FAQs

A credit union is a financial institution with not-for-profit cooperative model. Credit Unions are owned by their Members (depositors) and overseen by a democratically controlled Board of Directors, which is comprised of Members. Towpath Credit Union has a community charter, which allows anyone who lives, works, studies, worships in Summit County, or is an immediate family member of a current Member to join. Credit Unions are not-for-profit, and so profits are used for the benefit of the Members in the form of reduced loan interest rights, higher deposit dividend rates, and better services. Credit Unions are regulated and examined by government agencies and their funds are insured, just like banks. Credit Unions have historically served the underserved and live out the mission of Financial Well Being for All.

Credit union Members are the depositors who utilize the credit union and deposit at least $5.00 into a Membership Savings account. This deposit represents the Member’s “Share” in the credit union and remains in the account until their Membership should close. Being a Member of a credit union makes you a part of a group of people who are pooling their money together to provide each other with better and more affordable financial services.

Towpath Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer banking services such as savings and checking accounts, debit cards, deposit certificates and money markets, personal, auto, and home equity loans, mortgages, credit cards, and more. We also provide state-of-the-art digital banking for you to manage your accounts with us, track your credit score, and much more.

Towpath Credit Union also offers personalized financial advice in any of our branches on many topics with our Certified Credit Union Financial Counselor program. A core principle of credit unions is financial education, and we provide and promote financial education as a pathway to Financial Well-Being for All.

While banks and credit unions both play important roles in providing financial services, we believe credit unions are more focused on and accountable to positive financial outcomes for their customers (Members) than a for-profit institution or fintech might be.

This is because credit unions are:

• Not-for-profit

• Owned by their customers (Members)

• Democratically controlled

• Focused on financial education

Yes. Towpath Credit Union is insured by American Share Insurance. Your savings are insured up to $250,000 per account.

You can read more about American Share Insurance here.

Read about our credit union’s history here!

We are a community chartered credit union, so Membership at Towpath CU is open to anyone who lives, works, worships, or attends school in Summit County, Ohio! You are also eligible if your immediate family member is a current member. Contact us if you have any questions about eligibility to join.

You can join the credit union online from the Become a Member page.

All Members of the credit union open a Membership Savings account which must remain open with a $5.00 deposit for the life of the Membership.

Be sure to have your current government issued ID ready before you apply for Membership.

If you’d prefer to join in person, visit or set an appointment to visit any of our branch locations to open your Membership.

To become and remain a Member of TowpathCU, you’ll need to have an open Membership Savings account with at least a $5.00 deposit. Checking accounts may be opened in addition to the Membership Savings account but cannot be opened without an associated Membership Savings account.

While credit unions have historically served the underserved, Towpath Credit Union is a modern and vibrant local financial institution with something to offer everyone in its field of Membership.

Whether you need help improving your credit score and financial counseling, a checking account and debit card with a great digital banking app, or if you’re just looking for the best auto loan or deposit rate, we are an option worth considering.

Unfortunately, we do not offer business accounts at this time. However, this is something the credit union intends to explore in the future.

You can have your minor children join the credit union by submitting an application for either a custodial or joint teen membership. You can learn more about these options here. You can open these Memberships online by clicking the Join Now button on the Become a Member Page and selecting the correct Membership type, or you can visit us at a branch.

If you submitted your application for Membership digitally at an event, give us a business day or two to reach out to you to finish the process. We may have additional questions or need you to complete documentation via DocuSign. Once you receive confirmation from us that your accounts are open, you may enroll in digital banking and utilize your Membership.

Towpath Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer banking services such as savings and checking accounts, debit cards, deposit certificates and money markets, personal, auto, and home equity loans, mortgages, credit cards, and more. We also provide state-of-the-art digital banking for you to manage your accounts with us, track your credit score, and much more.

Members can open additional deposit accounts for their Membership in digital banking, by navigating to the Open Accounts feature in the Accounts menu. Members can open checking accounts, additional savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates, and holiday savings accounts instantly in digital banking.

If you are looking to open an additional membership, please use the Join Now button on our Become a Member page, and indicate you are an existing Member in the application.

Some types of accounts such as IRAs and HSAs may require our team’s assistance to open. Please contact us to open these types of accounts.

To open an additional Membership, please use the Join Now button on our Become a Member page, and indicate you are an existing Member in the application.

To change the signers on an existing Membership, or add one, our team will need to prepare a document for you, which must be signed by all parties. In most cases this can be done digitally via DocuSign. Please contact us at 330-664-4700 to begin this process.

To open a new, joint Membership, go to our Become A Member page and click Join Now. From there, you’ll be able to submit a joint Membership application.

The routing number for all TowpathCU accounts is 241273120.

The easiest way to find your account numbers is through digital banking. In the Accounts area, you can view your Account numbers(s) along with the four digit loan and share IDs that follow the - after each Account number.

Please note that your account number and MICR number are distinct: your MICR number is specifically used for setting up direct deposits and external ACH transactions. You can view your MICR number for applicable accounts in the Account Details tab in digital banking, when viewing an account.

Please do not hesitate to contact us to confirm your account or MICR numbers.

Towpath CU has four branches located in Summit County, Ohio.

Find a Branch — Towpath CU

Members also have access to the nationwide CO-OP Shared Branching Network. Towpath Credit Union’s participation in the CO-OP Shared Branch network means convenience when, where, and how you want it. As our Member, you can visit any of the more than 5,600 locations where you see the CO-OP Shared Branch logo and conduct transactions just like you were at your home branch.

TowpathCU Members have access to our three ATMs, located at three of our branch locations, as well as thousands of fee-free ATMs in our two nationwide ATM networks.

Find an ATM — Towpath CU

Towpath CU ATMs – Our Cuyahoga Falls, Portage Lakes, and Fairlawn locations all have drive-thru ATMs for your convenience. These local ATMs are state-of-the-art and accept deposits.

CO-OP ATM Network - Now, you can get cash surcharge-free at more ATMs than ever. Our members can visit any of the nearly 30,000 ATMs that display the CO-OP logo. So, whether you’re across town or far from home for work or pleasure, you’re never far from your money.

Alliance One ATM Network - Alliance One, founded in 1998, is a nationwide cooperative group of credit unions, community banks, and thrifts that have joined forces to let their cardholders access each others’ ATMs all over America without having to pay ATM surcharges. That cooperative spirit not only gives you more convenient ATMs to choose from, but it also leaves that extra $2.00 where it should be - in your account.

Look for the blue and white Alliance One logo on ATMs, or use our ATM Locator to find a convenient ATM nearby.

Yes, learn more about our digital banking here.

We sure do! Click the links towards the bottom of any page on our website to download our mobile apps.

You can update your contact information with us any time in digital banking. To do so, you’ll want to navigate to the Settings menu.

You can also let us know at a branch or by phone and we can update your contact information by request.

You can view all of our savings/deposit rates here.

Yes, we do! Mobile deposit is available in our mobile apps.

To send a wire transfer, we’ll need to gather some information from you, confirm your identity, and have you sign a form. Contact us and we’ll be happy to help you through the process.

Yes! We offer early direct deposit on most ACH deposits up to two days early. Some limitations apply.

The easiest way to order checks is in Digital Banking. Click here to order or reorder checks.

We can also order checks on your behalf in a branch or over the phone.

We offer notary services to our Members at each of our branch locations.

Please note that we are not able to offer medallion stamp services.

To request the refunding of a fee, please contact us at 330-664-4700. We will generally refund one fee per year, per Member, unless there are extenuating circumstances.

You’ll need to contact the credit union to close your account or Membership. Please contact us at 330-664-4700.

If you or someone you know suspects fraud on your account, please contact us as soon as possible at 330-664-4700.

Yes! Schedule your appointment on our Get In Touch page here.

Click the register button in the login tab of our website, the register link in our mobile app, or click here!

Yes! We have mobile apps for both iOS and Android!

Download our iOS app.

Download our Android app.

To view your pending transactions or deposits, simply click on the desired account from your digital banking dashboard. You'll find "Pending Transactions" at the top, with "Posted Transactions" listed underneath.

This feature of our digital banking allows you to add and track the balances of and transactions on accounts from other institutions. This puts all your accounts in one place as a digital financial hub. Once added, the transactions on your accounts from other institutions can also be categorized and the data flow into our spend tracking tools.

If an error indicates your username or password is incorrect, navigate to the forgot Username/Password links on our home page or in the mobile app to reset them.

If you receive a different error message, please contact us for assistance at 330-664-4700.

Navigate to the online banking login tab on our website homepage or open our app and click the forgot username or forgot password links.

Navigate to the eDocs widget in the Accounts menu of digital banking to enroll in eDocs. This will allow your membership statements and notices to be delivered electronically to you moving forward and allow you to access previous statements.

Go to eDocs in digital banking.

Towpath Credit Union

Yes! We provide a free credit score and monitoring service called SavvyMoney to all Members in our digital banking platform. Your credit score may be updated every 24 hours and there is no cost for this service.

Go to Transfers & Payments in the Transfer & Pay menu. From there, you can add an external account for transfers by selecting the to or from options and scrolling down to “Add an Account”, or by going to the More Actions menu and clicking Add Account.

From there, you may select and verify your external account with one of two methods. The first is instant verification, which will require you to log in with your other institutions credentials to instantly pick and verify your account to add.

If your institution does not support this feature or you would prefer not to use this feature, you can utilize the manual add option which will require you to enter the account and routing number of that account and verify small deposits and withdrawals that will be made within a few business days. Once those transactions are completed, you’ll need to come back to enter the amounts to verify and utilize the account for external transfers.

First, you’ll need to open a checking account with Towpath CU. If you open your checking account online, make sure to indicate you’d like a debit card when asked. If you open your checking account in person or by phone, make sure to let us know you you’d like to receive a debit card..

Debit card transactions may be denied for a number of reasons. During our business hours, please give us a call at (330) 664-4700. For after-hours assistance, please call 1 (833) 371-8987. Please note that some issues that may cause a debit card transaction denial may not be able to be addressed except for during business hours. We would advise Members always to carry multiple forms of payment in the event of issues with any one card.

If you suspect fraud on your account, please give us a call as soon as possible. During business hours, call us at (330) 664-4700. For after-hours, please call 1 (833) 371-8987.

If you have attempted to set your debit card PIN 3 or more times you will need to wait until the next day to make another attempt to set your PIN. This feature is for your protection.

There may be a number of causes for this, but usually we see one of two things; either you are calling from a number that is not listed on file with us, or you are entering your birth date incorrectly. The correct birthdate format for the debit PIN system is mm/yy.

Yes! In Digital Banking, go to the Card Controls & Alerts widget in the Cards menu. You can instantly freeze and unfreeze your TowpathCU cards if you’ve temporarily have lost it or suspect fraud.

With three excellent credit card options, you can find the perfect card to meet your needs:

Our TowpathCU Credit Mastercard™ features low rates and fees that are perfect for everyday use or for a large purchase or balance transfer from a high-rate credit card.

Our TowpathCU Rewards Mastercard™ offers 1.5% cash back on all purchases.

We also offer a TowpathCU Secured Credit Card option to help those who are building or rebuilding credit to establish a positive payment history. Secured cards require a security deposit into your Membership Savings Account, and as you establish creditworthiness, your credit limit can grow with you.

The easiest way to apply for a credit card is online!

Our team can also take your application in at our branches or by phone.

Like any other loan, you can pay your TowpathCU credit card in digital banking from an account here, an account elsewhere, or with a debit card.

Payments are also accepted at our branches, by mail, and by phone.

Payments made before 5:00 p.m. on business days will process overnight and available credit will update the next day. If a payment is made after 5:00 p.m., it will process overnight the following business day and be available the following business day.

If you suspect fraudulent activity on your card, please call us directly at (330) 664-4700 during business hours, or you can call 1-833-371-8987.

Please give us a call at (330) 664-4700, and we can help you understand what happened and what we can do to help fix it.

You can complete an application for increased credit in just a few minutes by clicking here. You can call us at (330) 664-4700, or you can stop into one of our branches.

Your credit card payment will be due on the 4th of every month.

Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate any changes to the standard due date for our credit card, which is the 4th of each month.

The minimum payment amount shown on your statement is due the 4th of each month. We have five-day grace period on our credit cards which allows you to make your minimum payment by the 9th of each month and avoid a late fee. If you received a late fee, you did not meet your minimum payment requirement by the 9th. If you believe you have received a late fee in error, contact us immediately.

If your credit card is in a delinquent status or has had past delinquency  during the time of reissuing new cards, our system will not reissue a new card automatically. We can consider reissuing your card if requested in this scenario if you contact us. If you have not received your new plastic and you were not delinquent on your account, let us know right away.

A credit card balance transfer is when you take a balance from one credit card and transfer it to another. Depending on the terms of the credit cards and any applicable fees and interest rates, this may be a good strategy to save money on a balance you are trying to pay off. TowpathCU accepts balance transfers on our credit cards from other cards. Contact us to make a balance transfer.

To redeem your credit card rewards with TowpathCU, you’ll need to be registered for digital banking.

In the Cards menu, click the Credit Card Management widget. On the next screen, you’ll see your rewards balance and a link to redeem your rewards.

Your rewards are earned in the form of 1.5% Cash Back on all purchases. You may redeem the Cash Back as a statement credit, a deposit into a TowpathCU account, or as select gift cards, experiences, and merchandise available on our rewards page.

Yes! In Digital Banking, go to the Card Controls & Alerts widget in the Cards menu. You can instantly freeze and unfreeze your TowpathCU cards if you’ve temporarily have lost it or suspect fraud.

TowpathCU offers personal (Anything) loans for anything life throws at you.

We also offer vehicle loans and can finance a vehicle you are purchasing from a dealership, buying out the lease for, refinancing from another lender, or private sales. We can finance motorcycles, recreational vehicles, ATVs, boats, and other vehicles as well.

Additionally, we offer home equity lines of credit as well as home equity loans, to take care of the bigger projects, refinance other debt, and more.

We also offer mortgages for purchases and refinancing!

The fastest and easiest way to apply for any of our loans is online from our website, or from digital banking.

We are also happy to assist you in submitting a loan application at any of our branches, or by phone at 330-664-4700.

Rates depend on the type of loan and other criteria, such as how long your loan is, the age of collateral, and your credit score– click here to view loan rates or call us at (330) 664-4700 to learn more.

Applications can be submitted either online or in one of our four branches. Once an application is submitted, our team reviews the application and other factors (that may include credit score, income, housing expenses, type of loan requested, etc.).

If the application is approved, a Loan Officer will reach out to you to complete the loan and sign the paperwork, which may be done online via DocuSign or in a branch.

The applicant must also be eligible for Membership so that an account may be opened prior to the loan being finalized.

We currently work with TransUnion and Equifax.

This depends on the loan type request. If you submit an application, we will usually respond within 24 -48 hours. Approved consumer loans (such as personal loans and auto loans) can be closed very quickly if we have all the information needed – sometimes, we get same-day approval! Home equity loans are much more complex and can take up to 30 days to process and close.

It depends on the type of loan. We will typically ask for common items like verification of income (such as paystubs or tax returns). For home equity loans, we will always need verification of income and proof of your homeowner’s insurance. We will always ask for identification when signing for an approved loan.

Yes, we can provide loans for Ohioans privately purchasing vehicles titled in Ohio. Unfortunately, we cannot provide loans for out-of-state private sales. We also cannot finance salvage or rebuilt salvage vehicle titles.

We can help you “buy out” your lease! You cannot purchase another person’s leased vehicle; you must be listed as the lessee on the contract. Towpath CU does not participate in leasing vehicles, but if you decide to buy your lease, we can help.

We cannot finance out-of-state auto loan purchases, however, if you purchase a vehicle out-of-state please contact us about refinance options!

Please note, we are not able to refinance buy-back, salvage, or rebuilt salvage titles.

Yes, we do. Our GAP waiver is an affordable option for your vehicle, motorcycle, RV, or boat. Our extended warranties are available for most vehicles up to 11 years old and 150,000 miles. We have three levels of coverage based on year, make, and mileage, offered by Auto Exam and underwritten by Amtrust Insurance. Price of extended warranty and GAP waiver can often be included with the loan if approved.

Yes, we offer Everyday Debt Defender on many of our loans and credit cards. If an unexpected job loss, death, or disability prevents borrowers from making loan payments, the Everyday Debt Defender can help by canceling all or part of the protected loan payment or balance. Our Members can be protected from loss of borrower’s life, borrower’s disability, and involuntary unemployment. Coverage is optional, Member eligibility varies, and Everyday Debt Defender price is based on loan account principal balance. This optional product is serviced by CUNA Mutual Group.

We may require a third-party mechanical inspection for older used vehicles and vehicles with higher mileage. We can finance classic cars, too, and will often require an appraisal in order to determine the value.

A credit score is a prediction of your credit behavior, such as how likely you are to pay a loan back on time, based on information from your credit reports.

No. As there are multiple credit bureaus who track your credit information, and multiple scoring models, along with multiple versions of those models, we all have many credit scores, which may differ.

Towpath Credit Union currently uses VantageScore® 4 scores in the credit score feature of digital banking as well as for most loan and credit card applications.

Note that for Mortgage loans, we use a different credit scoring model with multiple bureaus.

Different institutions and businesses use different scoring models (FICO, Vantage, etc.) and also may pull your credit information from different credit bureaus (TransUnion, Equifax, etc.). Because of this, your credit score may be different when viewed by different businesses and institutions.

VantageScore® was developed by a representative team of statisticians, analysts, and credit data experts from each of the top three credit reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, as an alternative to FICO scores. VantageScore® is used by hundreds of financial institutions, including credit unions, banks, credit card issuers, mortgage lenders, and SavvyMoney.

The VantageScore® 4.0, the score displayed in SavvyMoney, is the newest version of VantageScore®. It is calculated on a scale of 300-850, with 300 being the lowest and 850 the highest score.

Five major categories make up a VantageScore® 4.0 credit score:

●     41% Payment History. Lenders want to see that you consistently pay your loans on time.

●     22% Credit Usage. Credit usage, or credit utilization, is the ratio between the total amount of credit used vs. your total credit limit on revolving accounts. Aim to keep your credit usage below 30%.

●     20% Credit Age. The age of your oldest account, the age of your newest account, the average age of your accounts, and whether you’ve used an account recently are all factors related to the length of your credit history. In general, the longer your credit history the better.

●     11% Inquiries. Applying for multiple credit accounts in a short window of time may convey to potential lenders that you cannot qualify for credit or are in desperate need of money. Try to limit new applications and credit inquiries for when you really need them.

●     6% Account Mix. Your credit mix considers the number of accounts you have and what types of credit you have. Your score will likely be higher if you have experience with different kinds of credit, installment loans like mortgages or auto loans, and revolving accounts like credit cards.

VantageScore® 4.0 does not include medical collections in its scoring models after determining that medical debts are not predictive of a consumer’s creditworthiness.

Source:https://www.vantagescore.com/vantagescore-4-0-fact-sheet/

Yes. One of the differentiating factors of VantageScore® 4.0 is the ability to generate scores for more consumers because it considers the entirety of a consumer's history not just the past 24 months. This helps those with thin credit files, those new to credit, and those considered “unscorable” by traditional credit scoring models.

Towpath Credit Union chose to enhance your Credit Score experience by updating from VantageScore® 3.0 scoring model to VantageScore® 4.0.

The previous version of your Credit Score experience, including your credit score, rate, and offer(s) displayed, was based on the VantageScore® 3.0 credit score model. Towpath Credit Union uses the VantageScore® 4.0 scoring model to review loan applications and make lending decisions. For a consistent experience and greater accuracy, your financial institution now shows your credit score, rate, and offer(s) based on the VantageScore® 4.0 model.

The Credit Score experience is provided for educational purposes only and intended to help you understand the factors that affect your credit score and find ways to save money on loans and offers.

VantageScore® 3.0 is a snapshot of your credit at a moment in time.

VantageScore® 4.0 looks at trends in your credit behavior and debt management over time. This gives lenders greater context into your overall situation, progress, and behavior to more accurately assess creditworthiness when you apply for a mortgage or loan.

VantageScore® 4.0 uses machine-learning technology to better predict the behavior of consumers with thin credit histories or who were previously unable to receive a score with traditional scoring models.

Here is a breakdown of the differences in each credit factor for VantageScore® 3.0 and 4.0:

VantageScore® 3.0

• Payment History: 40%

• Credit Usage: 23%

• Credit Age: 21%

• Inquiries: 5%

• Account Mix: 11%

VantageScore® 4.0

• Payment History: 41%

• Credit Usage: 22%

• Credit Age: 20%

• Inquiries: 11%

• Account Mix: 6%

The largest point change in VantageScore® 4.0 is Inquiries and Account Mix. (See Chart) VantageScore® felt that Inquiries (applying for and opening new accounts) were more indicative of consumer behavioral characteristics which is why it is weighted more heavily. Account Mix is considered less a part of trended behavior and is weighted accordingly in VantageScore® 4.0.

You may see a slight change in your VantageScore® 4.0 credit score. Each VantageScore® update is an improvement on the previous version. This may increase the likelihood of slight score improvements from one iteration to the next. Individual results may vary.

We understand and we’re here to help. Please contact our Member Solutions team as early as possible to make arrangements with us. We will do everything we can to provide flexibility and options tailored to your unique situation.

The easiest way to make loan payments is from digital banking!

In the Transfers & Payments menu, you’ll be able to make one-time payments or schedule recurring payments from accounts at TowpathCU or from other institutions. We can also accept loan payments by debit card in digital banking, or by phone, for a $4.95 fee per payment.

Loan payments can also be made in branch or by phone.

Yes, financed vehicles (including RVs, campers, utility vehicles, and motorcycles) must have “full coverage,” which is comprehensive and collision protection. The minimum insurance deductible allowed is $1,000, and Towpath Credit Union must be listed as a lienholder on the insurance policy. If you change insurance companies, please have your new insurance company send notice to the credit union. You can fax (330) 664-4799 or via email: insurance@towpathcu.com.

TowpathCU does not charge pre-payment penalties on most loans. Some home equity and mortgage products may have certain pre-payment features. Please contact us and we can let you know if your loan has any features you should consider before paying it off early.

Please contact us for an accurate loan payoff quote.

You can request a principal-only payment at any time. Please note that principal-only payments do not advance your loan due date, and this type of payment does not apply to credit card payments. When you make an on-time loan payment, you only pay the interest that has accrued since your last payment - so you can’t pay more interest by paying more on your loan! Any amount paid over your current minimum payment amount is automatically applied to principal as well and does not require a specific “principal-only” type of payment.

Please see your most recent statement from your mortgage servicer for payment instructions. Contact us at 330-664-4700 if you have any questions about or issues with making your mortgage payment.