Navy Federal Credit Union

Came here for my mortgage, car loan, and all other banking needs.
Small and friendly staff. Never seems to be too busy.
Drive thru teller and ATM; walk-​up ATM; coin counting machine.
Plenty of parking.

All right, first a little «History» from me on my NFCU experiences during a 20-​year career I just completed.
1994−2008ish, I would have given NFCU a one or two star. On the occasions I entered any NFCU in the area, they had Tensabarriers everywhere with massive long lines. So many people waiting in there. Seemed like half of the city was in these NFCU locations sometimes! Literally 50+ people in there… Banked elsewhere.
2009, 2010 timeframe, I saw NFCU was adding more locations, thus decreasing lines with more branches to go to. But, walked into this Salem NFCU with my wife, and there were no tellers. Just TV screens. «What the…» Communication was done at impersonal kiosks where you talked to a person through a phone and looked at them on a TV set. They were at some unknown location… Were the tellers in the back? Were the tellers on Mars? I didn’t know. On this occasion, my wife deposited some cash from another account to NFCU, and there was a $ 200.00 error we did not notice until later. (Banker error in their favor in this case.) We went back and got it straight, but it took forever and was hard when you are trying to fix it over a TV screen and not a real person on hand. NUTS…
2011-​Present: NFCU offered me some cash to open an account. I bit. And I noticed they had completely changed the lobby back to actual tellers again at this Salem location. Superb. Next, NFCU offered me $ 250.00 to take over my car loan at the time. I bit again. Superb rates. And over time, realized how modern, efficient, and awesome this bank now is.
Enough on the story! Boil it down: Super friendly tellers. Superb rates. Easy loan application process. State of the art branches. (and more of them). The ridiculously long lines of the past are gone! —- 4 stars, leaning towards 5 and I highly recommend. (It just requires a relative in the military or retired for you to become a member…)

Seems most bad reviews are tied to people that have way too high expectations of getting things they want but don’t qualify for.
The biggest improvement at this branch was ditching the impersonal video kiosks in the lobby and going back to a face to face teller operation.
Some complain of the waits… I seldom have a long wait in the lobby but if you go on fridays or paydays, of course you’ll be waiting a long time … only stands to reason if you choose to go on the busiest business days DOH.

NFCU is the best bank ever! I’ve opened a student checkings and savings account here after high school.
They send your debit card in the mail which your receive in about 3 – 7 business days. If you want the one that goes on your keychain you have to request that separately.
I also started my first and only credit card here too. The nRewards is great for those who are trying to improve their credit or just need some $$$ in case of an emergency. You can set it for a certain limit which is good for those who are tempted to spend.
I got my dad to open an account here too. He doesn’t speak English and we had a Laos translator speak to him through the phone and made everything so easy!
I did my car loan through Navy Federal. It was fast and easy, you can even do it online. I was able to get a great deal and incredibly low APR.
I use the NavyFederal mobile app on iPhone all the time. The eDeposit makes it convenient for me to deposit my check by taking a picture of the front and back. It usually only takes about an hour to a day for me to have the money in my bank.
The employees here are really sweet and patient. If you ever have any questions or concerns they are eager to answer and help you.

Do you know why Navy Federal needs to offer $ 50 referral fees? Their level of service has gone to the porta potty. (A big smelly one!) When people are getting paid to do a job can’t get your paperwork to the correct place and the CUSTOMER needs to spend over an hours back & forth between two places, plus start the whole process over again, it’s time to close all 6 accounts and move somewhere else. USAA, here we come. Save yourself some stress!!!

Initially, I was going to use the drive-​thru tellers, but the line was ridiculous! I parked and I expected a line inside the building. I thought I was going to have to call my manager to tell them I was going to be late for work. To my pleasant surprise, there were very few people in line because the tellers were assisting members as quickly as they possibly can. I was seen in about 10 min and the best part? I still got to work with minutes to spare.

They make promises they can’t or won’t keep, say they’ll call you and don’t, say they’ll email you contract, etc and don’t. After enough research and calling NFCU, found out they can’t hire fast enough to process loans. Given no choice but to go independent with another mortgage lender who actually does VA Mortgage loans with so much less grief and frustration. In Virginia, George Mason Mortgage in Reston with K. Darsey. Great guy and for once someone who’s honest. I’m trying not to make a plug for him and business but just giving you an idea that there’s other avenues to take rather than deal with Navy Fed if you’re finding it too difficult and also to let you know NF is understaffed at the time of this post.

I had a real issue with this location when it first opened because you didn’t have a counter where you spoke to a person. It was a wall of phones that you conducted business at, almost like a kiosk with a person behind it that you spoke with. Not very personal at all. That has been changed now as they renovated last holiday season and it is like any other bank now. I have conducted a bit of business at this location and everyone has always been friendly.

24 hour ATM is anything but. Has a plastic dealie going down the center of the card receptacle and I was unable to make a deposit at midnight.

of all the NFCU locations in Hampton Roads, this is my least favorite. It is cold and impersonal. The tellers are behind a wall and you have to use a phone to access them, and I get this is a new construction and it is for their safety due to robberies and all that. However, jeez, I felt like I was in the twilight zone. It took longer to make a transaction due to the connect time, shooting the money through the tubes, I just prefer if at all costs to utilize a different location. It is by no fault of the employees, mind you, they are great. The customer service is wonderful, they are as polite and welcoming as you can be through a telephone and a webcam… just not my cup of tee when handling all of my financial business.
Luckily, I an on the Amphib base a lot and can utilize the location in the shopping center there…

Very helpful and quick. Fairly new facility.