Frequently Asked Questions for Credit Union Members

If you have questions, concerning your credit union’s operating status, contact the credit union directly or visit its website or social media sites.

The NCUA Consumer Assistance Center (opens new window) assists consumers in resolving disputes with credit unions and provides information about federal consumer financial protection and share insurance matters. Do you have questions about your consumer rights or a federal consumer financial protection law and regulation? Check out the NCUA’s Find an Answer (opens new window) knowledgebase.

COVID-19 Notice: The NCUA recommends registering for the consumer complaint portal (opens new window) to electronically submit and receive communications from the agency. Due to COVID-19, many employees are working remotely and this may cause a delayed response due to disrupted processing of traditional mail. We are working to improve this process.

There is no law or regulation that requires federal credit unions to be physically open for a specified period of time, or prevent it from closing for an extended period of time. As a result, federally insured credit unions may legally close for a period of time. If your credit union is sponsored by a non-profit or single employer, they may be closed by local or state directives. Rest assured these credit unions remain federally insured and your money is safe. Please note, state-chartered credit unions will comply with state law.

Deposits at all federal credit unions and the vast majority of state-chartered credit unions are guaranteed by Share Insurance Fund (opens new window) protection. The NCUA is the independent agency that administers the Share Insurance Fund. Like the FDIC's Deposit Insurance Fund, the Share Insurance Fund is a federal insurance fund backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

For more information about your share insurance coverage, including brochures and videos, view the following resources:

• Share Insurance Toolkit for Consumers (opens new window)
• Share Insurance Coverage Overview (opens new window) (PDF)
• NCUA Consumer Report: Share Insurance Overview (YouTube)
• NCUA Share Insurance Frequently Asked Questions (opens new window)

Yes. Regardless of your credit union’s decision to close a branch, convert to drive-thru only services, or offer services through online and mobile platforms due to the challenges associated with COVID-19, deposits with a federally insured credit union continue to be protected up to at least $250,000 per depositor by the Share Insurance Fund (opens new window).

You can check your eligibility by visiting the IRS’s Economic Impact Payment information Center (opens new window).

For most taxpayers, including those who filed tax returns in 2018 and 2019 and most seniors and retirees, payments are automatic, so no further action is needed. The IRS Economic Impact Payment Information Center (opens new window) provides additional information regarding eligibility, payments, and more.

The IRS’s Get My Payment (opens new window) tool allows taxpayers to check on their Economic Impact Payment date, as well as update direct deposit information. Get My Payment is updated once daily, usually overnight, and since a large volume of people are receiving Economic Impact Payments, the IRS urges taxpayers to use the tool only once a day.

You can update your information using the IRS’s Get My Payment (opens new window) tool. If you did not use direct deposit on your last tax return, you can input information to receive the payment by direct deposit, expediting receipt. Get My Payment is updated once daily, usually overnight, and since a large volume of people are receiving Economic Impact Payments, the IRS urges taxpayers to use the tool only once a day.

Members can verify a COVID stimulus check’s authenticity using the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Treasury Check Verification Application (opens new window). The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a public service announcement that provides quick tips about genuine security features of stimulus payment checks from the U.S. Treasury. 

Members can view images of official checks and highlights of the security features (opens new window) on the Secret Service’s website. These features include the United States Treasury Seal and Watermark, ink that changes color and bleeds when it gets wet, the use of an ultraviolet overprint and unique micro-printing, and “Economic Impact Payment President Donald J. Trump” text next to the Statue of Liberty.

The Federal Reserve System (opens new window) has, and will continue to meet, the currency needs of credit union members. Consumers are encouraged to continue to conduct transactions as they normally would. Credit and debit cards and other payment systems will operate as normal.

If possible, visit another branch of your credit union. If none of your credit union’s offices are open, most federally insured credit unions are part of a shared branching network with other credit unions. Open shared branching locations affiliated with your credit union allow you to access your funds. Please contact your credit union for shared branch locations in your area.

Federally insured credit unions may legally establish maximum cash withdrawal limits to meet the cash needs of all members. If you need to withdraw a large amount of cash, you should notify the credit union in advance.

The NCUA is encouraging credit unions to consider waiving these fees for members and non-members impacted by COVID-19. Please contact your credit union and explain your situation.

Share certificates are a contractual obligation between you and the credit union. Please contact your credit union and explain your situation. The NCUA is encouraging credit unions to consider waiving these fees for those impacted by COVID-19.

The NCUA is encouraging credit unions to waive overdraft fees (opens new window) and refrain from reporting negative information caused by any COVID-19-related disruption to credit bureaus. Please contact your credit union and explain your situation. Many credit unions are providing forbearance and emergency loans.

Please contact your credit union and explain your situation. The NCUA is encouraging credit unions to offer payment accommodations, such as allowing borrowers to defer or skip some payments, extending the payment due dates, or waiving late fees, which would avoid delinquencies and negative credit bureau reporting caused by COVID-19-related disruptions.

The NCUA understands borrowers may experience COVID-19-related hardships. If you have an NCUA-managed loan, we are offering loan assistance options. The NCUA’s Asset Management and Assistance Center (AMAC) services loans through several servicing organizations. For quickest assistance, first contact the servicer where you normally make payments. If you need further assistance with an NCUA-managed loan, you can reach AMAC at amacmail@ncua.gov or 512.231.7940.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, created two protections for homeowners with federally backed mortgages:

1. A foreclosure moratorium
2. A right to forbearance for homeowners who are experiencing a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 emergency

To learn whether yours is a federally backed loan, you can look up your loan using tools provided by Fannie Mae (opens new window) or Freddie Mac (opens new window), or check the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) (opens new window) website to find your mortgage servicer and contact them to determine who owns your mortgage. If you don’t have a federally backed mortgage, your mortgage servicer or state may also offer relief options.

If you can’t pay your mortgage, or can only pay a portion, contact your mortgage servicer immediately. Loan servicers are experiencing a high call volume and may also be impacted by the pandemic. It may take a while to get a loan servicer on the phone. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has helpful information on options (opens new window) if you can’t pay your mortgage, including how to determine what types of relief or help you qualify for, how to get mortgage relief, and where to get more help. Also, be wary of unsolicited calls, texts, or emails. Refer to the Frauds and Scams section for information.

Many lenders have announced proactive measures to help borrowers impacted by COVID-19. As with other natural disasters and emergencies, they may be willing to provide forbearance, loan extensions, a reduction in interest rates, and/or other flexibilities for repayment. Some lenders also may choose not to report late payments to credit reporting agencies or waive late fees for borrowers impacted by the pandemic. If you cannot make your loan payments, contact your lenders to explain your situation and be sure to get confirmation of any agreements in writing.

The recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act places special requirements on companies that report your payment information to credit reporting companies. These requirements apply if you are affected by the coronavirus disease pandemic and if your creditor makes an agreement (called an “accommodation” in the Act) with you to defer a payment, make partial payments, forbear a delinquency, modify a loan, or other relief.

How your creditors report your account to credit reporting companies under the CARES Act depends on whether you were current or already delinquent when the agreement is made.

• If your account is current and your creditor agrees to a partial payment, skipped payment, or other accommodation, the creditor will report that you are current on your loan or account. This applies only if you are meeting the terms of the agreement.
• If your account is already delinquent and your creditor agrees to the accommodations described above, the creditor will continue reporting the delinquent status until you bring the account current. (Once you bring the account to current status, the creditor must report that you are current on your loan or account.)

This CARES Act requirement applies only to agreements made between January 31, 2020 and the later of either of July 25, 2020 or 120 days after the national emergency concerning the COVID–19 pandemic ends.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has helpful information on how to protect your credit during the COVID-19 pandemic (opens new window).

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act automatically suspended principal and interest payments on federally held student loans through December 31, 2020. During this time, the interest rate on federally held student loans is set to 0 percent. Your federal student loan servicer will suspend all interest and payments without any action from you. You do not need to contact your student loan servicer.

The CARES Act authorized benefits do not apply to private (non-federal) student loans owned by banks, credit unions, schools, or other private entities. Many private student loan lenders are offering extended forbearance options and other benefits. Contact your lender or servicer for more information.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has helpful information on student loans and the COVID-19 pandemic (opens new window).

Participation in the program is voluntary for lenders, and some have chosen not to participate. The SBA has completed the latest phase of the PPP based on available funding. The PPP closed August 8, 2020. The Small Business Administration has an online tool to find lenders who participated in the PPP (opens new window).

The Small Business Administration has published potential relief funding options (opens new window) online. Contact your credit union to see whether and how they can help you meet your financial needs.

The NCUA is encouraging credit unions to consider increasing credit card limits for creditworthy borrowers. The NCUA is also encouraging credit unions to consider waiving late payment fees on credit cards and other loans. Contact your credit union to see whether and how they can help you meet your financial needs.

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B, credit unions are required to notify applicants of approval, counteroffer to, or adverse action (such as disapproval) taken within 30 days after receiving a "completed application."

As noted in the CFPB's recently issued FAQs discussing when an SBA PPP application is considered "completed" and related adverse action notice expectations (opens new window), a PPP application that a creditor has submitted to the SBA for loan processing is considered a "completed application" once the SBA assigns a loan number or responds about the availability of funds. Because of this distinction, the ECOA and Regulation B notification from your credit union may be received more than 30 days from your initial application date.

Yes. When working with loan applicants, lenders, including credit unions, must adhere to fair lending laws and other applicable legal requirements.

The purpose of ECOA and Regulation B (opens new window) is to promote the availability of credit to all creditworthy applicants without regard to specified prohibited bases for discrimination. ECOA and Regulation B prohibit discrimination against an applicant on a prohibited basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction, and prohibit discouraging a reasonable person, on a prohibited basis, from making or pursuing an application. See 12 C.F.R § 1002.4(a), (b) (opens new window). The prohibition on lending discrimination in ECOA and Regulation B applies to all lenders and to both business and consumer loans. We encourage you to visit the SBA’s website for more information on PPP loans (opens new window).

The SBA issued a PPP borrower loan forgiveness application form (opens new window) and frequently asked questions (opens new window). Visit the SBA’s website (opens new window) for details and guidance on loan forgiveness.

Visit the NCUA’s Fraud Prevention Center (opens new window) for information on how to recognize, take action, and protect yourself and your personal financial information from frauds and scams.

The Fraud Prevention Center is part of NCUA’s website, MyCreditUnion.gov (opens new window), dedicated to consumers that contains valuable consumer financial protection information.

The FTC (opens new window) and FDA (opens new window) also provide consumers with helpful information on COVID-19 related frauds and scams, including warning letters to sellers of unapproved and misbranded products, claiming they can treat or prevent the coronavirus.

Keep Calm and Avoid Coronavirus Scams (opens new window)

The IRS urges taxpayers (opens new window) to be on the lookout for a surge of calls and email phishing attempts about the Coronavirus or COVID-19. These contacts can lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft.

If you receive a phone call, email, or text claiming to be from the U.S. government regarding stimulus money—do not fall for it. These phishing scams will likely ask for your credit union or bank account information and insist the money will be deposited directly into your bank account.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has more information about recent scams related to the COVID-19 pandemic (opens new window). If a stranger offers to help with tasks like picking up groceries, prescriptions, and other needed supplies, exercise caution to protect yourself. Some scammers offer to buy supplies, but never return with the goods or your money. It’s usually safer to ask a trusted friend or neighbor or arrange a delivery with a well-known company. The NCUA also recommends researching any offers for monetary support independently to ensure they are legitimate.

While mobile banking has been progressively on the rise in recent years, usage has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the benefits of mobile banking comes risk by cyber criminals of exploiting consumers new to these methods of banking. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued Public Service Announcement I-061020-PSA (opens new window) highlighting methods of cyber-attacks on mobile banking as well as a few protection tips. Additional information associated with security protections for privacy and mobile device applications are available on the Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Security Tip (ST19-003) (opens new window).