Whatcom Educational Credit Union

I personally think WECU is the best bank I have ever worked with. Previously, I have worked with several major Canadian and American banks and am now almost exclusively with WECU.
In addition to my day to day banking I also have my mortgage with WECU. I was referred to Andy Vis at the Holly St./Ferndale branch. Andy is a true gem. My mortgage is currently a construction loan and let me tell you that building a home is far more complex than simply buying one. Andy has been such an asset through the process, given I am a newbie. She has been there every step of the way helping me navigate the complexities and financial hurdles. Andy is set to retire in the next couple of years and I am so happy for her, but sad that she will not be at the bank to help me in my next home endeavor!
I also have nothing but good things to say about Aaron Penrose at the Sunset branch. When it comes to smaller loans like credit cards, he is easily reachable by email and acts quickly.
Of course, WECU being a credit union, there are no fees and they make banking a breeze.
Thanks for being great, WECU!

I have been with WECU since I moved here in 2001. WECU has seen me through financially stress, a «new» car, and recently: a mortgage that been paid off. Each branch demonstrates a sincere interest in its members and their needs. In my opinion, Credit Unions have demonstrated their dedication to their members’ needs and interests. WECU is outstanding in this area.

I have been so impressed with WECU! Prior to this I had been with a much larger banks and monthly fees kept going up and up.
WECU not only does not have fees but I can deposit my check with a picture on my phone which is great because many times I am out of state!
Customer service has always been outstanding!

Extremely disappointed in services received.
I recently had to do a stop payment on two individual checks and was told that both checks would be back in my account within 2 – 3 business days. I had to rewrite the checks (their online bill pay mails checks to addresses instead of transferring to accounts which is never explained to you online) and post date them for when I was told the money would be back in the account. 5 days later I check my account and I have several overdraft fees as they for some reason decided to wait FIVE DAYS to stop payment on the second check (also — no phone call telling me anything). So now I have overdraft fees and a negative balance AND I have to wait another 2 – 3 days to get the second check back in the account. I phone in to see what they will do about it and 1. They have no idea why they didn’t complete the second stop payment for 5 days 2. Won’t reimburse me for my overdraft fees until I have a positive balance and 3. Cannot put credit in my account for the check because that’s reserved for when a third party takes money out of your account (so if the bank takes money out they can fix it?).
The entire time I got a lot of apologies but no one did anything to actually solve the problem. I was transferred about three times and not one person actually did anything to help me out.
The second the money gets back into my account I am leaving WECU and going elsewhere.

These guys are clowns. I tried to re-​fi my existing mortgages. I qualified and WECU sent over «their» appraiser who came in at least 20k low on what my house was worth and I didn’t get the loan. The «appraiser» spent less than 5 minutes in my house… When I asked WECU for a copy of the appraisal that I PAID $ 500 FOR, they completely blew me off. (you must make a «good faith non-​refundable deposit» of $ 500 for them to consider your application,) Shame on me for not trying another lender but I didn’t want another inquiry on my credit.
Fast forward a year and I want to get a Fannie Mae mortgage for a new home purchase. After several days of thinking about it, WECU says I don’t qualify due to the fact that my debt to income ratio will be too high if I take on the new home and keep my current home.
Long story short, I call another bank and they pre-​qualify (approve) my new purchase in a couple hours… through Fannie Mae.
I’ll never go back and will be closing my accounts with them at my earliest convenience. TERRIBLE!

I have had nothing but problems with WECU since I joined.
Just a simple thing like taking the privilege pay off my account too 4 trips into my branch, 3 phone calls and re-​signing the same document 4 times.
Each time I talked to someone, I was told that I had only requested to have it partially removed, whatever that means, even though I made it very clear I wanted it completely removed on each visit/​call.
I should have found another credit union after seeing how inept they apparently are, but the tellers and phone reps were always super nice and cheerful, and seemed to be trying their best to help me.
Fast forward to multiple unsigned cheques from a very well known scam company being allowed to clear my account. No red flags were raised, nothing. I just happened to find a strange transaction and looked into it myself.
The first time it was dealt with asap, I was told the money would be returned, no big deal.
A month later, same thing. This time the phone rep told me to go in and close my account, and re open a new one since the security had been compromised.
I went in to do that, and the teller told me it wasn’t necessary, and she would see to it the money got returned.
A few weeks later it still hadn’t been, so I called again, and was put on hold for over 25 minutes, then was finally told that since this was the second time it must be my fault, and they were not responsible.
I called again and got transferred to someone at Lynden, who very rudely informed me that she had told me the previous month I had to get a police report and close the account.
I don’t like being taken advantage of or lied to like that, I kept records of what each person told me, and I know for a fact she didn’t say anything of the sort.
She got so condescending and snippy that I pretty much ended up hanging up.
I cannot believe that I was treated that way when they let unsigned cheques clear my account, no security flags went up, each person gave me conflicting information and I was working very hard to be polite.
Disgusting customer service when you actually have a real issue.

After a debate about why I could not access funds from a business check from a well known higher ed institution (what prevented them from simply verifying funds?) and being told I would have to wait several days for the check to «process» I looked into other options in Fairhaven. I had very little experience and understanding about the difference between a credit union and keybank for example.
Immediately upon entering the bank I noticed a major difference. At WECU in Fairhaven there were no «booths». Instead there were desks and the tellers gave me as much time to answer my many questions as needed without feeling like I was asking too much.
There were several situations as my small business began to grow when I had questions about the nuances of credit for sole prop. vs. LLC or S-​corp, the need to access cash to pay my vendors with a check that was written from well known, verifiable organizations immediately. The manager of the branch ALWAYS took the time to meet with me and offered recommendations. He not only helped me understand how to structure the accounts for my business, he also took the time to discuss my less than good credit at a personal level. I was so suspicious during the early days of my relationship with WECU because they were so good to me (what was the catch). I learned that there is no catch — the credit union had an entirely different approach to customer relationships than the other banks I had worked with in the past.
Some added benefits of working with WECU are the no-​charge ATMs they make available. Even when there is a charge on the ATM side — WECU does not charge because I am a member.
I give my highest recommendation to the WECU Branch in Fairhaven to any small business owner and even to those who simply seek a basic savings and checking account. Their transparency, commitment to «members» and overall service in genuine and seriously lacking in previous banks that I’ve worked with.
I recommend WECU over ICU due to an overdraft fee that I paid to ICU a year prior which still went to collections. I had to do the leg work to gather the documentation demonstrating the I paid the fee that ICU had overlooked. I understand and I’m ok when people make mistakes because we are all human, but I did not appreciate the attitude of the few I dealt with at ICU regarding this fee that was paid in advance of it going to collections. To be fair this is only one negative experience with ICU and may be an isolated incident. Regardless, I would never consider working with another financial institution other than WECU or a WECU endorsed organization. They clearly prioritized my needs in a fair way that balances the needs of other WECU members and strong adherence to the ethics that permeate the organization.
Woohoo! As good as it gets!

WECU’s overdraft fee seems ridiculously low until you go through bank statements to realize that they charge them even before you have overdrawn your account. They take out withdraws before making deposits at every chance possible. Unless you are able to consistently keep a high balance in your account, don’t mind throwing money away, or spending a lot of time on the phone arguing with them, I recommend finding a more honest institution.

Anyone who is still with one of the big banks must like throwing money out the door. That doesn’t happen a WECU. Credit Unions in general are low fee environments that are designed for individuals and families to get all their banking handled in a professional and courteous manner. If you have personal or business banking needs give WECU a try it’ll probably save you some money.

I refinanced my home loan with WECU from another bank, because they were so much easier to deal with and had better rates to boot. Almost all of my banking is done with these guys, and i couldn’t think of a thing they could do to improve their services.

I came to WECU after what was my last straw with WAMU. I was tired of WAMU’s fees and foreign customer service. I couldn’t be more glad that I made the decision to change banks. WECU is an ethical business with fantastic customer service.
I can’t help but feel very loyal to WECU. They helped me climb out of my credit card funk which vastly helped improve my credit rating, reduced my monthly bills, and reduced my stress. It wasn’t credit counseling either.
I love WECU and refer people there often

I recently had the pleasure of banking at WECU for five years. How do I say this… Wow Excellent Custumer Understanding. WECU is the bomb. Not only did the tellers remember me…(not just due to my NSF fees sighs) but they were always fun and cheery. On the backside of WECU they did everythign they could to help my small business stay a float and functional. I love WECU and now that I bank at a regular bank again. …ewwww…I love them even more. Dear WECU… you are… the bomb.