- Digital Federal Credit Union
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DCU – Digital Federal Credit Union 
Type Credit Union Industry Financial Services Founded October 1979 Headquarters Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA Number of locations 19 full-service branches;
3,000 CU Centers located in 46 statesKey people Frank S. Branca,
Chairman, Board of Directors
James Regan,
President/CEO
Thomas Ryan,
Executive Vice President/COOProducts Savings; Checking; Consumer loans; Mortgages; Credit cards; Investments Website http://www.dcu.org/ Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) is a credit union based in Marlborough, Massachusetts. It has over 350,000 members and is among the top 25 credit unions in the U.S.A. and the largest credit union head quartered in New England as measured by assets. DCU has in excess of $3.65 Billion USD in assets.[1] DCU is regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) of the US federal government.
DCU has 19 full-service branches in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, although it has members in all 50 U.S. states.
Contents
History
DCU was chartered in 1979 for employees of Digital Equipment Corporation. Its field of membership is now open to essentially everyone, with over 800 different sponsors, several communities in Massachusetts and Georgia, and several organizations.
Services
DCU offers the a variety of financial services offered by most financial institutions, including savings accounts, checking accounts, IRA accounts, and certificates of deposit. In addition, DCU also offers members consumer, business and auto loans, credit cards, mortgages, home equity lines of credit, investment services, brokerage services and insurance services.
DCU provides online account access and bill paying through their PC Branch service. However, they do not support download of transaction information into Quicken through Quicken's "One Step Update" mechanism. Instead, DCU requires that customers manually connect to their site to download transactions. The One Step Update mechanism previously worked, but no longer does due to a change in the PC Branch authentication mechanism: it switched from a one-factor authentication mechanism, a password, to a one-factor mechanism with a password and several challenge questions; although this provides little additional security[2] it does break Quicken's One Step Update login.
Vision Statement
DCU has adopted a vision statement that “all members achieve their financial goals". This is accomplished by three principles that guide the decisions and behavior of employees and management at DCU which allows the credit union to achieve that vision. These principles known as "The DCU Way" are:
- People Come First
- Do the Right Thing
- Make a Difference
Consumer education program
DCU adopted StreetWise, a financial consumer education program in May 2001, to give their members unbiased consumer knowledge on a variety of topics including credit, privacy protection, fraud prevention, home and car buying tips. StreetWise also teaches how financial products and services work. In 2002, DCU furthered its financial education outreach programs by actively promoting financial literacy among teens by teaching basic skills at area high schools.
Workplace Rating and Employee Benefits
In 2004,[3] 2005,[4] 2006,[5] and 2007,[6] DCU was named a best medium-sized company to work for in the country by the Great Place to Work Institute, Inc., a workplace research and consulting firm in San Francisco. Each year the Institute works with Fortune Magazine and other publications throughout the world to select "Best Companies to Work For" lists that appear in 25 different countries, including the "100 Best Companies to Work for" in America. The award is based largely on a random survey of staff conducted by the organization.
DCU's more traditional employee benefits include paid annual and sick leave, medical and dental benefits, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and tenure awards. DCU matches employee 401(k) contributions, dollar for dollar, up to 6% of the employee's salary. DCU will advance money for tuition reimbursement before courses begin to encourage greater participation. DCU provides career development counseling and extensive ongoing training programs for employees at all levels.
Community involvement and social responsibility
As a socially responsible organization, DCU is committed to partnering with other organizations that make a difference in the communities they serve. Their primary charitable initiative is directed towards supporting programs that provide a health, welfare, or social service for children; or provide educational programs or services that primarily benefit children. Through December 2010, DCU has made charitable donations that total over $2,000,000. To be eligible for funding from DCU, organizations must meet the following criteria:
- Be a registered 501(c)3 organization
- Serve a community in which DCU has a physical location or a large concentration of members
- Provide a health, welfare, or social service for children; or provide educational programs or services that primarily benefit children
To further complement the charitable efforts of the organization, DCU incorporated DCU for Kids in November 2005, a non-profit charitable foundation for distribution to deserving causes and charities benefiting children and families. Organizations that have benefitted from DCU include:
- American Association of People with Disabilities
- Adopt-A-Classroom
- Boys & Girls Clubs of America
- The Boomer Esiason Foundation
- American Red Cross
- Children's Hospital Boston
- The Jimmy Fund – Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Notes
- ^ "DCU official web site". http://www.dcu.org/infodesk/membrshp/eligibil.html#about.
- ^ "Secret Questions". http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/05/secret_question.html.
- ^ "Great Place To Work Institute - Best Small & Medium Companies To Work For In America 2004". http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-sme-2004.htm.
- ^ "Great Place To Work Institute - Best Small & Medium Companies To Work For In America 2005". http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-sme-2005.htm.
- ^ "Great Place To Work Institute - Best Small & Medium Companies To Work For In America 2006". http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-sme-2006.htm.
- ^ "Great Place To Work Institute - Best Small & Medium Companies To Work For In America 2007". http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best/list-sme-2007.htm.
External links
Categories:- Credit unions based in Massachusetts
- Digital Equipment Corporation
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