Our History
Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union (BFSFCU) is a full-service financial cooperative that was organized and chartered in 1947 as a convenient place for employees of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund and their families to save and to obtain credit.
In 1947, the employees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund came together to find a convenient and affordable way to save and borrow—and Bank-Fund Staff Federal Credit Union was created.
This year, we are celebrating our 70th anniversary of serving you—a time to reflect on our history and again honor our legacy and its enduring achievements. It is also a time to renew our commitment to you that with our strong foundation, we will continue to meet future challenges by your side.
As a cooperative, we have an obligation to tailor our products and services to the unique needs of our member-owners. We acknowledge that you have many choices in financial services providers in today’s world and we thank you for your continued loyalty and support. We pledge to continue to work tirelessly to provide you with the best value in financial services and the exceptional personal service you deserve.
As we celebrate the successes of the last 70 years, we also celebrate the future—invigorated with purpose and resolve to enrich the financial lives of our members. We look forward to another 70 years of opening doors to opportunity for you and your families.
At that time, the staffs of the Bank and Fund were unable in many cases to transfer capital from their homelands. Europe was in the grip of post-war austerity and there was an acute dollar shortage. The new staff of the infant institutions urgently needed credit for even such workday requirements as clothing and household equipment. Because of the housing shortage in Washington, many of them gravitated towards apartments. It was against this background that 25 staff members heard a representative from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation explain the working of a credit union, a cooperative savings and loan association to be operated solely for the benefit of the staff. They voted unanimously to proceed with the project. Five of them advanced the funds needed to qualify for its Charter.
As we embark on a new year, we are pleased to look back and highlight some of our 2017 achievements:
- Our strong deposit growth of 6.7% or $264 million in 2017 funded loan growth of 6.5% or $168 million which was driven by strong demand from members for mortgage loans, auto loans, credit cards and other loans.
- Improvements to our mortgage loan application process and internal procedures, along with the growing benefits of our past investment in a new Mortgage Loan Origination system, have reduced our processing time on mortgage loans and improved the member experience.
- Members continue to embrace our digital channels. We have 43,825 members actively using online banking.
- Mobile banking users grew by 32% to 28,324, while mobile deposits grew 60.3%; mobile remote deposit is now the top channel used by members to deposit checks into BFSFCU accounts. Our members also performed nearly 20 million transactions and paid over $12.5 million in bills through mobile channels.
- Over 6,400 members obtained low-rate loans and credit cards totaling over $678 million.
- BFSFCU Visa® Credit Cards were used over 5.6 million times for purchases totaling over $417.8 million and members earned over 413 million in reward points.
- Visa® Signature Credit Card holders saved over $442,000 in international transaction fees. ??Members received $405,699 in cash rewards from the purchase and/or sale of their homes through Realtors participating in our HomeAdvantageâ„¢ program. Life-to-date, this program has saved members more than $4.4 million.
- Members saved an estimated $1.64 million on car purchases with our Car Buying Service powered by TrueCar®.
- Over 15,000 members were protected by TruStage™ insurance products.
- $945,000 was refunded to members through our ATM Surcharge Rebate Program ??
- 947 members attended our free educational seminars.
In addition to providing exceptional financial value to our members, we continued in our quest to enhance your member experience, education and security by:
- Introducing free online financial education modules providing guidance on topics ranging from credit scores and taxes to retirement and estate planning. We invite you to visit our Financial Education Center on our website to take advantage of these 23 online modules.
- Enhancing our online security access by offering additional Online Banking Authentication options for members.
- Extending the service hours of our in-house call center and adding more staff members to provide faster response times and even higher-quality service.
- Implementing new programs and procedures to better detect fraud and deter cyber-security threats.
- Reducing our environmental footprint by providing mortgage eStatements instead of paper statements. Nearly 58,000 members now subscribe to our eStatements.
- Upgrading our digital branch displays with the streaming of live media, news, and weather coverage.
- Introducing the new and improved Travelex Money Card, which allows our globe-travelling members to load multiple currency types onto a single pre-paid card as well as reload their cards and check their balances on a mobile app.
As we celebrate our 70-year legacy, we are dedicated to bringing you the best in financial products, services, security and digital banking solutions throughout 2018 and beyond. We remain committed to being your financial partner for years to come and we will continue adapting to the evolving needs and wants of our members.
We thank you for the privilege of serving your financial needs and encourage you to invite your family and colleagues to join BFSFCU so that they may enjoy the same benefits available to you. Membership at BFSFCU means a lifetime value because “Once a Member, Always a Member”.