High interest or no fees,
the choice is yours –
the story of ucublu accounts
As many of you know, Ukrainian Credit Union Limited is committed to offering our members all the services and products that are available at any other financial institution. Often we are among the leaders in delivering new products. Almost a decade ago now, we introduced the ucublu™ High-Interest Virtual Savings account to match what was then being offered by INGDirect. Soon after that we responded to our members’ request for a virtual account that could be used for daily transaction and thus was born the ucublu too™ No-fee Daily Chequing Account.
Many of you took advantage of the higher interest rates we offer on the ucublu account, while others saw the advantage of a chequing account (ucublu too) that came with no chequing fees! However, we have noticed some confusion among our members about these two accounts; how they differ from one another and how they are different from our regular accounts. So let me take a moment to explain both ucublu and ucublu too.
Interested in earning a higher interest rate?
Are you saving for a new car, vacation, home renovation, next semester’s tuition, or just interested in watching your dollars grow? ucublu is made for those of our members who are interested in earning a high interest rate on their money, but don’t want to lock it up in a term deposit. If you know you are going to buy something big in the next year or so, then you know you have to have quick access to your money.
How does the ucublu account differ from your regular savings account at Ukrainian Credit Union Limited? First of all, the ucublu account pays a much higher rate of interest than our regular savings account, at the moment the ucublu rate is 1.35% (as of the printing of this article – please note, rates may change at any time, without notice, so inquire with our call centre to get the latest rate). We keep the rate on ucublu accounts very competitive with what is available in the market. After all, every penny that you save with Ukrainian Credit Union Limited allows us to grow our members’ assets as well as provide financial support to the communities in which we operate in the form of sponsorships and donations to schools, youth groups, faith-based organizations, culture activities, festivals, dance groups and much, much more.
Secondly, the ucublu account is a virtual account, this means that you can only access it online through our web banking portal, through our ucumobile smart phone banking portal or by using our U-Touch telephone banking system. In order for us to provide the higher interest we have made this account self-serve. The savings from not servicing the account with tellers at our regular branches means we can pass on the savings to you.
Thirdly, the account is meant for savings only, not for transactions. Thus you can deposit money into the account as often as you wish, but you can make only ONE (1) free withdrawal per month. Any subsequent withdrawals in one calendar month will cost you $5.00.
Are you a frequent debit-card user?
If you are a frequent debit card user then the ucublu too No-fee Daily Chequing Account is the Ukrainian Credit Union Limited account you should be looking at to use. The benefits of this account include:
• Free Interac Direct point of sale purchases by debit card
• Free direct deposit of your payroll or pension to ucublu too
• Tiered interest – the more you save, the higher the interest rate
• Free Bill Payment
• Free Chequing
• Free UCU ATM transactions
• Free internet or automated telephone transfers to ucublu too from your full service UCU account
• Free automated transfers from another financial institution to ucublu too
• Free monthly on-line statements
• Free annual printed statement mailed to you for calendar year
• Free balance of account inquiries or other information regarding ucublu obtained by contacting the UCU Call Centre
• Free transfers to your ucublu™ High Interest Virtual Savings Account
• No minimum balance is required
Wow, that’s a lot of free stuff. What’s the catch you ask? Like the ucublu account, this no fee transactional account is available exclusively on-line, through an ATM, via ucumobile and by automated telephone to members of UCU. Secondly, this is a great account and therefore we only offer it to members who use UCU as their primary financial institution. In order to open a ucublu too No-Fee Daily Chequing Account, you have to set up a direct deposit of either your pay cheque or your Canada Pension Plan (if you are a senior) into a Ukrainian Credit Union Limited account.
There is much more to know about our ucublu High-Interest Virtual Savings account and the ucublu ucublu too™ No-fee Daily Chequing account. You can read up on them on our website. Or if you are ready to open one of these accounts for yourself, call our Call Centre to find out how 416-922-4407, 1-800-461-0777.
Lesya Babiy
Manager, Mississauga Branch
Ukrainian Credit Union
905-272-0468 x201
lbabiy@ukrainiancu.com