Making remote banking a success

Banking During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Over a very short period of time the novel coronavirus has affected almost every aspect of how we live our day to day lives; it has changed the way we interact with friends and family, now from a safe distance or through technology, the way we grocery shop, now with lines out the door and masks on our faces, and of course, the way we bank. 

In this new time of physical distancing things have also made some changes at Northern Birch Credit Union; we’ve introduced alternative solutions in order to keep our members and employees safe, while continuing to offer the same personal service to our members.  We have reduced our branch opening hours and are working with a rotating weekly “skeleton” staff, while the rest of the team is working remotely.

We continue to be here for our members. 

This means your phone call might not be answered within 1 to 3 rings as usual. For example,  all of our phone calls at the Estonian House branch are going directly to voicemail – we ask you to leave a message and remain patient, as every single call is directed to available employees who will contact you back as soon as possible.  We strongly advise all of our members who can do their banking remotely, to please do so. Please call us before visiting us in-branch, to check if you can be helped remotely.

What you’ll need to make remote banking a success:

Online access to your account

• If you don’t have online access, are locked out of your account, or have forgotten your user name or password, call us and leave a message with your name, phone number and account number. We will then call you back to set up a username and password, or fix the issues you have signing in. (Please note that some accounts, such as trust accounts, do not have online access available). 
• If you are setting up your online access for the first time, you must sign in through our website using a computer within 24 hours of receiving your login information. After the initial set up, you can download our mobile banking app to access online banking on a smartphone or tablet (available for both Android and Apple users).

A telephone 

• Call us any time and leave your name, phone number, account number and what you need help with. Each voicemail is then forwarded to the appropriate Northern Birch employee to help you. We will either call you back during our branch hours, or, if we can’t reach you, send you an email to the email address we have on file. 

Access to email 

• Email us any time at info@northernbirchcu.com. 
• Since all of our calls are currently being directed to voicemail, email might be a good option for contacting us (no more phone tag!). Your email will be forwarded to the appropriate Northern Birch employee to help you. 
• Always provide your phone number when emailing us, so we can give you a call back. Please don’t include sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, SIN numbers, PIN numbers etc.

A debit card 

• If you don’t have our debit card, or need a new one, call us and leave a message with your name, phone number and account number. We will then call you back in order to set the PIN of your choosing and mail you the new debit card.
• The card will be activated only when  we confirm that you have received it!
• Our debit cards give you access to the 2nd largest surcharge-free ATM network in Canada and lets you make in-store purchases, with no additional fess.

A fax machine, scanner or camera

• Documents can be sent to us via fax. 
• Scanned documents can be sent as attachments via email.
• Photos of documents, hand written instructions and signatures can be sent as attachments via email.
• In case you are unable to print the necessary forms or documents, we will mail the copies to you on request.

So, what CAN You do Remotely?

Through Online or Mobile Banking

1. See your balance
2. Pay bills
3. Make scheduled transfers 
4. Transfer funds between your accounts at Northern Birch
5. Send / receive Interac e-transfers 
6. Deposit cheques remotely 
7. See our rates
8. Use our calculators
9. Sign up for CRA Direct Deposit
10. Set up stop payments
11. Place a cheque order
12. And more! 

Email, Fax or By Phone

• Email us any time with any questions at info@northernbirchcu.com. Include your phone number in case we need to contact you directly. 
• Transfers between different account holders.
• Wire transfers can be done through email or fax as long as a signature is provided. Refer the following link for the information we will require. (https://www.northernbirchcu.com/personal/daily-banking/services/wire-transfers).

Mail

• Mail in cheques to deposit. Write the account number on the back of the cheque.
• Mail in wire requests, make sure you provide a phone number and your signature.
• Any other request requiring a signature can be mailed to us!

Debit Cards

• Using your debit card at an Exchange Network ATM you can withdraw & deposit cash, and deposit cheques with no fees (use our ATM locator on mobile banking app or website to find the closest surcharge-free ATM to you (https://www.northernbirchcu.com/contact-us/branch-atm-locator).
• Using your NBCU debit card while shopping, you can do “cash back” from stores offering this service (LCBO, many grocery stores ,big box stores, and others).
• Withdraw cash at any other non Exchange Network ATM. We don’t charge any additional fees for this, you would just be paying whatever that ATM provider charges.

Learn more about the different Ways to Bank.

Visit our website to learn more about Northern Birch, to stay up-to-date on all of our activities & news. What else can you do at http://www.northernbirchcu.com?

1. Sign into your online banking
2. Discover and learn about our services 
3. See our rates
4. See branch hours and ATM locator
5. Apply for a credit card
6. Start a mortgage application
7. Apply for any other lending product
8. Read our COVID-19 news and updates
9. Find pandemic related links and resources
10. Read blog posts and see our financial education content
11. Much more!

We are committed to helping our members get through this difficult time. We are ready to support you and discuss options to help reduce financial stress caused by the current environment. Every situation is different, so please reach out to us.  We are here to help.

Although we ask you to limit your branch visits, we are here to help you do your banking, answer your questions & continue to help you find the right solutions for your financial goals. Give us a call today. Reach out to our team.

Continue to visit our blog and our website to stay informed with all Northern Birch news.

We will get through this together.

Contact Information:

• Estonian House Branch: 416-465-4659  (Monday-Friday 10am-2pm)
• Latvian Centre Branch: 416-922-2551 (Tuesday-Friday 10am-2pm)
• Hamilton Branch: 905-527-4344 (Thursday 3pm-7pm, Saturday 10am-1pm)
• Skype: estocu
• In Estonia: 712-1912

Please note, our branch hours are subject to change at any time. Always visit our website before visiting or giving us a call to see the latest updates.