Ottawa Hiway Credit Union's Mission:
Your Hiway to Financial Success

Becoming a Member

The "Members Helping Members" credit union concept has been working since 1849, when the first credit unions were started in Germany. Basically, this concept is based on the idea that a group of people can improve their social and economic well-being by pooling their savings, in order to provide low cost loans to each other. Because credit unions are operated by and for the members, earnings, after deducting business expenses, are returned to the members in the form of dividends on savings and added services.

Ottawa Hiway Credit Union field of membership is open to employees of the Illinois Department of Transportation, (CMS Garages in District #2 and District #3 employees, spouses, children (even living on their own), siblings, parents and grandparents.) With a deposit of $5.00 you can open an account and be eligible for our many services.

OPENING A NEW ACCOUNT - VERIFYING YOUR IDENTITY

Important information about procedures for opening a new account: To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. 

What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth, and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license or other identifying documents.

CHILDREN'S ACCOUNTS

When you open an account for a child under one year of age the credit union will contribute $5.00 to the account and send the child a piggy bank. As soon as the child has a social security number we can open an account.

FACT ACT

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act requires the following notice to the credit union membership:

We may report information about you to credit bureaus. Late payments, missed payments, or other defaults on your account may be reflected in your credit report.

OHCU reports monthly loan activity to three credit bureaus. We do not use credit scores in determining a member's ability to borrow funds.

CHECK 21

October 28, 2004 marked the beginning of a new program call Check 21. The US House and Senate passed "The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act" in 2003 and the law took effect on October 28th. The Act authorized the use of a new negotiable instrument called a "Substitute Check". This will facilitate a broader use of electronic check processing without mandating that any financial institution change its current check collection processing methods. The "Substitute Check" is created from the image of the original check. The process can eliminate processing time, transportation costs and improve the efficiency of the payments system of the United States. Note: Please do not use gel ink pens when writing checks.

OTTAWA HIWAY CREDIT UNION PRIVACY NOTICE AND DISCLOSURE

To see our Privacy Policy click here: OHCU Privacy Policy