Winter 2015

New Greater Metro Plastics – Coming Soon!

Newly designed cards that were originally scheduled for delivery in the 4th Quarter of 2014 were delayed in order to incorporate EMV Chip Technology (see additional article on EMV). The EMV Chip has arrived in the United States and will help cut down on the growing number of fraudulent transactions. This technology has been employed globally for several years.

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NEW Account Numbers!

To further cut down on the possibility of fraudulent transactions, Greater Metro will issue its members New Credit Card Account Numbers. Please put your phones down calling to complain about this inconvenience. We understand that many of our members will have to contact their auto-pay vendors (EZ Pass, Mail Order Prescription Houses, Health Clubs, etc.) and provide them with the new information. Over the last five years there have been numerous card compromises. Any member whose account received a fraudulent charge, received a “credit” and a new card. Although most members were spared this aggravation, their card information could still have been compromised.

Rather than get lulled into a false sense of security, the Credit Union decided to reissue ALL NEW account numbers to clean the slate of any possible future fraudulent activity on possibly compromised accounts.

NEW Design!

Greater Metro’s logo incorporates the NYC skyline as did IBM Metro Employees.’ (Those living in New Jersey may think it’s backwards, but we can’t have it both ways). When we made the logo change it was still easy to pay a small tribute to the memory of the “Towers” (the city was outlined while the “Towers” weren’t, giving them a shadowy appearance). Although long awaited, the Freedom Tower rose to become World Trade Center 1. Results of our member survey indicated that a tribute to the “Towers” be incorporated if possible. We believe we captured it and our New Plastics will reflect it. One other change will be the Validation Date. The New Cards will only display the “through date” that the cards will be valid. They will be valid as soon as they are activated.

NEW ATM Cards!

We will also have new ATM cards issued during the First Quarter of 2015. The cards will sport a new design and include an Expiration Date. They will be issued to those who have used their cards within the last year. Those cards that haven’t had any activity in over a year will be purged from the system.

Please note: Your Debit Card will undergo similar changes (EMV embedded chip, new account number, new design) later in the year.

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Board Of Directors Elections

As noted on your last two statements, two Board Member terms are expiring in 2015. The Annual Election process began with the Chairman of the Board appointing a Nominating Committee to collect applications of Credit Union members interested in volunteering to serve as Directors in the management of our co-operative financial institution.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and must apply before the end of business February 17, 2015.

The Nominating Committee will review all applications and present the nominated candidates to the Board Secretary. Should there be more candidates than the number of open positions, an election will take place at the Annual meeting.

Those members who are not selected by the Nominating Committee or miss the February 17th deadline, but are still interested in the Board positions may submit their nomination by Petition.

The petition process calls for the interested members to submit their qualifications and a signed intent to serve if elected and have 1% or 53 member signatures accompany the nomination.

The nominations by petition must be filed with the Board Secretary by the end of business April 9, 2015.

Applications and resumes can be emailed to NomComm@www.greatermetrofcu.org or mailed to:

  Nominating Committee

Greater Metro FCU

31-10 37th Avenue

Suite 403

Long Island City, NY 11101

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EMV Chip Technology

EMV stands for:

Europay, MasterCard and Visa” which is a Global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards (IC cards or “chip cards”) and IC card capable point of sale (POS) terminals and automated teller machines, for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.

This means that:

Each purchase transaction will receive its own unique authorization which will not be stored anywhere on the merchant’s system.

Throughout 2015, every credit card holder will receive new cards from their issuers which will have an embedded chip, making purchases at merchant locations more secure. Since Debit Cards are used to make purchases as well, the Chip will be introduced later in the year as there are more complications in routing information during the purchase process.

Greater Metro is scheduled to reissue our Credit Cards during the 2nd Quarter. Cardholders will be receiving more information. Greater Metro is scheduled to reissue our Credit Cards during the 2nd Quarter. Cardholders will be receiving more information on the usage in the form of inserts with their monthly card statements.

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But before anyone gets to use the new cards, Cardholders must do the following upon receiving them:

Call to Activate

Call to Select your Personal PIN – 888-886-0083

In the past, Credit Card holders received a separate mailer with a randomly provided PIN number. Most members would never use it, since most signed for their purchase transactions. With the New EMV Card you MUST use a PIN. We believed that it would be better for our members to select their own Personal number.

The Card Carrier will have the information to direct you through the Activation and PIN Selection procedures.

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New For 2015

Remote Deposit Capture (RDC)

An application is being developed which will make depositing a check much easier

The old days of having a branch at many of the IBM locations to handle member transactions are long gone. The days of members finding their way to the Queens Plaza location ended seven years ago. Visiting our current main office, and finding parking, makes it more difficult for members to conduct an over the counter transaction.

That’s why we belong to two Shared Networks paying for and giving our members access to hundreds of branches. In many cases, members travel to these shared branches to deposit checks and we still log many checks that are mailed to us for deposit or for payments.

The “App” will allow members to use their smart phones to deposit their checks from the comfort of home.

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Mobile APP

Also being developed is a Greater Metro Mobile Application that will provide members easier account access from their phones. Members can currently get there by going through the Internet, but the App will make getting there quicker. For members wanting to receive mobile Alert messages on their phones, the Credit Union can send messages varying from communication outages to special certificate and loan offers. “It’s Me 247” will be “With You 247!”

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The Annual Meeting

Our 2015 Annual Meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 20, 2015 at 6 p.m. at the Credit Union’s main office in Long Island City. The primary business will be the reporting of the 2014 financial results and the Election of Directors.

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CUC Mortgage

In 2011, as mortgage rates were hitting all-time lows, we embarked on a drive to offer our members real estate loans. Reaching our policy limits, we had to begin sending potential borrowers away.

In a new effort to provide you with another avenue for purchasing or refinancing a home, we will be partnering with CUC Mortgage. CUC has worked with many Credit Unions in New York State for many years. They offer competitive rates, perform all of the underwriting and closing services, and our Member Service Representatives will assist you in the process.

With current daily rates listed, members can complete a secure online application through a link from our website.

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A Redesigned Website

Although we probably won’t replace ESPN or MSN as your Home Page, those that navigate to our website will notice the changes. The platform on which it’s currently running is outdated and beginning to cause some access problems for members. The Credit Union has depended on a third party to make changes and maintain the current website. We will manage the site in-house, make updates more quickly, and reduce the cost.

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Welcome New Members!

The employees and family members of the “Tenants of 31-10 37th Avenue, Long Island City” (the same location as Greater Metro’s main office) applied for and were approved for membership. Several of the tenants included are: ALMA Realty, the Social Security Administration, Fuster Law, Sullivan Solutions, a dental office and several small law firms.

Because of the lack of financial institutions in the area, Greater Metro was an ideal fit for providing our neighbors with affordable financial services.

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Tax Refunds

Have your Tax refunds deposited into your Greater Metro Account electronically

You’ll need the Routing Number: 221475605, and your 9 digit Account number: 6 digits for the account number and 3 for the sub account (e.g., 000-share, 080-checking, 015-hi-fi checking).

If your base account number has less than 6 digits, you’ll pre-fill with zeros in front of your 3, 4 or 5 digit account number.
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Holiday Closings

Presidents’ Day – Monday, February 16

Memorial Day – Monday, May 25

Labor Day  – Monday, September 7

Columbus Day  – Monday, October 12

Veterans’ Day – Wednesday, November 11

Thanksgiving Day  – Thursday, November 26

Christmas Day  – Friday, December 25

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