USA Patriot Act

This notice is to inform you of the passage of the USA Patriot Act and how it affects you.

What is the U.S. Patriot Act? The USA Patriot Act was enacted in 2001 in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist acts. The USA Patriot Act requires banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions to take extra security precautions to help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities. It has become clear that terrorist groups have used our banking industry to funnel money to commit crimes.

What information do you obtain and why? To comply with the USA Patriot Act, East River Federal Credit Union is required to verify the identity of members applying for and opening new accounts or services with the credit union. Information we are required to obtain includes legal name, mailing and residential address, tax identification number, social security number, date of birth, and a copy of a government issued photo ID. Additional information may also be gathered depending on the type of account applied for or opened. Identification and information on existing members will be gathered as they open or use additional services offered by the credit union. The Act requires us to maintain records of the identification verification and to periodically update this information. You can rest assured that we will only request the information required by the law… and that we will use the information only for purposes of complying with the law. Your privacy is our top concern, and we will respect and protect it as always, consistent with the law’s requirements.

How does this affect you? The Act was passed in an effort to improve public safety and should not directly affect most people. We will, of course, ask to verify your identification occasionally. This is a good safety precaution for you as a member regardless, due to increases in identity theft over the past several years.

I’ve been a member for years, why are you checking my identification? We know it may seem odd to verify identification of someone we’ve known for years. However, to guarantee that nobody “slips through the cracks” the law was written so that all customer and member identities are verified. This will not have to be done each time you visit, but it will be done periodically.

What does the credit union do with our identification? We are required to keep proof that we have verified your identification. We will keep a record that we are complying with the Act. Our member base is periodically checked against a list of known or suspected terrorists. This Act should have little or no affect on law-abiding citizens.

Your Understanding & Cooperation Are Appreciated. We hope you will understand the need for us to comply with the USA Patriot Act to help guarantee a more secure country, making certain the banking system is not inadvertently aiding people or groups who wish us harm. The war on terrorism will be fought on many fronts, and this is but one of them.

PRIVACY POLICY | SCHEDULE OF FEES | TERMS & CONDITIONS | USA PATRIOT ACT
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Your savings is federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency.