Winter 2014

 

The New Logo

The survey results are actually represented in the upper left hand corner of this Newsletter. By a two to one margin the respondents preferred the logo that incorporated the tribute to the “Twin Towers.” Although the intention was to honor the memory of the Towers (and therefore what happened that day), we would also like the logo to be visually appealing and clear. As we apply this logo to different materials we’ll gauge how well it is represented. For instance, it shows well above and on our website, however the imprint on member checks is too small to distinguish the “Shadows.” We also hope to incorporate the logo into our plastic card program in 2014.

The survey allowed us to test several features on our online banking platform. We had hoped for more members to participate in the survey, but to those who did, we Thank You! And to one specific participant, Michael Steiner, we congratulate on being the random drawing winner of an iPad Air. Michael, a retired IBM’er, has been a member of the Credit Union since 1979. He maintains his account with us even after moving to Florida almost 15 years ago.
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Tax Information 2013

taxes

Your December 31, 2013 statements act as substitute 1099s providing you with your 2013 interest income information. This interest/dividend information is provided to the IRS. If you have a real estate loan with Greater Metro you will also receive a separate 1098 statement in the mail. These 1098s will contain interest paid on your real estate loans and will also be provided to the IRS. If you have an escrow account set up, the 1098 will also display the amount paid on your behalf in Real Estate Taxes. The “taxes paid” is not provided to the IRS.

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bestwishes

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Reordering Checks

wallet

There are some members who have built up an inventory of checks that still reflect our old IBM Metro name (and our Queens Plaza/ Bridge Plaza address). Obviously, they are still good to use because the Routing Number has not changed and is correct. When ordering through the Credit Union, our vendor, Harland Clarke will print checks with up–to–date images. When using other printers or promotional offers where a copy of your check is required, the vendor still should pick up the current name, address and possibly the logo based on the routing number. It wouldn’t hurt to make those vendors aware of our correct name and address. We understand that one of the reasons members may be ordering their checks outside of the Credit Union is because of our vendor’s higher prices. We are negotiating new pricing that should be in place soon, so keep our website in mind when reordering checks.

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Board Secretary Announces Candidates

In the last newsletter it was announced that a Nominating Committee was formed by the Board Chairman to collect applications and resumes from those interested in volunteering for the two Board seats whose terms are expiring in 2014. The period for submitting applications ended on December 10, 2013.

At the Board’s December meeting, the Nominating Committee presented two candidates to the Board Secretary. The two members selected as candidates are Anthony Sofo and Rosemarie Stoffo. It should be pointed out that these candidates are incumbents and are currently serving as Directors of the Board.

The Credit Union Act allows for members not selected by the Nominating Committee, or who decide to volunteer after the application deadline, to submit their names through a Petition Process.

Members who are at least 18 years of age may submit their names for consideration along with a petition signed by 1% of the membership
(54 members).

These applications and petitions must be received by the Credit Union by Friday, February 28, 2014.

They can be delivered to:

Office of the President

Greater Metro FCU

31–10 37th Avenue

Suite 403

Long Island City, NY 11101

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meetingThe 2014 Annual Meeting — Update

The Annual meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, May 21st, 2014 at 6 p.m. at the Credit Union’s main office in Long Island City

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Features Coming In The New Year:

See And Jump!

For members who have an interest in more than one account at the Credit Union and utilize “It’s Me 247” online banking, they will be able to jump to the other accounts without logging out and logging back into the other accounts. Permissions between accounts must be granted by the owner of the account and can only be given to members who are primary or joint on the membership. This feature is expected to be in place before the end of March.

We’ve also submitted requests to our processor to create a “back” button to make it easier to navigate between summary and detail information in member accounts.

MasterCard

MasterCard® Electronic Statements

Long overdue, members will be able to view and print their monthly MasterCard Statements on line as early as the February statement period. Members who currently log onto the PSCU site can only view several transactions and printing the information is even more of an adventure.

Single Sign On — It’s Me 247 & MasterCard

Members who participate in online banking and also view their MasterCard transactions on line must do so in a two step process. For the longest time, CU Answers, our core processor offered a single sign on feature to cardholders of the core processor’s preferred partners. CU Answers recently extended this courtesy to PSCU. Once set up, members will be able to jump to their MasterCard account directly from It’s Me 247 without a second log in.

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The VA Manhattan Campus Branch —

After The Hurricane

Since re–opening in March 2013, the Credit Union has had to implement some changes to the hours at the Manhattan Branch. Initially, due to the sporadic return of employees back to the Manhattan Campus, we went from a 5 day schedule to 3 (Monday/Wednesday/Friday). Although understandably less convenient than in the past, members at the VA worked with the new hours. There has also been a significant increase in the use of our Surcharge Free ATM in the lobby. In September, we encountered several staffing issues which required us to change our hours to 9:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. We continued to increase staff every other Friday to accommodate members on payday.

For any and all of the inconveniences created by our changes, we apologize and extend our appreciation to our members at the VA for their understanding. As we move into 2014, we plan to increase staff in order to return the branch to full time service but to also provide additional services to our members at the VA Manhattan Campus.

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Tax Refunds Deposited Directly To Your Greater Metro Account

Remember to provide Greater Metro’s Routing Number and your account number to the IRS in order to receive immediate access to your refund.

Routing Number 221475605

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The “Target” Compromise

Target

As this has been widely covered in the media, Target reported that approximately 70 million credit and debit card accounts may have been impacted in unauthorized access to payment card data between November 27 and December 15, 2013. Our card processor, PSCU, has had its Risk Analytic team put on high alert and is closely monitoring activity since Target’s announcement and have not seen any fraudulent charges impacting Greater Metro accounts.

A positive report relating to debit cards coming from Target, which PSCU confirmed, is that the encryption technology used to secure PINs, known as Triple DES, remains the strongest technology in the industry and this may be the reason that there has not been a spike in cash–related fraud.

The Credit Union urges all members to regularly review transactions in their checking accounts and on their MasterCard credit card statements and bring any suspicious activity to the attention of Member Services.

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Holiday Closings

Martin Luther King, Jr Day – January 20, Monday

Presidents’ Day – February 17, Monday

Memorial Day – May 26, Monday

Independence Day – July 4, Friday

Labor Day – September 1, Monday

Columbus Day – October 13, Monday

Veterans’ Day – November 11, Tuesday

Thanksgiving Day – November 27, Thursday

Christmas Day – December 25, Thursday

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Contact info

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