Hometown Credit Union Info + Review
Hometown Credit Union is the Minnesota CU that I’ll be looking at today. This is an NCUA-insured credit union with offices in a handful of cities. We’ll take a look at important points like their history, membership eligibility, and what they offer.
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Routing #: 291975355*
Their History
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This credit union started in 1974 in the basement of OTC. They don’t actually say what OTC stands for, so, my best guess is the Owatonna Tool Company. They have steadily grown through the years.
During the ’90s, after a merger and membership expansion, they significantly opened up the field of eligibility. Their most recent major event was opening a student-run branch at Owatonna high school to teach financial literacy.
That’s something that more CU’s should definitely doing. I was blown away in high school when we barely learned anything about personal finance.
Membership Eligibility at Hometown Credit Union
If you want to become a member there, you need to operate out of certain counties. That means live, work, attend school, or worship in them.
Those counties are Dodge, Rice, Steele, or Waseca. They don’t say anything about immediate family members being able to get you in, however, the original OTC Employees Federal Credit Union was available to the family of current members.
What They Offer
There are a variety of financial products at Hometown Credit Union. You can choose from the basics, like checking, savings, and share certificates.
You can also get more complex products like insurance and loans. They offer auto loans, home loans, personal (and lines of credit), recreational loans, RV Loans, Boat loans, snowmobile loans, student loans and VISA credit cards.
If you have a small business, you will need to look elsewhere for those services. As far as I can tell, they only have personal products here. Let’s take a closer look at their checking products.
Checking At Hometown Credit Union
You can choose from three main checking accounts there. Those are HomeTown Checking, Interest Checking, and their Masters Checking Account.
HomeTown checking is your basic free checking account. That means no minimum balance, no monthly service fees, and a free debit card.
You can also have free 24/7 access to your account through online and mobile banking. That includes mobile deposit.
The electronic offerings are pretty common at most banks/CUs. They can also offer you free bill pay and eStatements at Hometown Credit Union.
Interest Checking Account
Their interest checking account is your next option. If you can maintain a $400 minimum balance, then, this can earn you some monthly dividends.
There are some small fees, too. For example, if your account fell below the minimum balance requirement, you would owe $4.00.
You get a free debit card with this account and the same free online/mobile/eStatements and bill pay service.
Masters Checking Account
This is the first credit union where I’ve seen an account specifically tailored to retirees. They don’t say you HAVE to be age 59+ to qualify for this one, but, it looks heavily implied.
You get the benefit of no minimum balance or monthly service fee plus dividends. There’s also a free debit card in it for you. On top of that, there are free checks and a reduced fee on getting a safe deposit box.
In addition to those things, there are also the online, mobile, bill pay, and eStatement benefits from the others.
Loan Rates
Their loan rates (as of this writing) at Hometown Credit Union are definitely competitive with other CU’s around Minnesota. For example, auto loans can get as 1.99% APR, VISA cards can get as low as 10.90% APR, and Boat/RV loans can get as low as 3.24% APR.
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Hometown Credit Union – Final Thoughts
I like seeing a credit union that stays focused on smaller geographies. I also like seeing one that doesn’t try to do too much. Yes, if you have a business, you’ll need to go somewhere else.
However, for your personal banking needs, they have very good products. You should absolutely check them out if you’re eligible, especially if you’re soon-to-be-retired.
Do you have a review of this credit union? Email it to [email protected] and we’ll add it in.
*All information in this article was current at the time of this writing, however, it could change without notice. We do our best to keep these updated, however, there is no guarantee you will find the same information on the CU’s website or at the time of opening an account with them.
*This site is not affiliated with the Credit Union mentioned in this article.
