Orange County’s Credit Union

I had an account with these guys for roughly 3 – 4 years. I set up a savings account separate from my main bank in an attempt to save money. haha. Anyways, this past month for some odd reason I could not deposit or withdrawal cash from their atms. I went into this branch to get a new card. The new card had the same effect, can’t deposit or withdrawal cash from their atms. They couldn’t explain why there was this glitch and could not fix it so I decided to just end my savings account. Its pretty lame if you can’t provide the basic functions of a bank. No bueno.

After 20 years of banking with my former credit union, they decided to switch to a fee based checking without notifying the members of the upcoming changes and not allowing us a voice in the process; I decided to switch over to Orange County Credit Union. This was the closest branch to my office. It’s only $ 5 to join and you have to either live or work in Orange County to qualify. OCCU offers several types of checking accounts. I was interested in the Better than Free one because, I hate fees and I hate having to have account minimums when my money would do better by earning interest in an interest bearing account. I prefer my bank account to work for me rather having my money work for them.
I walked in during my lunch break and informed the teller that I was interested in opening an account. He escorted me into one of the open offices and went to work obtaining my information. I even received a new debit card on the spot. I asked when they would offer EMV cards since the switch was supposed to happen last year and was told they are slowly transitioning and would have it by end of 2016 (we’ll see). I’m still waiting on my free box of checks but I can issue electronic checks for now. For the first 30 days, my external transfers will be on hold and any checks I deposit will be subject to a short hold too but I was told that a paycheck would not. I’m going to test that out this week when I get paid, since direct deposit won’t kick in until the next pay period. I was asked to deposit $ 25 + $ 5 account opening fee so I withdrew $ 40 cash from the ATM and needed change. My visit only took about 25 minutes but I had to go back because the teller didn’t give me my change. At least he called me to ask if I wanted it or if he should deposit it into my account. I hadn’t gone very far and circled back to get it.
They offer online banking, mobile banking, loans, CDs, and are part of the CU network which is convenient. One thing I don’t like about their phone app is the lack of Touch ID, my old CU offered Touch ID on the app and it was more convenient than typing in my password every single time I wanted to check my balance. But for now, I’m a new customer and we’ll see how long they can keep my business.
If you’re thinking of joining OCCU, here’s a referral link:

The staff here is very friendly every time I go into the branch I have great experiences. The branch manager Jorge Arroyo goes above and beyond to insure his customers are helped with what they need. With the treatment I receive I will be an Orange County’s Credit Union customer for a long time!

Friendly and knowledgeable staff, always with big smiles!
Been banking with them for years now, I would not go back to a bank where everyone is pushing their products on you.

Good service and decent bank rates. I use this account to have my mortgage withdrawn from. This means I go to this place literally once a month to deposit money through the atm, and that’s it. Out of the past 5 months, 3 of those times the atm outside the branch was not in service. Seriously guys? Come on.
Good alternative to the big banks, but the fact that I am unsure if the atm will be up and running to accept my deposit is leading me to question if I really need this account.
YMMV, this is just specific to this location’s ATM machine. But seriously, luckily I didn’t need money right now to bail someone out of jail, they would be screwed.

I was happy to find this credit union. The employees are great, friendly, and helpful. The only negative is it is a little far from my home.

Always friendly staff. They make you feel welcomed. I hated it when they moved from central Irvine out to the «boondocks.»

This location of Orange County’s Credit Union sucks.
I have been banking for a few years with OCCU with very mixed success and when my Debit card started acting up at point of sale kiosks I decided to stop in this location to get a new card issued. The clean and new lobby was completely empty when I entered and it took a while for someone to realize I was in the branch. Once a college aged man finally walked on the floor he greeted me and offered to assist me I advised him I needed a new Debit card and he said that there would be a $ 5.00 fee for the service. I explained I have two other bank accounts and three revolving accounts, none of which have charged me for a new card. He said that was policy and if I wanted a new card it would be $ 5.00. Realizing these guys would have no problem losing a customer over $ 5.00 I didn’t even bother asking for a manager, I figure the manager hired this dolt anyway so why bother?
I ended up telling the representative to kick rocks and went to another location and obtained a new Debit card for free without hassle. If you intend on banking with OCCU and making this your primary location, expect bad things to happen.

They have free CU ATM, one of the few in the area, which is great for anyone who belongs to another credit union, like my wife. Never been in the branch and not a member so can’t rate them on the basis of this, but the ATM is convenient.
There was another ATM on Jamboree and Irvine Blvd. next to Ralph’s but this CU closed recently. And the others (Tustin Ranch/​Walnut) are too far for us.

Mortgages can be complicated. However, when you’re a shady financial institution in the community and waste customers time with promise of delivering good work, that’s where it gets complicated. Not only the loan officer was clueless, the whole mortgage department was run by idiots. Trust me, stay away!