FAQs for ACU

• Locations and contact information?
• What is a credit union?
  A credit union is a cooperative, not-for-profit financial institution organized to promote thrift and provide credit to members. Credit unions are member-owned and controlled through a board of directors elected by the membership, from the membership. The Board of Directors is made up of unpaid volunteers who set the direction of the credit union. The Board of Directors also establishes and revises policy, sets dividend and loan rates, and directs certain operations. As a result, members are provided with a safe place to save as well as a place to borrow at reasonable rates.
• Tell me about Arapahoe CU.
  Arapahoe Credit Union is the premier credit union in Colorado. We began as a teachers credit union and, 75 years later, we are now able to serve Colorado, current members, and any family or friend associated with these two groups... pretty much anyone.
  
  We recently received the highest score in the nation from the NCUA (credit union equivalent to the FDIC) for compliance and stability. Essentially, we are as good as it gets. When coupled with our not-for-profit status and dedication to service, we really are top-tier on the national scale.
• Who owns a credit union?
  You do! As a member of Arapahoe Credit Union, you are also an owner. Members can vote for your volunteer Board of Directors, or even run for an open position. We are governed by the best interests of our members, not Wall Street stockholders.
• What's the purpose of a credit union?
  The primary purpose of a credit union is to save members money. Basically, we cut out the stock holders and run a bank without skimming or maximizing profits. As with a bank, people deposit money and we invest or loan this out (insured, of course). Again, we don't have to pay anyone else so all profits stay in-house, paying for better services and better rates. Not-for-profit means we can charge lower rates for loans and pay higher dividends on savings.
• Are my savings federally insured?
  Yes. All savings accounts are insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration), an agency of the federal government similar to the FDIC. Your Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are insured up to an additional $250,000.
• Who can join a credit union?
  Technically, there are federal restrictions that guide who can join a credit union. Realistically, it isn't that complicated. Barring an unusual circumstance, we can almost assuredly make you a member (though, we do reserve the right to refuse).

• What are our funds availability and check hold policies?
  Arapahoe Credit Union will try to make check deposits available to you when we receive them. However, large dollar deposits and certain situations will sometimes make this impossible. Below are some general guidelines to help you with this policy*.

  • ATM and service center deposits will generally allow the first $1000 in deposits to be released for use as soon as they are processed. Any amount over this will be placed on a two-day hold to become available on the third business day. In some cases, this may be extended.
  • Electronic direct deposits and cash will be available on the day we receive the deposit.
  • In some cases, check deposits will need to be on hold longer than two days. Depending on the type of check and the amount you are depositing, funds may not be available until the 5th business day at the earliest, after the day of deposit. However, the first $300.00 will be available immediately.

  * Please note: We will try to reduce inconveniences that result from deposit holds. However, individual circumstances such as deposit size, questions about the physical check, or arrangements made on your account may prevent us from releasing funds on these time frames. Additionally, some other items are eligible for next day availability. If you have questions about your specific deposit or wish to review our full Funds Availability Policy, please let us know. Arapahoe Credit Union reserves the right to delay the availability of funds deposited into non-transaction accounts.

• What is the difference between my member number and my account number?
  Your choice depends on where you want your funds to be pulled from or deposited. Your member number will default to your primary savings account and your checking number will go to your checking account. This is true whether making a direct deposit or paying from your account. Please note: Federal regulations restrict some withdrawals from your savings account to six per calendar month. If this is an issue, please contact us. On direct deposits, Arapahoe Credit Union has the ability to automatically distribute funds into other accounts at the credit union. For example, you can automatically make your loan payments or savings deposit or divide it among all of your accounts.
  
  Your member number is the number you received at the time you opened your account and use to access online banking. Your checking account number is the second set of numbers on the bottom of your checks (the other number is the routing number). This will be ten total digits.

AcUtransfer Lets You Connect With Your Other Accounts.

1. Register your AcUtransfer
   Please note: If you have a pop-up blocker, you must disable it.
   • Log into online banking as you normally would. You can do this from the home page.
   • Click "External Transfer".
   • Next, click "Add Account" button.
   • Here you will input all of your account information for the account you wish to make payments from.
   • Once all your information is entered, the system will ask you to confirm information is correct.
   
   On completion, our system will start the process by sending two small trial transactions to your other bank (we pride ourselves on security and must make sure everything is legitimate). These deposits will show up within 48 hours of adding the account on our website. Once you see these deposits, you will go back into our website and the system will ask you for “Amount Withdrawn” and “Amount Deposited”. Please keep in mind the order they were deposited does matter. Once you input these amounts, the account will be activated and you can go ahead and start scheduling payments. After that, you are clear to make your transfers between each bank. Everything is linked!

Please Note: That all External Transfers will take roughly 3-5 business days to process.



2. Pay Your Loan
   Now, you just need to transfer.
   • Again, log into your online banking if you are no longer there. Click "External Transfer."
          • Please note: If you have a pop-up blocker, you must disable it.
   • Under “From”, select the account you wish the funds to be debited from.
   • Under “To”, select the account or loan you wish the funds to be credited to.
   • Under “Amount”, type in the dollar amount you wish to transfer.
          • Please note: The system will not allow you to delete the zero’s. This said, simply click in this box and start typing the numbers. The box will fill in what you type in.
   • Under “Frequency”, select the appropriate selection for your needs. If you choose the "Monthly" option, you will need to enter how many transfers you would like to be made in the "End after # of transactions" field.
   • Under “Submission Date”, when you click in this box, a calendar will pull up. Click on the date you wish the transfer to be initiated.
          • Please note: Standard transfers will take approximately 3-5 business days to post, from the date it was initiated. Express transfers will post in approximately 1-2 business days.
   • Under “Service Type”, select “Standard (3-5 business days)” or "Express(1-2 business days)". Please note that there is a $3 fee for the Express option.
   • Once all the boxes are properly filled in, click on “Submit”.
   • A confirmation box will appear. Please review all submitted information is correct. If it is, click on “Confirm”.
   • As a last confirmation, the system will again ask you to confirm all submitted information is correct. If so, click on “Proceed”.
   • A screen should appear at this point stating “Transfer added successfully”.
   
   Please note: If the new window does not load, it is most likely a pop-up blocker stopping it. Adjust your browser to allow pop-ups from our site and this will then load as normal. Generally, you can right click a yellow bar at the top of your browser and select “Allow Pop-Ups,” but please contact us if you run into problems.

AcUbillpay will automate and pay your bills for free!

1. Register your AcUbillpay
   Arapahoe Credit Union’s Bill Pay product is directly linked with your online banking account. You just need to have it activated before you can use it. If you have a checking account and have already registered your online banking, the rest is easy.
   • Log in to your account online. Find the menu bar button that says “Pay Bills.” Click this.
   • You will then need to click "Proceed"
   • Click "Create Account" and choose a phrase, then enter the answer.
   • Click "Accept and Submit"
   • Bill pay will then explain how to set up a payee. After clicking continue you can start using Bill Pay.
   
   Please note: If the new window does not load, it is most likely a pop-up blocker stopping it. Adjust your browser to allow pop-ups from our site and this will then load as normal. Generally, you can right click a yellow bar at the top of your browser and select “Allow Pop-Ups,” but please contact us if you run into problems.


2. Set Up Payees
• Log in to your account online. Find the menu bar button that says “Bill Pay.” Click this.
  Please note: If the new window does not load, it is most likely a pop-up blocker stopping it. Adjust your browser to allow pop-ups from our site and this will then load as normal. Generally, you can right click a yellow bar at the top of your browser and select “Allow Pop-Ups,” but please contact us if you run into problems.

Paying a Company
• You will click on pay a company and search for the company.
• If our system recognizes the payee, then all you need to do is enter the account number and you'll be ready to move on.
• If the system doesn't recognize the payee (this happens with small merchants and businesses), then you will need to add an address and some other basic information. This also means you should anticipate the payment to go through regular mail.

Paying a Person
• You will need to click on "Pay a Person."
• You can choose to pay a person by either direct deposit or check. If you are paying a person by direct deposit, please keep in mind that you will need their account and routing number.

*If you are having any issues with setting up a payee, please feel free to contact us at 303-740-7063 Monday through Friday 9am-5pm, and we would be happy to help you.



3. Pay a Bill
• Everything is pretty much taken care of at this point. Now you just need to find your payee on the primary page ("Bills and Payments" tab) and enter how much you would like to pay. Choose the date right next to it and click "Pay." It's that simple!
• Pay attention to the "Deliver by:" section. This will tell you the approximate date the payee will actually receive your payment. Most of the time, this is an electronic transfer and will be there in around 2 business days, but we can't guarantee it based on the merchant.
• When you authorize a payment, it will then show up on the right-hand side. You can view and cancel each payment up until it is actually processed.
• You can also set this up to pay automatically. Simply click on your payee and in the drop down menu select "Pay Automatically." Our system will walk you through from there!

Pay A Friend lets You Pay Charities and Any Other 3rd Party. All you need is a valid email address or phone number of the people you want to transact with.

• Disable Pop-Up Blocker
  If you are unable to use the AcUvirtual Suite (AcUtransfer and AcUbillpay, specifically) or you are unable to get your e-statement list, disabling a pop-up blocker may help. Many pop-up blockers built into modern browsers are the default and you just have to turn it off for our site (we will never pass ads through a pop-up). You can turn it on just for our site if you like to maintain security.
  
  For internet explorer, you will likely see a yellow message bar that says that a pop-up has been blocked. Just look for this and click the right button to allow them.
  
  You may also see a small box with a red mark across it that shows that a pop-up has been blocked. Simply click this for options to allow it.
  
  On Chrome, you will see the notification in the upper right corner as a box with a red "x" in it. Just click this to view your options the then select "Always allow pop-ups from this site."
  
  In Safari, pop-ups options are shown under the "Safari" tab in the upper left. You will just need to make sure the option "Block Pop-Up Windows" is unchecked.
  
  Firefox is similar. You can find the pop-up blocker under the "Preferences" menu.
  
  If you have any problems, please let us know. We are glad to help you get set up.
• Online Banking Enrollment
  1. Go to our web page https://www.arapahoecu.org
  2. On the left hand, click on "Personal Banking Login"
  3. Click on "New User? Register Here."
  4. Accept the General Terms & Conditions.
  5. Select Personal account under customer type.
  6. Enter information for the primary member (Account Number= Member Number, Last 4 of SSN, DOB, and Zip Code associated with membership) and click "Verify."
  7. Select preferred phone number.
  8. Select Voice or Text Option and click "Submit." The system will then either call or text to the phone number selected. You will receive a 6-digit authentication code.
  9. Enter your authentication code and click "Verify." The next screen will prompt you to create a username and password.
  • *You can choose to have your member number as your username. Otherwise, create a new username.

  For your protection, if there are three (3) failed attempts to log into your account, the system will be locked. To ‘unlock’ the system, please contact a credit union representative at 303.740.7063 or toll-free at 1.866.740.7063.

• Set Up Account Alerts
  We offer fully customizable text and email notifications through on-line banking. You can see debits when they happen, deposits when they arrive or even track your outgoing payments throughout the day. All you have to do is sign into your account, click the icon in the top right hand corner and then select “Alerts” from the dropdown menu. From here, you can customize these however you want.
  
  
  

  How To?

  • Simply select how you would like to be notified (email or text).
  • Next, enter the email or phone number that you would like to receive alerts on.
  • Email - Enter your email and click/tap the "Save" button and you're all set.
  • Text - Enter your phone number and click/tap the toggle button on. Once completed you will have a new screen asking for a validation code. Input the code you receive (via text) and click/tap the "OK" button and your phone number will get enabled for alerts.
  • Now you have decided how you receive alerts you can enable/disable individual alerts.
  • First, select "Security Alerts" and customize alerts to your preferences.
  • Next, select "Account Alerts" and choose an account.
  • Then you will be able to customize alerts for your accounts.
  
  
  
• Enroll in E-Statements?
  There are a couple of ways to sign up for electronic statements.  You can enroll by logging into your account and clicking "Account Statements" under Review My Stuff in the menu bar.  You will then click proceed, read and consent to receiving e-statements, enter your email and then click accept.  You will be receiving a confirmation email where it will give you a link to click and then it will let you know that you are enrolled for e-statements.  For your other option, you can always contact us to have it done for you.  Please, just call us at 303/740-7063, Monday through Friday 9am-5pm, where any of our member service representatives will gladly complete this process for you.