BluPeak Credit Union - Berkeley, California

J L

Great credit union at the heart of downtown Berkeley. Not very busy inside when I went to open an account and join the membership. They have the lowest rates around if you are looking for a loan, and the people are amazingly super friendly.

Kyle Jackson

The staff at the branch in Berkeley, CA is really AWESOME!! They do a fantastic job of customer service and always make me feel comfortable. There is hardly ever a line and the service is fast, friendly and efficient. Mireya (a manager) not only helped open the account, but was VERY supportive when issuing new checks and a debit card when my car was broken into. Marquita (a representative) is helpful and friendly, often asking about my day, while providing excellent service. The entire staff at this location is GREAT!!

John Prato

When I need them most, they've got my back. Totally convinced:

Update: I was victim of a reasonably large amount of fraud ~10K worth, stolen from my checking account via check fraud. I have to say the staff was AMAZING, totally competent and also compassionate in dealing with me and let me know up front what I needed to do, what they would do, and that I'd get my money back in 7 - 10 days. Which actually happened! I can't thank them enough for being supportive and walking me through a few relatively painless reports.

I was blackballed from the traditional banking system due to some accounts I forgot to close after graduate school in the mid-west, USE Credit was happy to sign me up, which I really appreciated. The staff here in Berkeley is super friendly, very personable, and I've had a great experience overall.

Teresa Gomez

I changed to USE Credit Union because I didn't want to support the big banks. I used to bank with Bank of America. I've only been with them for about 4 months but have had nothing but problems. I tried to buy a car from a friend and I wrote him a check, his bank had to put the check on hold for about 2 weeks, because they hadn't received the funds from my bank, thus my friend thought that the check had bounced and the whole situation really stressed us out.

Last Saturday I went to deposit a check in the ATM machine outside the Berkeley Branch ane I got an error reading saying there was an issue with the envelope. I called my bank on Monday and now I have had to fill out an "dispute "form in order to get the money because the ATM is run by a third party and I may have to wait up to 10 days for my check. Luckily I have some savings but if I didn't I wouldn't have been able to pay my rent. At bank of America the ATM machines just scanned my check and I was good to go. If they had trouble reading it then the check would be returned to me.

It just feels like USE doesn't really have a hang of things just yet. Like they are a baby bank just learning the ropes.

Jordan Lindsey

Easily the worst customer service and practices of any credit union I've encountered. Usually credit unions are community oriented businesses, but starting with their decision to no longer let people from other credit unions bank there in December of 2015, essentially taking them out of the co-op network that is a major appeal of credit unions, it has become clear that they are a credit union in name only, today I simply tried to get 20 dollars worth of quarters for change and they told everyone I had to be a member! Shame a bank like this is allowed to call themselves a credit union on Berkeley.

Ted Apstein

Opened up an account with USE as they had the best car loan rates. In order to become a member with them to get a loan they make you to open a "free" checking account for $100. Watch out -- there are a lot of hidden fees. They incorrectly charged me with "no e-statement" fees twice, and when trying to close the account they made me aware there's a 90-day wait period otherwise it's a $15 fee. None of this was disclosed upon signing up for the account, just hidden in the fine print. Nothing too huge, and it was worth it for the lower finance rate --- but if you're to actually bank with them, I'd check the fine print closely. All the agents have been helpful when spending time on the phone resolving these issues.

Darius Farraye

Average banking experience. I switched to USE in 2012, wanting to bank with a local bank instead of one of the large banks. I have been relatively disappointed with what I experience as a general feeling of "still getting off the ground". Have had to deal with a handful of inconveniences, such as credit card strips going bad, cards being blocked (as a security measure when they saw I made a large online purchase, but then customer service directed me to fix it with Mastercard, who then directed me back to USE), and bugginess on the web site and mobile app (app fails sometimes when making a mobile deposit). Customer service is somewhat friendly and they are down the street, which is nice. But service is average at best and has me considering switching. I would do more research next time I choose a bank. I'll update my rating if I see improvement.

Gregory Dalton

They have all the big-bank bells and whistles. Complete online banking including bill pay and Quicken-powered spending/budgeting. A mobile app to deposit checks from your phone, find ATM's (all over the place, including Walgreens and 7-11), transfer $$, etc... I established my home loan from them, and it was a great experience. They work with realtors, and the one we had was awesome! I work at Cal, so the proximity of the branch may skew my experience positively, but I think they're great.