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Community First Credit Union banking products: Savings, Checking, and CDs

Offers all the features and flaws of a hometown bank.

Heather Petty

Updated Apr 27, 2020

The Community First Credit Union offers Northeast Florida residents a wide range of personal and business accounts. Features like earned rewards and interest-bearing accounts are available as well as perks for university students. But the credit union lacks networked branches and has limited customer service hours.

Am I eligible?

To become a Community First Credit Union member you’ll need to open a Share Savings account with a minimum deposit of $5 and live, work or attend school in one of the following Florida counties:

Baker
Brevard
Broward
Clay
Duval
Flagler
Indian River
Lake
Martin

Nassau
Orange
Palm Beach
Putnam
Seminole
St. Johns
St. Lucie
Volusia

Membership is also open to:

Any relative of an existing or eligible member
Employees of Brooks Rehabilitation

Employees of Miller Electric Company
Employees of Web.com

What banking products does the Community First Credit Union offer?

Checking accounts
- Advantage Checking. Earn interest and dividends on your money with no monthly fees.
- Bonus Debit Checking. If you make 20 or more monthly debit transactions, you’ll earn bonus reward points on select purchases and cash refunds on ATM fees you incur.
- Fresh Start Checking. Reestablish your banking history with this bank account for a $10 monthly service charge. Upgrade to a regular checking account after 12 months in good standing.
- SureBalance Checking. Avoid overdraft fees, no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements. But there are no checks available.
- UNF VIP Checking. University of North Florida students enjoy no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and benefits like free pizza and drinks on UNF Market Days.
- Teen Checking. Teens aged 13–17 can avoid overdraft fees and enjoy no minimum balance or service fees.
Savings accounts
- Share account. Community First’s most basic savings account requires no minimum starter funds and allows you to earn 0.25% interest on your entire balance.
- Savings Goal account. Save toward a specific goal while earning 0.25% interest on your entire balance, as long as you keep a $100 balance in the account.
- Youth Advantage Savings. An account for children ages 0–17 with a 2.96% interest rate on the first $500 and 0.25% rate on all savings beyond that.
- Community First Money Market account. This account requires $1,000 to open and earn interest. APY ranges from 0.30% to 0.72%.
- Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Community First offers several long-term savings accounts for those preparing for retirement.
- 457 Deferred Compensation. A tax-deferred savings account available to employers paid by the state or local government, including the Baker, Clay, and Duval County public schools and WJCT Channel 7 in Northeast Florida.
CD accounts
- Basic CDs. CDs range from from 3–60 months and require a $500 minimum deposit to open and maintain. APY ranges from 0.25% to 1.92%.
- Junior Jumbo CD. Offers the same benefits and terms as the Basic CD, but requires a minimum deposit of $45,000.
- Jumbo CD. Offers the same benefits and terms as the Basic CD, but requires a minimum deposit of $100,000.
- Jumbo Plus CD. Offers the same benefits and terms as the Basic CD, but requires a minimum deposit of $250,000.
Business checking accounts
- Classic Business Checking. Get up to 50 free monthly transactions a month and pay 25 cents for every additional transaction.
- Premier Business Checking. Mid-sized banks can earn interest and get up to 150 free monthly transactions. But you’ll need to maintain a $5,000 monthly balance to avoid the $12.95 monthly fee.
- Connections Business Checking. Enjoy up to 300 free monthly transactions, but you’ll need to maintain $10,000 in combined balances or $50,000 in combined business loans to avoid the $19.95 monthly fee.
Business savings accounts
- Business Share account. A basic savings account with no minimum starter funds and 0.25% APY.
- Business Savings Goal account. Save toward a specific goal while earning 0.25% interest on your entire balance, as long as you keep a $100 balance in the account.
- Investment services. Community First Credit Union teamed up with CUSO Financial services to provide an array of business investment options and planning guidance.
- Personal credit cards. Choose from the Visa Signature card, the Visa Platinum Rewards card and the Visa Platinum card, which has a lower interest rate.
- Personal loans. Choose from a variety of personal loans, including mortgage and auto loans, consolidation loans and a Green Energy loan to help you outfit your home with energy efficient appliances or solar panels.
- Business loans. Community First offers many business loans, including lines of credit, commercial mortgages and equipment loans.

Why should I open an account at Community First Credit Union?

Community First offers online and mobile banking as well as other member benefits:

Minimal fees. Most accounts offer no maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements.
Financial Wellness Program. Community First’s moveUP program provides educational information and tools to grow your finances and meet your goals.
Rewards. In addition to its uChoose Rewards Program on everyday shopping, Community First teamed up with Sprint and TurboTax to offer credit union members discounts.
Community outreach. Community First gives back to the community by partnering with local community projects, sponsoring programs and events and granting scholarships to community teens who want to attend a Florida university.

What should I look out for?

Despite all of the services offered, Community First has a few drawbacks:

Limited customer service hours. While most banks have a 24-hour customer support line, Community First’s call center is only open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) on weekends.
Limited branch access. Community First isn’t part of a shared-branch network with other credit unions and its branches are located in Jacksonville.

Compare Community First Credit Union to the competition

Name	Interest rates (APY)	Fee	Minimum deposit to open	More info
American Express® Personal Savings High Yield Savings	1.00%	$0	$0	Go to site View details	Enjoy no monthly fees and a competitive APY with this online-only savings account. Accounts offered by American Express National Bank, Member FDIC.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
CIT Bank Savings Builder High Yield Savings Account	0.95% on balances of $25,000+ or set up a direct deposit of $100+ each month 0.79% on balances of $0 to $24,999	$0	$100	Go to site View details	No account opening or maintenance fees. Daily compounding interest. Earn one of the nation's top rates	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Discover Online Savings Account	1.01%	$0	$0	Go to site View details	Take advantage of a high-interest online savings account with no fees, no minimums and more.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Aspiration Spend & Save Account	1.00% on balances of $0 to $10,000 but you’ll need to be enrolled in Aspiration Plus and make at least $1,000 in debit card purchases a month	$0	$10	Go to site View details	A spend and save combo account with no monthly service fees, free access to every ATM in the world, unlimited cash back rewards and deposits insured by the FDIC. The Aspiration Spend & Save Account is a cash management account offering of Aspiration Financial, LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer. Aspiration is not a chartered bank.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
UFB Direct High Yield Savings	0.40%	$0	$100	Go to site View details	Earn an APY when your balance is higher than $10,000 with this no-monthly-fee savings account.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
BBVA Money Market	0.19% on balances of $1,000,000+ 0.10% on balances of $100,000 to $999,999 0.05% on balances of $0 to $99,999	$15 per month (can be waived)	$25	Go to site View details	Earn a promotional APY for your first 3 months and access your money by ATM, check or bill pay.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
Radius Bank High-Yield Savings	0.25% on balances of $25,000+ 0.15% on balances of $2,500 to $24,999.99 0.05% on balances of $10 to $2,499.99	$0	$100	Go to site View details	A free high-interest savings account with a $100 minimum deposit to open	Compare	loading Fetching your data...
UFB Direct Premium Money Market Account	0.40% on balances of $25,000+ 0.10% on balances of $0 to $24,999.99	$10 per month (can be waived)	$5,000	Go to site View details	Enjoy the security and earning potential of a savings account while maintaining the flexibility to write checks.	Compare	loading Fetching your data...

Compare up to 4 providers

Community First Credit Union customer service

You can reach Community First in the following ways:

Email communityfirst@c1cufl.org.
Call 904-354-8537 or its toll free number 800-342-8416 during business hours.

Call 904-371-8000 using Info 24, a 24-hour information only call line.
Send mail to P.O. Box 2600, Jacksonville, FL 32232.

Branch location hours include:

Branch Lobby hours: Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST), with the exception of the Downtown and UNF branches, which are closed on Saturday.
Branch Drive-thru hours: Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST).

Bottom line

Community First excels at extras like their community partnerships and rewards programs, but if you’re looking for a credit union with 24-hour customer support and a better branch network, compare your options before applying for an account.

Frequently asked questions

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Heather Petty

Heather Petty is a writer at Finder specializing in banking, investments and insurance. She's a self-proclaimed word nerd who worked as a technical writer and editor for the casino systems industry and is an internationally published young adult mystery author. Heather earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Nevada, Reno.

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Community First Credit Union banking products: Savings, Checking, and CDs

Offers all the features and flaws of a hometown bank.

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