Membership & Account Agreement Update
posted on Tuesday, September 30, 2025 in Announcements
An updated version of the Membership and Account Agreement (MAA) will go into effect on November 5, 2025. Below is a summary of the changes being made. Your continued use of your account(s) indicates your agreement with these changes. For a full copy of the updated MAA please contact C1st at 866.360.5370 or memberservice@c1stcu.com.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO THE MAA, EFFECTIVE 11/05/2025
• Updated Section 5. ACCOUNTS FOR MINORS – If an account is established for a minor as a joint account with an owner who has reached the age of majority in accordance with state law, they are jointly and severally liable to us for any returned item, overdraft, or unpaid amount on such account and for any related fees and charges. We may pay funds directly to the minor regardless of their age. Unless a parent or guardian is an account owner, the parent or guardian will not have any access to the account. We have no duty to inquire about the use or purpose of any transaction except as required by applicable law. We may not change the account status when the minor reaches the age of majority unless the change is authorized in writing by all account owners.
• Updated Section 10. FUNDS TRANSFERS - Funds transfers we permit that are subject to Article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), such as wire transfers, will be subject to such provisions of the UCC as enacted by the state where the main office of the Credit Union is located, except as otherwise provided in this Agreement. ACH transfers are subject to Nacha Operating Rules. We may execute certain requests for funds transfers by Fedwire which are subject to the Federal Reserve Board's Regulation J.
• Updated Section 14. OVERDRAFTS (a.) Payment of Overdrafts - If, on any day, the available balance in your share or deposit account is not sufficient to pay the full amount of a check, draft, transaction, or other item, plus any applicable fee, that is posted
to your account, we may return the item or pay it, as described below. The Credit Union's
determination of an insufficient available account balance may be made at any time between presentation and the Credit Union's midnight deadline with only one review of the account required. We do not have to notify you if your account does not have a sufficient available balance in order to pay an item. Your account may be subject to a fee for each item regardless of whether we pay or return the item. We may charge a fee each time a merchant or other payee submits or resubmits an item for payment; therefore, you may be assessed more than one fee as a result of a returned item and resubmission(s) of the returned item.
• Updated Section 14. OVERDRAFTS (b.) How Transactions are Posted to Your Account. Debits. Signature-Based Debit Card Purchase Transactions - These are purchase transactions using your debit card that are processed through a signature-based network. Rather than entering a PIN, you typically sign for the purchase; however, merchants may not require your signature for certain transactions. Merchants may seek authorization for these types of transactions. The authorization request places a hold on funds in your account when the authorization is completed. This is referred to as an "authorization hold". An authorization hold will reduce your available balance by the amount authorized but will not affect your actual balance. The transaction is subsequently processed by the merchant and submitted to us for payment. This can happen hours or sometimes days after the transaction, depending on the merchant and its payment processor. These payment requests are received in real time throughout the day and are posted to your account when they are received.
The amount of an authorization hold may differ from the actual payment because the final transaction amount may not yet be known to the merchant when you present your card for payment. For example, if you use your debit card at a restaurant, a hold will be placed in an amount equal to the bill presented to you, but when the transaction posts, it will include any tip that you may have added to the bill. The amount of an authorization hold may also differ from the final transaction amount when you present your debit card for payment at gas stations, hotels, and certain other retail establishments. We cannot control how much a merchant asks us to authorize or when a merchant submits a transaction for payment.
For debit card transactions involving merchant authorization holds, there may be a delay between the hold being applied and the transaction posting to your account. During the delay, intervening transactions may impact the available balance in your account. It is important to keep in mind that we check your available balance both at the time the merchant’s authorization request is received and again when the transaction settles and posts to your account. If your available balance is insufficient to cover the amount of the merchant’s authorization request, we will decline the request. If your available balance is sufficient to cover the merchant’s authorization request, the request will be approved, and an authorization hold in the amount of the request will be placed on your account. When the hold ends, the held funds will be released and added back to your available balance. The merchant will process the transaction and submit it to us for payment. If your account is overdrawn after any held funds are added back to your account’s available balance and the transaction settles and is posted to your account (i.e., posting the transaction results in an available balance of less than $0), we may charge you a fee for overdrawing your account, even though the available balance in your account was sufficient to cover the transaction at the time it was authorized.
• Updated Section 14. OVERDRAFTS (c.) Understanding Your Account Balance - Your checking account has two kinds of balances: the actual balance and the available balance. Your actual balance reflects the full amount of all deposits to your account as well as payment transactions that have been posted to your account. It does not reflect checks you have written and are still outstanding or transactions that have been authorized but are still pending. Your periodic statement reflects your actual balance. Your available balance is the amount of money in your account that is available for you to use. Your available balance is your actual balance less: (1) holds placed on deposits; (2) holds on debit card or other transactions that have been authorized but are not yet posted; and (3) any other holds, such as holds related to pledges of account funds and minimum balance requirements or to comply with court orders. We use your available balance to determine whether there are sufficient funds in your account to pay items, including checks and drafts, as well as ACH, debit card and other electronic transactions. Because holds and pending transactions reduce your available balance, they may cause you to overdraw your account and incur overdraft fees. Since your periodic statement reflects your actual balance, it may not include information about holds and pending transactions. However, overdraft fees you incur as a result of holds and pending transactions will be reflected on your periodic statement because fees do impact your actual balance.
The following example illustrates the differences between these two balances. Assume your actual balance is $50 and your available balance is also $50. You then go to the gas station, and you use your debit card to buy gas for $20. When that happens, the gas station (i.e., the merchant) requests us to guarantee or authorize the payment. In that case, we will reduce your available balance by the amount of the authorization hold, which is $20. Your actual balance would still be $50 because this transaction has not yet posted to your account (i.e., the transaction has not been completed), but your available balance would be $30 because you have a commitment to pay the merchant $20. When the merchant submits its request for payment (which could be several days later), your actual balance will be reduced by the amount of the posted transaction (in this example, $20). At that time, both your actual and available balance are $30 assuming no other transactions have posted to your account.
You may check your actual and available balances online at www.c1stcreditunion.com, at an ATM, by visiting a credit union branch or by calling us at 1.866.360.5370.
• Updated Section 16. STOP PAYMENT ORDERS (a) Stop Payment Order Request - Any owner may request a stop payment order on a check or draft drawn on the owner’s account. To be binding, the order must accurately describe the check or draft, including the exact account number, check or draft number, and amount of the check or draft. This exact information is necessary for the Credit Union to identify the check or draft. If we receive incorrect or incomplete information, we will not be responsible for failing to stop payment on the check or draft. In addition, we must receive sufficient advance notice of the stop payment order to allow us a reasonable opportunity to act on it. If we recredit your account after paying a check or draft over a valid and timely stop payment order, you agree to sign a statement describing the dispute with the payee, to assign to us all of your rights against the payee or other holders of the check or draft, and to assist us in any legal action. Fees for stop payment orders are set forth in the Truth-in-Savings Disclosure or Schedule of Fees and Charges.
• Updated Section 16. STOP PAYMENT ORDERS (c) Liability - Although payment of a check or draft may be stopped, you may remain liable to any holder of the check or draft, including us. You have the burden of establishing the fact and amount of loss resulting from the payment of a check or draft contrary to a binding stop payment order. You agree to indemnify and hold the Credit Union harmless from all costs, including attorney’s fees and all damages or claims related to our refusal to pay a check or draft, as well as claims of any joint account owner or of any payee or endorsee for failing to stop payment of a check or draft as a result of incorrect information provided by you.
• Inserted Section 16. STOP PAYMENT ORDERS (d) Items Subject to Other Rules - For cashier’s checks, teller’s checks, or certified checks that have been lost, destroyed, or stolen, refer to provisions elsewhere in this Agreement which describe the claims process for recovering the amount of such a check. For preauthorized debit transactions, which are governed by Regulation E, refer to the Electronic Fund Transfers Agreement and Disclosure for rules regarding stop payments on such transactions.
• Inserted Section 17. LOST, DESTROYED, OR STOLEN CASHIER’S CHECKS, TELLER’S CHECKS, OR CERTIFIED CHECKS - Generally, you cannot place a stop payment on a cashier’s check, teller’s check, or certified check that has been lost, destroyed, or stolen because the law treats these types of checks differently than ordinary checks. However, you may be able to assert a claim for the amount of the check. Article 3 of the UCC as adopted by the state in which we are located controls your and our rights and obligations with respect to these types of checks. Please contact us regarding the specific procedures for submitting a claim for a lost, destroyed, or stolen cashier’s check, teller’s check, or certified check.
• Inserted Section 39. FINANCIAL EXPLOITATION - As permitted by law, we may act or decline to act to prevent, stop, or mitigate financial exploitation of an adult. For example, we may: (1) delay, decline, or place a hold on a transaction or disbursement involving the adult; (2) approve or deny other requests or modifications to the account, such as a transfer of funds, change in ownership, or change in beneficiaries; or (3) notify a third party of the financial exploitation. We will not be liable for the actions we take on the account if we act in good faith and exercise reasonable care. For purposes of this section, “adult” means vulnerable adult, elder adult, senior adult, eligible adult, or other person as defined by applicable law.