If you are sick of big banks — and even big credit unions that are starting to act like big banks — you really should give Seattle Credit Union a try. Even if you don’t live next door to a branch, you can pretty much do everything you need to on the website and app. Over the years SMCU has gotten more and more of my financial business. There are little things here that they do that no one talks about — but are very important. Interest rates are always a bit lower on loans and car payments. You can actually send a message to the underwriters if there are extenuating circumstances — and actually get results. They still process checks in the order they come in, and if you overdraft, they still give you all day to bring your account positive before there are any fees. Speaking of fees — they don’t charge any balance transfer fees for their credit card — or to pull from an overdraft protection savings account… they just still feel “human” — I found them 8 years ago and couldn’t be happier. As for this app? It’s written by FiServ. Many smaller and mid sized banks use them — it’s an industry standard app — and while it isn’t perfect it allows you to get done what you need to get done — and is a lot better than the one they used to have!

No online banking app is perfect, but this one is pretty close. It’s also improved vastly since its earliest versions. Being able to handle nearly every transaction other than getting currency, it is my “go to” for managing my money. I especially appreciate mobile check deposit. No more letting checks languish awaiting my getting to a branch. It’s also easy to move money around both my SCU accounts and to/from my outside high yield account. It’s also meaningful that upgrades haven’t crashed the app or changed the interface. It’s very frustrating when you learn how to use software and then the developer moves everything around so you play treasure hunt to find the tools you use frequently (think Microsoft Office). You only have to learn how to navigate this app once.

Easy to navigate through, I just don’t like that I have to go to another page to view credit card info. Also doesn’t show the amount total after each subtraction. I’m also used to faster and more immediate service, so the time that it takes for a smaller credit union to process things takes a lot of patience. Was also strongly considering changing banks after I reported fraudulent charges on my account and it took nearly half a year for them to investigate and give me my money back. It was a frustrating process and highly disappointed in the service when one call told me to call another number, only for that number to tell me that it can’t help me, and I needed to call the original number that so called, and the back and forth ensued. Recently also had the trouble of sending money to someone just because the amount was the same as the last time I sent to the person. Had to change it from $100 to $102 to get it sent. Why is that even a thing? If they fear duplicate payments are a mistake, just make them verify another time before it can be sent. When I created a complaint regarding this, no one even bothered responding. App is flawed. Considering changing banks to one that my other siblings use.

The look is not helpful if your primary device is a phone. All of the graphics are overwhelming the screen area. The colors are too loud. The previous version was better looking. I don’t even like looking at this version on my laptop. Visually, the version is a fail. Many of the functions have been moved to their own list, so finding things is harder than before. That is not an improvement. Instead of building on what you had, this app ignores what we had learned, and forces us to find what we need all over again. Given the visual issues, that is harder than it should have been.It’s October 31, 2023. I’ve been using the new SCU app since it came out. This app looks absolutely horrible. The grey pictures of the city and Mt. Rainier are insulting. They say this City is old and dying. The mixed graphics are absolutely not helpful or intuitive. This update looks like it was thrown together by a group of arguing people who had better things to do. My credit union, which I have been with since 1968 can’t put together a decent app for my iPhone because you don’t care. This app looks slightly better on my desktop computer but you know what? No one uses a desktop for banking. We’re all using our phones for that. The network errors I’m seeing tell me the links that make this app “work” are poorly constructed. The graphic choices tell me you went super cheap on this “update.” The continuing poor visuals and broken functions say you don’t have your act together, and it’s gotten much worse. I no longer trust Seattle Credit Union to do the right thing with my money. You have given me dozens of reasons to leave SCU. I hear you.