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- At a glance
- Overall
- First Tech Federal Credit Union Bank products
- Bank experience
- Review Methodology
At a glance
4.2
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
CDs
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
Checking
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Savings
Rating: 3.3 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
- No Monthly Fees
- Low Min Deposit
- 24/7 Customer Service
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Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.75
%
APY
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.7/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.7/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
$0
Min. balance for APY
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
Member FDIC
Savings Account Details
3.75
%
APY
$0
Min balance for APY
Offer rate as of4/2/2023
Interest rate3.75%
Minimum to avoid fees$0
Monthly fees$0
Check writingNo
Grow your savings. No minimum deposit. No fees.
Member FDIC
CD
5.05
%
APY
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Bankrate CD rating = 4.9/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Bankrate CD rating = 4.9/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
$500
Minimum deposit
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
Member FDIC
CD Details
5.05
%
APY
$500
Min. deposit
10mo
Term
Offer rate as of4/2/2023
Minimum deposit$500
APY may change before CD is opened & funded
Member FDIC
CD
4.85
%
APY
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
Bankrate CD rating = 4.4/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
Bankrate CD rating = 4.4/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
$1000
Minimum deposit
Bask Bank
Member FDIC
CD Details
4.85
%
APY
$1000
Min. deposit
6mo
Term
Offer rate as of4/2/2023
Minimum deposit$1000
Quick Signup. Guaranteed Returns. FDIC Insured.
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
There’s free access to over 30,000 CO-OP ATMs across the country.
Share certificates offer competitive APYs.
There are no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements.
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.
First Tech Federal Credit Union bank products
3.3
Rating: 3.3 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Compare top savings rates
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 $5,000. 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
None of the savings accounts charge monthly fees.
There is overdraft protection available.
Instant Access Savings is a tiered account.
A high-yield account option is available.
Cons
Higher yields can be found elsewhere.
There’s a $5,000 opening deposit to open the Instant Access Savings account.
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Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Member FDIC
Savings Account
3.75
%
APY
Rating: 4.7 stars out of 5
Bankrate Savings rating = 4.7/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
$0
Min balance for APY
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
Member FDIC
Savings Account Details
3.75
%
APY
$0
Min balance for APY
Offer rate as of4/2/2023
Interest rate3.75%
Minimum to avoid fees$0
Monthly fees$0
Check writingNo
Grow your savings. No minimum deposit. No fees.
4.4
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Compare top CD rates
First Tech Federal Credit Union CD overview
Credit unions offer share certificates, which are the same in function as a certificate of deposit. First Tech offers five standard share certificates with a wide variety of terms, ranging from six months to five years. The APYs for these certificates are competitive, though you can earn even higher APYs if you open one of First Tech’s bump-up certificates. Bump-up certificates come with different terms: 13 months, 24 months or 36 months.
It’s just $500 to open both standard and bump-up certificates, but the latter will let you “bump up” your APY if rates increase. All certificates are tiered, meaning you can earn more with higher balances — but the minimum opening balance to earn those slightly higher yields start at a whopping $50,000.
Pros
All certificates are available to open for just $500.
There’s a large range of terms to choose from.
The APYs are competitive.
Bump-up certificates are available.
Cons
There’s a $50,000 minimum opening balance to get the highest yields.
There are hefty withdrawal penalties on share certificates with terms of more than 2 years.
Compare Offer
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Member FDIC
CD
5.05
%
APY
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Bankrate CD rating = 4.9/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
$500
Min. deposit
10mo
Term
Goldman Sachs Bank USA
Member FDIC
CD Details
5.05
%
APY
$500
Min. deposit
10mo
Term
Offer rate as of4/2/2023
Minimum deposit$500
APY may change before CD is opened & funded
4.5
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Bankrate Score
Compare top checking rates
First Tech Federal Credit Union checking overview
First Tech offers a variety of checking accounts that will fit various needs. The account scored for this section is called First Checking Plus, which offers a nominal APY but has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. The checking account comes with a debit card, free online banking with bill pay and e-deposits along with fee-free access to over 30,000 CO-OP ATMs.
A couple of other accounts are available, including a base account that doesn’t earn interest and an HSA checking account that does. The last account, called First Tech Rewards Checking, offers a very competitive APY, and it comes with ATM fee rebates.
There are hefty overdraft fees at $33 per overdrawn transaction. However, you can sign up for overdraft protection, which will pull from a line of credit or savings account if you overdraw your account at no charge.
Pros
None of the checking accounts charge monthly fees or have minimum balance requirements.
There’s free access to over 30,000 CO-OP ATMs.
Checking accounts feature free mobile banking with BillPay and e-deposits.
A high-yield account is available.
Cons
Most of First Tech’s checking accounts don’t offer ATM fee rebates.
Higher yields can be found elsewhere.
Compare Offer
Advertiser Disclosure
We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence.
Bankrate has partnerships with issuers including, but not limited to, American Express, Bank of America, Capital One, Chase, Citi and Discover.
How We Make Money
The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories, except where prohibited by law for our mortgage, home equity and other home lending products. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site. We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you.
Member FDIC
Checking Account
1.25
%
APY
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5
Bankrate Checking rating = 4.9/5
Bankrate scores are objectively determined by our editorial team. Our scoring formula weighs several factors consumers should consider when choosing financial products and services.
$50
To open
$0
To avoid fees
Axos Bank
Member FDIC
Checking Account Details
1.25
%
APY
$50
To open
$0
To avoid fees
Offer rate as of4/2/2023
Minimum to avoid fees$0
Monthly fees$0
Overdraft/NSF fees$0
Out of network ATM fee$0
Has online accessYes
Bank experience
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. 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
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.