Welcome to Strategic Federal Credit Union's Frequently Asked Questions page. We developed these Frequently Asked Questions to help our members with any problems they might have. If you have any suggestions for content on this page, or you have a question that is not covered in these pages, please send us an email at email@strategicfcu.org. To begin solving your problem, choose a topic below. Thanks!
Q: Are my deposit accounts insured?
A: Yes! Each individual Member's account is insured by the NCUA up to $250,000 per account.
Q: Can I get information about my account by phone?
A: Yes! Account information is available with our Member Service Representatives during business hours at any of our offices or ask about CARLA (Convenient Auto Response Line Access) for automated account information 24 hours a day.
Q: Can I look at all of my transactions at any time?
A:Yes! With Home Banking, you have access to your account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Q: How frequently is my information updated?
A: Your account information is immediately updated with new transactions.
Q: Are wire transfers possible to and from my checking account?
A: Yes! Funds can be transferred to and from your account by
wire transfer or via ACH (Automated Clearing House) debits or credits.
Q: When do I have access to use Home Banking?
A: With Home Banking, you have access to your account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Q: What is Home Banking?
A: Home Banking is a tool that allows you to use a personal computer with an Internet connection to conduct your banking online.
Q: What can I do with Home Banking?
A: You can view account balances and transaction history, transfer money, and download transactions to a personal financial manager and much more.
Q: Is any of my personal information stored in the Home Banking product?
A: Yes, the Home Banking product stores your User ID, password and user preferences. If you keep a stock portfolio, that information is also stored.
Q: How current is my banking information?
A: Your account information is updated immediately and posted to your account.
Q: What accounts will I be able to access through Home Banking?
A:You can access your checking, savings, shared certificate and loan accounts from the Home Banking service. Our Home Banking Product is intended to give you as much access, security, and versatility as possible.
Q: How much account information can I view at once?
A: The system will automatically show the current month's transactions and information. However, by selecting User Preferences, you can choose to view the current month and the previous month. Or, you can choose to view your account from the current date to same date of the previous month.
Q: Can I view my account details in more than one way?
A: Yes, you can view your accounts by date, check number, payee, amount or balance in ascending or descending order.
Q: What formats can I download my transaction history in?
A:Home Banking supports downloads to Quicken™, Microsoft Money™ or as a comma-delimited text file.
Q: When can I use Home Banking services?
A: With Home Banking, you have access to your account information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
Q: What is required to use the Home Banking service?
A: All you need to use Home Banking is a secure browser that supports 128 bit encryption, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer®, Netscape Navigator® or America Online®. You can use any computer that has Internet access.
Q: How do I access Home Banking?
A: To access Home Banking click on
Home Banking-Login to Account. Sign on using your member number and PIN for CARLA (Convenient Audio Response Line Access). If you need a PIN for CARLA please
contact the Credit Union.
Q: Can I create my own password that is easy for me to remember?
A: Yes, after you use your assigned password to log-in for the first time, you can go to User Options and change your password.
Q: What happens if I forget or lose my password?
A: Call us and we will take you through the steps needed to get back into the system!
Q: How do I register for electronic bill payment?
A: Bill Payment registration is easy!
The first time you attempt to access the bill payment section of Home Banking, you will be prompted to begin online registration. You are first requested to read and accept the authorization disclosure. Failure to accept the disclosure terms prevents the registration process from proceeding.
Once the disclosure is agreed to, you complete the online registration form. After submission, the registration form is electronically fowarded to Strategic Federal Credit Union for review. You will receive an e-mail once your application for online Bill Payment has been approved. Within 1-3 business days you will receive a confirmation e-mail notifying you that your Bill Payment service has been activated.
Q: Is it possible to schedule recurring payments?
A: Yes. You can schedule weekly, semi-monthly and monthly recurring payments. The final payment of a recurring payment scheme is designated by a 'Final Payment Date.'.
When I add a new payee to my bill payment account, or change my account number, how quickly will the change take place?
When you update the information for the bill payment account, the changes are implemented virtually instantaneously.
Q: Can I use electronic bill payment with all my accounts?
A: No, only Draft Checking accounts can be used for bill payment purposes.
Q: When can I start using electronic bill payment?
A: You can begin bill payment once you have received an e-mail stating your Bill Payment Account has been activated.
Q: When is bill payment available?
A: You can schedule payments 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Q: Are my bill payment transactions reflected as Home Banking transactions?
A: All bill payment transactions become part of the Home Banking transaction history and show up in personal financial management applications when the transaction history is downloaded.
Q: How do I add new payees?
A: You can add payees by accessing the Add Payee screen. New payees will be added to the payee list immediately.
Q: Can bill payment be used when I am out of the country?
A: Bill payment provides you with peace of mind when you are traveling for an extended period of time. All you need is access to the Internet with a secure browser and you can pay you bills while out of the country. Payees must be located within the 50 United States and Territories.
Q: Who can be paid using the bill payment system?
A: Anyone in the 50 United States and territories who can accept a check can be paid using the bill payment system. You can pay practically anyone- charge accounts, utilities, auto loans, professionals, even a lawn service or a relative. However, tax payments (such as federal, state and local) and court directed payments (such as alimony and child support) cannot be processed through our online bill payment system.
Q: Can I pay my bills on the weekend?
A: You can set up your payments during the weekend. However, the system will prohibit you from scheduling a single payment and the first of a recurring payment on the same weekend. This is because payments scheduled for the weekend are always processed on the Friday before. Therefore, when scheduling payments on a weekend, the first day for which you can schedule payments (single or recurring) is the first business day following the weekend.
Generally, single or recurring payments that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday are processed on the previous business day and are debited from your account within two business days. If a bank holiday falls on either a Friday or Monday, the debit will occur within three days.
Q: If I schedule multiple bill payments for a single day, how will my account be debited- as a lump sum or separately?
A: Each bill payment is debited separately.
Q: What if I do not have sufficient funds on the day my account is debited?
A: Insufficient Funds procedure:
If a 'Non-Sufficient Funds' condition exists, the debit will be returned via banking channels. The ACH return will prompt the system to block your Bill Payment account, preventing you from making more Bill Payments until the NSF condition is resolved. Any future dated recurring payments scheduled for release during the time the account is blocked will not be sent.
Q:How is my account debited?
A: Your account is debited via ACH.
Q: What is ACH?
A: Automated Clearing House is a funds transfer system which provides for the interbank clearing of electronic entries for participating financial institutions.
Q: If I make an error in selecting an electronic payee and it results in a late fee, am I responsible for the charges?
A: If you select an electronic payee address that matches your payment coupon exactly and the Bill Payment Processor routes the payment to a different payment center, the Bill Payment Processor is responsible for the late charge and will reimburse any payee-imposed late fees, up to $50.00. If you select an electronic payee with an address that is different from that indicated on the payment coupon, you are responsible for the late charge. You always have the option to manually set up a payee with the (correct) address found on the payment coupon.
Q: How do I place a 'stop payment' on a bill payment?
A: A payment may be edited or deleted anytime before the "process date." Payments that have been remitted electronically cannot be stopped.
