Hope Credit Union Review: Savings, Checking and CDs
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- Savings
- Checking
- Certificates of deposit
- Customer experience
- Overdraft fees
Overall institution rating
3.8
Hope Credit Union is a Black-owned financial institution. It is Green America Certified and a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI. (See more about these common designations for socially responsible banks.)
The credit union is based in the South. Its membership, branches and services focus on residents in five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. Free rewards checking and rewards savings accounts are available to residents in these states, though there are qualifications to get rewards.
Membership to the credit union is available nationwide for its basic savings accounts to anyone who joins the nonprofit Hope Enterprise Corporation and pays a $10 fee.
Pros
- No monthly fees on some checking or savings accounts.
- Competitive rewards checking account.
- Participates in shared branching with other credit unions.
- ATM fee rebates.
Cons
- Expensive overdraft fee.
- Low rates on some savings accounts and share certificates.
- Requirements must be met to earn strong checking rate.
- Limited membership (for all account options).
Full review
Hope Credit Union
Savings
Savings
Federally insured by NCUA
3.9
/5 NerdWallet ratingThe HOPE Rewards Savings Plus account has no monthly fee and requires only $15 to open. It earns 0.25% APY. The account is available to residents in five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Checking
Checking
Federally insured by NCUA
4.7
/5 NerdWallet ratingHope Credit Union’s HOPE Rewards Checking account offers a noteworthy free checking account with no minimum balance requirements and earns a strong interest rate of 5.12% APY when certain basic qualifications are met. To earn the rate, customers must have 12 debit card transactions per month, log in to their online banking account once per month, sign up for e-statements and have at least one direct deposit or automatic payment clear their account. When qualifications are not met, customers will earn 0.10%. This account is available to residents in five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
Customers have access to numerous ATMs through Hope Credit Union and the Co-op ATM network, but they also receive up to a $20 monthly reimbursement for out-of-network ATM fees.
Certificates of deposit
CD
Federally insured by NCUA
2.3
/5 NerdWallet ratingHope Credit Union’s share certificates — the credit union equivalent of certificates of deposit — are available for a variety of term lengths and require a minimum opening deposit of $1,000. Its one-year share certificate earns 3.05%, its three-year certificates earn 2.08% and five-year certificates earn 2.00% APY.
Customer experience
3.8
NerdWallet ratingHope Credit Union has 23 branches across Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. It’s also part of the Co-op network, which gives customers access to more than 5,000 shared branches nationwide.
The credit union’s customer service call centers are available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time Monday through Friday, and customers can also reach out via email and through chat when logged into the mobile app. Hope Credit Union’s mobile banking app has high ratings in both the Google Play store and the App Store.
Overdraft fees
2.9
NerdWallet ratingCustomers who overdraft are charged $25 per occurrence, with a cap of up to $125 in fees per day for debit card transactions. Nonsufficient funds fees can be charged for electronic ACH transactions and checks. Hope Credit Union doesn’t offer an overdraft line of credit, but customers can make overdraft protection transfers from a linked account for $1 per transfer. Hope Credit Union also offers a courtesy pay service called Overdraft Guardian for $25 per instance, which means that when a customer is in good standing, they can overdraw up to $200-300 depending on the account type and Hope Credit Union will temporarily cover it and charge a $25 fee for that service. Customers will then need to return their account to a positive balance as soon as possible. If a customer does overdraft, however, they won’t be charged a continuous negative balance fee.
Methodology
NerdWallet’s overall ratings for banks and credit unions are weighted averages of several categories: checking, savings, certificates of deposit or credit union share certificates, banking experience and overdraft fees. Factors we consider, depending on the category, include rates and fees, ATM and branch access, account features and limits, user-facing technology, customer service and innovation. The stars represent ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars). Ratings are rounded to the nearest half-star.
