; Advisory Archives - Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union

CU Talk Upgrade

Oct 21, 2024 | Advisory

Upgrade to Telephone Banking on October 23rd!

We are upgrading our CU Talk telephone banking system on October 23rd. While we expect the transition to be seamless and the flow and functionality of the system to be familiar, we want to express our appreciation in advance for your patience with any potential issues that arise.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the phone number be changing

No. Continue to access the system by calling (808) 536-3677 and selecting option 2 when prompted.

Will access be affected at all by the upgrade?

No. Your access should remain unaffected by the upgrade.

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Will menu options or prompts change?

Only slightly. For example, you can still press the # sign after entering a value (such as when you enter your account number), but it’s not strictly necessary. Although you won’t be told to press the pound key, it doesn’t hurt if you use it!

Will I need to change my password?

No. Log in exactly as you did before.

Always working to improve your experience!

national public data security breach

Sep 11, 2024 | Education, Advisory

Reminders and Tips for Members in the Wake of the Breach at National Public Data

The recent data security incident at National Public Data potentially exposed confidential information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers and mailing addresses of billions of individuals in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

The good news is your data continues to be secure on our systems at Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union. Your security is a top priority for us, and we are sharing this incident with you to keep you abreast of the situation. We appreciate your patience with our team as we continue to take steps to keep your data secure by asking:

  • All members create strong passwords for their accounts.
  • When you call us, we may ask additional security questions to verify your identity and ensure that only you can access your accounts.

Rest assured our team regularly monitors your accounts for suspicious activity and will contact you immediately in the event of possible fraud. We ask that you do to contact us for help if you suspect suspicious account activity.

Considering the breach at National Public Data, we are taking this opportunity to remind members to review security protocols they have in place. Here are a few helpful tips:

  • Monitor your Credit Report and Account Statements at Financial Institutions for suspicious activity. To get a free credit report, click here.
  • Freeze Accounts when suspicious activity is detected on your statements and credit report.
  • Use Multifactor Authentication when it is available to add a layer of security by having a code sent to your phone upon log in.
  • Update passwords periodically and use strong passwords, using a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, and incorporating numbers and special characters. Stay away from birthdays and names of your loved ones.
  • Be cautious with email links and attachments (especially in unsolicited emails) as these may be Phishing Scams. Attachments and links could be an attempt to install malicious software on your device and harvest your data.
  • Update your antivirus software and run regular security scans to ensure your devices are secure.

If you need more information on the breach at National Public Data, click here.

Congratulations Maria! Winner of a Yeti Hopper and Two Yeti Ramblers

Sep 13, 2023 | Advisory, Bill Pay, Contest

Maria Wins a Yeti Hopper and Two Yeti Ramblers!

Members signing up for the first time for our Online/Mobile Bill Pay Service between October 1st and November 30th, 2023, will be entered to win a KitchenAid Stand Mixer.

Each quarter in 2023, we have been giving away a prize to one lucky member who uses or enrolls in one of our products or services. This year we have given away an Ooni Pizza Oven, a 55″ Samsung Television, and a Yeti Hopper with two Yeti Ramblers.

Maria, this quarter’s winner, was surprised when we called to let her know her name was drawn as the winner of our Signature-based Debit Card Contest–receiving a Yeti Hopper and two Yeti Ramblers. She wasted no time and was down by the end of the day to pick up her prize.

From all of us at Hawaii Central FCU, we want to say: Congratulations Maria!

Now, here’s your chance to win!

Working to Fight Low College Enrollment with the Student Choice Student Loan Program

Jul 6, 2023 | Ohana, Keiki, Press Room, Advisory

College student with purple backpack and book walking to campus

Working to Fight Low College Enrollment
with the Student Choice Student Loan Program

Having passed the June 30th deadline to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), late applicants for federal financial aid should be receiving their award letters from colleges and universities and will know whether they will need additional funding through a private student loan program like the Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union (FCU) Student Choice Student Loan Program.

The Student Choice Student Loan Program can help fill funding gaps left after students apply for federal student aid to fund their 4-year undergraduate degree. Before Hawaii Central FCU can help, however, students must have filled out the FAFSA for the year in which they are applying to determine whether there is a gap. Once that process is complete, we are here to help when federal student aid is not enough to make the dream of higher education and lifelong career goals a reality. 

The application process is easy; and once approved, the funding renews yearly over the 4-year term through a revolving line of credit for students who continue to meet loan requirements. Loan requirements include meeting academic requirements with their 4-year educational institution.

“Although we are recovering from the pandemic, it had a huge impact on college enrollment, and we want to be a part of the solution,” says Hawaii Central FCU President Drake Tanabe. “Our keiki are our future, and we need to set them up for success.”

According to the 2021-2022 year-end report by P-20, college enrollment remains below pre-pandemic levels. The report states, “Public-school graduates who enrolled in college was down from a pre-pandemic level of 55% to 51%”.

P-20 is a statewide partnership led by the Executive Office on Early Learning, the Hawai`i State Department of Education, and the University of Hawai`i System that works to strengthen the education pipeline from early childhood through postsecondary education and training with data-informed decision making, advocacy, policy coordination and shared action.

College Bundle

College students away from home and their families may want to consider our College Bundle as well. The College Bundle is a host of products and services designed to keep students connected with mom and dad, making it easy for parents to ensure their child is prepared, financially, to meet day-to-day expenses as well as address emergencies as they arise. Video Banking Specialists are available to get families started with the College Bundle, which includes:

  • Central Savings
  • Central Checking with Debit Card (Apply to see if you qualify)
  • VISA Share Secured Credit Card (Apply to see if you qualify)
  • Shared Branching (5,000+ locations nationwide)
  • NO SURCHARGE FEE – ATM Access (30,000+ATMs nationwide)
  • Online & Mobile Banking with Mobile Check Deposit

Those interested in the College Bundle may also come into one of our branches for more information and to get started in person.

View Recent Press Release

Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union Ranked Among the Top Credit Unions in the State by Forbes

Jul 6, 2023 | Press Room, Advisory

Forbes Ranks Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union
Among Hawaii’s Top Three Credit Unions

“Learning that Forbes ranked Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union among the top credit unions in the State was confirmation that we continue to accomplish what we set out to do as an organization, in service to our community, more than 85 years ago,” said Board Chairman Neil Shimogawa. “First and foremost, I want to thank our members who make our mission of service possible, and I want to recognize the staff and management who continue to live a motto of People Helping People.”

The ranking was a combination of Google reviews between March 2020 and April 2023, accounting for 20% of scoring, and a nationwide Best-in-State survey, accounting for 80% of scoring. In the survey, members were asked to rank credit unions on criteria to include customer service, quality of financial advice offered by representatives, transparency and reasonability of fees, website navigation, in- branch services and level of trust, overall.

Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union is the smallest in terms of staff size. With only thirty-nine employees, Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union was ranked above two credit unions in the top five with considerably larger staff – a credit union with more than quadruple the staff and another just under triple the staff.

View Press Release

Be Informed and Prepare when Away from Home

Apr 20, 2023 | Advisory

videobanking homepage 1

Be Informed and Prepare when Away from Home

In a recent FCC advisory, travelers were warned about juice jacking, a cyber-attack method used to harvest personal data from personal devices at public charging stations, oftentimes found in airports and infected with malware aimed at stealing your data.

To guard against being a potential victim of juice jacking, the FCC offers the following tips:

  1. If using a public port and prompted to “share data”, select “charge only”.
  2. Use an AC power outlet instead of a public USB charging station.
  3. When traveling, remember to bring your own USB cables and AC/car chargers.
  4. Consider using portable chargers and external batteries.
  5. Find a trusted supplier to purchase a charging-only cable to prevent data from transmission during charging.

“We don’t want to scare members, but we do want our members to be prepared to make the right decisions,” says Support Services Manager Travis Uchino who is concerned with raising member awareness about security threats. “Juice jacking can happen at any public charging station, not just those at airports, but it is more apt to happen in a situation where people are desperate for a charge.”

 

 

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