This is a scam! Delete this email immediately! The NCUA and your Mayo Employees Credit Union will NEVER ask for this type of information in an email.

Protecting Against Fraud

You may have read a news story that described how a Visa processor had its databases broken into by hackers. A breach of this kind is serious and potentially dangerous. Credit card processors house very sensitive information on their internal systems, and sometimes, despite the best precautions, this information can become compromised.

Here is what the Credit Union advises to protect against fraud.

1. Monitor your personal accounts regularly to keep track of the transactions being conducted on your accounts.
2. Use Money Link and Visa Online to check each of your accounts -- once a day is advisable.
3. Check your monthly statements carefully. Balance your accounts each month and check each item on your Visa statement against your receipts.
4. If you find a suspect transaction (such as a purchase made in Las Vegas when you haven't been to Las Vegas), call our Card Services area immediately.

All the best security in the world may not stop criminal activity, but by taking precautionary steps personally, you can help protect yourself if your card should become compromised.