Elements Financial is a credit union that serves member credit unions situated in Indianapolis, Indiana, where it was first started with its doors open in 1976. Elements Financial was initially set up as Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union in order to serve the employees of the drug company, but it has progressed over the years to become a comprehensive financial institution with a broader membership base, while still retaining the characteristics of a credit union.
Elements Financial is a nonprofit financial cooperative, and it has an entirely different arrangement from the normal banks. Rather than focusing on profitability, which gives value to the shareholders, Elements Financial transfers the profits to its members through offering good rates, minimum fees, and better services. It is a member-centered strategy where the mission of the members is to expand their members’ financial wellness and provide financial solutions that are unique to every member.
The purpose of the credit union is to help the members make themselves financially fit through both creative digital bank products and custom service. This is because they want to provide the convenience of the large financial institutions and avoid losing their personal touch and that sense of community that credit unions are well known for.
It is headquartered in Indianapolis but has over 100,000 members spread all over the U.S. The membership scope has been extended to people residing in the special counties within the state of Indiana, the individuals who work at the other 150 partner companies within the US, and the families of the members. Such an expansion of eligibility allows Elements Financial to provide its services to more people and retain its aspect of credit unionism.
Elements Financial Services and Products
The key line of business of Elements Financial is a comprehensive package of financial products and services able to meet the needs of individuals in every aspect of their lives. As a credit union, they have value-added financial services, which are incorporated on the basis of competitive rates and member-centered servicing.
Banking Accounts
Elements Financial provides a great number of deposit accounts to assist the members of the bank in managing their funds adequately:
- Checking Accounts: Various accounts that are available include High-Interest Checking, which yields above-the-market interest depending on the willingness of the account balances to meet the requirements each month, and Free Checking, which has no minimum balance and does not charge a monthly fee.
- Savings Accounts: The savings accounts can be ordinary with good rates of interest, and there could be special ones like holiday club accounts where you save money seasonally.
- Money Market Accounts. The accounts that offer higher interest rates are also liquid in form.
Loan Products
- Mortgage Loans: Competitive rate variable mortgage term products with first-time buyer products, conventional regionally based products, and refinance and equity retention products.
- Auto Loans: The automobile financing of the preapproved vehicles is on the basis of automatic payment, a longer term to meet the low payment that comes in every month, and the rate discounting that depends on automatic payments.
- Personal Loans: Unsecured money that can be used during different events or occasions, such as repayment of debts, large purchases, or emergencies.
Credit Cards
They have a variety of credit cards to suit varied needs:
- Cash Back Credit Cards: These are the credit cards that offer you a certain percentage of whatever you are getting.
- Low-Interest Credit Card: These are just like paying with points in that they also attract a lower interest rate as compared to rewards.
- Secured Credit Cards: Cards where a cash deposit has been given to secure the card to establish/rebuild credit.
Options
Elements Financial has a variety of banking solutions that can be accessed to fulfill various budgetary needs, and the rates are generally higher when compared to other conventional banks. Because it is a credit union, Elements Financial will often be able to forward the savings back to the members in the form of competitive rates and low fees.
Checking Accounts
Elements Financial, a financial institution, offers its customers many checking accounts to address the requirements of the different levels of finance:
- High Interest Checking—the balance earns over the market interest, usually more than that which is offered in traditional banks by 0.50-1.00% APY.
- Free Checking—No maintenance fee at the end of every month or additional balance requirement, so that everyone can have access to it.
- Student Checking—This will accommodate the members who are underage and does not require a minimum balance to be maintained, as well as offer educational material.
Savings Accounts
Elements Financial provides a rather good range of products related to savings, which provide rather good rates both in the long term and under short-term operations:
- Regular Savings—the basic: many of the accounts have better earnings related to higher rates of interest that are offered at 0.25-0.75% as compared to the national bank rates.
- HSA—medical savings account at a competitive interest rate that is tax-favored.
- Youth Savings—This is a youth-based program that will be committed to the financial literacy lesson and that will not require any minimum balance.
- Special Purpose Savings—Special-purpose savings accounts that are to be used to make some future purchase or event, like a holiday or a vacation, or some other big purchase.
Product Packed Loan and Credit
Elements Financial is meeting the requirements of the members during all phases of their lives with a diverse plan of lending solutions. Whatever your need is, financing the purchase of a home, obtaining a personal loan to finance education, or just requiring flexible credit, Elements has competitive rates and an individual level of service.
Auto Loans
Element Financial is easy to work with, offers favorable terms and competitive rates, and finances automobiles:
- Purchasing a used or new car loan of up to 84 months for the loan repayment period
- Recreational vehicle and boat loans, and bike loans (post-bike)
- There would be many fewer auto refinancings each month.
- GAP insurance and mechanical breakdown insurance
Personal Loans
Elements offers a variety of personal loans in case of unexpected costs or for better debt consolidation of the debts:
- Fixed-rate mortgage
- The rate of the savings-secured loans is low, as they are secured by savings.
- Line of credit to have access to cash at all times
- Debt consolidation loans are the loan facilities intended to streamline finances, and the loan may also help in cutting the interest charges.
Student Loans
Among other things, Elements Financial also helps members to pay educational expenses.
- To facilitate the raising of the aid levels, private student loans are established to supplement the federal aid.
- On existing education debts, refinancing of the loan on possibly improved conditions for student loans
- Money given as loans by parents to students is used to fund their studies.
- Flexible payments like deferment after going to school
Loan Application Process: The Process of Loan Application
Elements Financial has made applying to their procedure as convenient and easy for the members as possible:
- The online applications made accessible through their secure portal are beneficial in the sense that everybody has access around the clock.
- One of the on-the-go applications is a mobile app.
- The GUIDANCE instrument addresses individuals in the areas they want to talk to someone about.
Investment Wealth Management Services
Elements Financial does more than just banking, as it provides members with investment and wealth management services that aim at ensuring that the members create and maintain their wealth with the company. Their team of qualified financial planners is ready to give personal advice based on each member and his or her financial status as well as objectives.
Investment services offered by the credit union are done through retirement planning; it has specialized plans on IRAs and 401(k) schemes for rollover. No matter where you are in life when it comes to saving up for your retirement or looking to move retirement accounts, the advisors at Elements Financial have the know-how to guide you through complex decisions to ensure your retirement savings reach their full potential.
Members who require further financial planning solutions under Elements Financial have access to wealth management services through the provision of management of investment portfolios, estate planning considerations, and long-term financial strategies development. The way their advisors think is very broad, and they look at the entirety of the financial situation instead of the individuality of investment vehicles.
Elements Financial has elements that distinguish it in its investment services, that is, its fiduciary duty of care to members. As opposed to certain other financial institutions where the advisers are permitted but not bound to place your best financial interest first, advisers of Elements Financial are bound by fiduciary duty to do so. This member-first philosophy is also in line with their credit union philosophy of being member-owned rather than shareholder-owned.
What Are the Benefits of Membership and Eligibility?
Membership is today open to a wider range of people, and hence its benefits are available to individuals who might not be aware that they can be members.
Who Has the Possibility to Become a Customer of Elements Financial
Elements Financial has a lot of touchpoints with the membership:
- Membership Drawing On Employment: The personnel of the teams of partners and organizations automatically become members in the form of employment-related membership.
- Family Connection: The immediate family of people who are already members of Elements Financial can also become members in a case where they do not work on a payroll elsewhere
- Educational Affiliation: Accommodation is provided to school-going children, employees, and staff of some learning institutions
- Association Membership: Association membership with parties that are partners of Elements Financial
Membership Benefits
As the credit union (Elements Financial) is owner-operated, there are several advantages that it has over the more corporate organizations of the banking industry to which it is compared:
- Member-Owner Status: The customers of banks are not owners, but members of the credit union are fellow owners. It implies that they get to express their opinions on how the organization is steered.
- Increment of the Deposit Interest Rates: Elements has granted high interest rates on the savings accounts, money market accounts, and certificates compared to many conventional banks
- Lower Loan Rates: Lower interest rates on loans are occasionally provided to the members on mortgage loans, auto loans, personal loans, and they are also provided on credit cards
- Low fee: Elements charges are lowered and offer cheaper fees compared to most banks in the traditional system, with little to no monthly maintenance fees on the majority of the accounts
- Profit redistribution: Elements will redistribute profits unlike any profit-based organization in the form of a better rate and better services, and, at other times, in the form of direct dividends
Online Banking
Elements Financial has made itself out to be a credit union that is now on the radar screen when it comes to technology, and the digital banking experience that they are actually able to provide would be competitive or even better than the functionality that a lot of the old-school banks have. In other words, their members in their digital ecosystem are attractive because they do not need to go out of their way to get their deep pockets (finances) at any moment and wherever they are.
And it is this online tool of the banking industry that takes Elements Financial into the outdoors. It also has a user-centered, blame-free, on-site interface through which its members can easily execute necessary operations in their banking systems. The account holders also have the capability of viewing transaction history, transferring money, and paying bills with a common front-end dashboard. A budgeting facility is also included on the platform, and this is meant to assist the members in having an overview of where they are spending their money. This aspect is automatically categorized in a bid to give an overview of where they are spending and where they can save.
The ease of handling accounts is not the only digital tool Elements Financial is going to suggest to the members, as those people are interested in the offering of financial planning at a high level. Their money management package comes with three items, which are goal setting, payoff calculators, net worth monitoring, and cash flow analysis. This can also be connected to account information where no manual input is needed to get up-to-date details about financial wellness through the use of such tools to get up-to-date details about financial wellness.
In Elements Financial, digital banking will be secure. Multi-authentications, end-to-end encryption of emails, and monitoring of any irregular activities can be utilized by the credit union.
Money, School, and Availability of Resources
Elements Financial is not merely offering any bank services since it has a comprehensive set of materials on money matters to equip the members with knowledge at any stage of the financial journey. Appreciating the fact that financial literacy is the core of financial wellness, Elements has developed multiple sources of information aimed at helping members make the right decision regarding their money.
They have an online learning center, which is a virtual hub of knowledge on finance, and they offer articles, guides, and tutorials on everything they can to help a person, from how simple budgets can be created and managed through to complex retirement planning. This segmentation of resources is further bifurcated into life stages and financial objectives, thus making it even simpler to obtain information that is relevant to the member, no matter at what stage of their life he/she may be.
Elements Financial can also offer seminars and workshops on the Internet and in their centers regularly. In these live chats, they argue about such contemporary issues as home-buying in the new market, debt management and interest, and learning to invest. What the members find appealing about them is that they can be taught by experts in the financial field, in addition to the fact that they can also be allowed to ask questions that are relevant to their end.
Service and Support for the Customers
Elements Financial is keen to provide premium member service through the provision of different avenues to support the members that are aligned to meet the expectations of their service. The representatives can be reached by the members through phone support provided for extended hours on weekdays (7:00 AM to 7:00 PM ET) and Saturdays (9:00 AM to 3:00 PM ET). They have their specialized contact center where informed personalities are recruited to become “experts” in this area of credit unions’ products and services.
Examples of digital contact with Elements are secure messaging provided by their online banking system, live chat on their site, and email support, where the responses can be seen relatively quickly. They also have a mobile app with instant support options because the members do not have to switch platforms to get an issue fixed.
Elements Financial is, in general, an online credit union, yet they also have strategic branches in places, for example, at their headquarters in Indianapolis or among certain branches in the state capital. These units include personal consultations on finances, account service, and loan processing.
The accessibility of these 5,000-plus CO-OP Shared Branch facilities around the U.S. virtually makes them accessible in all 50 states, and their use is free to members. The credit union also provides access to approximately 78,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide through CO-OP, STAR, and Allpoint ATM networks and can now provide improved ATM availability over all national banks.
Corporate Social Responsibility/Corporate Citizenship
Elements Financial is highly committed to corporate social responsibility in the full meaning of giving back to the community it serves. Elements Financial is a credit union that is owned by members, and this is what determines the community beyond the financial services provided.
The credit union also possesses a very active employee volunteer program, which not only encourages its employees to volunteer their skills and time to benefit their local organizational field but also provides them with opportunities to do so. Employees of Elements Financial dedicate thousands of volunteer hours to the organizations working in the fields of homelessness, education, and food insecurity during the organized volunteer days and personal volunteerism.
The pillars of Elements Financial constitute the foundations of its philanthropy, and they donate to numerous non-profit organizations through financial contributions. The Foundation is particularly interested in projects that deal with financial literacy and education and the economic empowerment of underserved populations. After prudent grant-making, the Foundation can rattle the structural issues as well as present opportunities for community development.
The outreach also focuses more on the educational side in aspects of financials. The credit union also offers certain scholarship programs to its members, and higher education is specially offered to the members who show to be most excellent in academics and community service, and also those who require financial aid. This kind of scholarship makes the college education affordable and invests in the future of community leadership.
The Comparison of Elements Financial and Other Communication Financials
Elements Financial distinguishes itself among the many other players in the financial services sector by taking a peculiar combination of credit unions’ advantages and innovative banking products. It has a number of fundamental differences that occur when it is compared to traditional banks and other credit unions.
Unique Selling Point
Part of the key value propositions that have been introduced at Elements Financial to differentiate it include:
- High-yield checking: They have high-yield checking as their proudest product, and they are the products on the higher side of the market rate, competing slightly higher than market rates and having decent qualifying criteria.
- Employer relationships: in this one, it is specifically partnering with corporations to provide special services and benefits to employers of partnering organizations to add value to the basic banking.
- Digital-first approach: The state of high-technology mobile bank characteristics and direct service delivers the best of two worlds, setting.
- Focus on financial well-being: It includes a lot of educational content and individually tailored support to ensure sustained economic and financial well-being.
Study of Market Position
The financial tool Element Financial stands in the upper tier of the market of financial services:
- Large size advantage: it is large enough to offer all the comprehensive services, but small enough to offer any kind of touch that is personal.
- Geographic strategy: make an appearance in only a few of the markets and digital services in the country
- Demographic: Demographic is very appealing to professionals, teachers, and people who have witnessed and understood technology
- Growth path: The mechanism of the medium-term growth vision is the policy of collaboration with the employer and not significant purchases
Reviews of Elements Financial
The credit union environment has a reputable financial entity or a reliable credit union called Elements/Elements Financial, in which the reputation is founded on industry recognition and customer satisfaction. Either in terms of positive reviews or positive ratings, the credit union can receive them throughout most of the platforms; this speaks of its effectiveness. However, similar to every other financial organization, the credit union does have its fair share of criticism.
How to Become a Part of Elements Financial
Accessing the membership of Elements Financial is very easy, and one can apply online or visit one of the branches physically. The credit union has streamlined its membership so as to ensure that it is user-friendly and available to individuals who qualify to join the union.
Step-by-Step Membership
You must ensure that you meet the requirements.
- Scroll down and you will find the one you want to use (the ones that I have chosen to use are pictured below):
- This is equivalent to learning the documentation of the service of use.
- Fill in the form. Fill in the form.
- I have more money in my accounts.
- How to apply: please click on %28 settlement loan close fou /29 t and
Evolution and Development of Elements Financial
Elements Financial was established in 1976 as Eli Lilly Federal Credit Union, and its services were only available to employees of Eli Lilly and Company. The operations, which were started by the credit union, were simple since they were guided by the vision, which was to provide financial services to the Eli Lilly employees as per their needs.
The credit union spent the early years with the necessity to operate in a small office located on the corporate campus of Eli Lilly of Indianapolis, Indiana. It was initiated with a minimum of workers whose vision is to give and take care of fellow workers at the office level personally. The package of available services was supposed to include the following: savings accounts, personal loans, and financial know-how.
The 1980s and 1990s can be described as the time when it kept up to date with growth because the credit union expanded to mortgage loans, credit cards, and an investment service. By the late 1990s, the credit union was now able to serve not only employees of the Eli Lilly corporation but also their family members, thus increasing the size of its membership base.
One of them was in 2003, when the credit union earned the opportunity to expand its field of membership beyond the parameters of employees of Eli Lilly only and cater to a few employee segments of other companies in and around central Indiana. This move led to fast development in the following 10 years.
Elements Financial FAQs
Elements Financial has a name; what does it mean to call it a bank or a credit union?
Elements Financial is a federal credit union and is not a bank. Although they provide the same kind of services as provided by conventional banks, credit unions are financial cooperatives that are owned by the members, which makes them most likely to use their profits to give their members better interest rates and other fees. Instead of using their profit to pay back shareholders, they use it to give their members better interest rates and other fees.
Who Does Elements Financial Qualify to Be a Member?
It is accessible to the workers of certain partner companies, the relatives of the corresponding members, and individuals willing to join the Tru Direction financial literacy organization (they can do so by making a donation of $5 one time). The number of people who have benefited through Elements has increased over the years, even to a greater number in the country due to the expansion of eligibility.
How Much are the Fees on Elements Financial Accounts?
Elements Financial is part of a wide range of services that are free of charge on several contents, such as checking accounts without any monthly charges and savings accounts without a minimum balance. Nevertheless, there may be certain levies that may be imposed on certain services, such as wire transfer services or overdraft services, or even large rates for the transfer of transactions. They even have better rates than traditional banks.
So what is Elements Financial Online Banking?
Elements also has a complete online bank through their website and the app, whereby the member can do transactions, deposit checks, transfer funds, pay bills, review statements, and manage their account all 24 hours a day. They have budget planners and financial fitness.
Are There Elements Financial NCUA Insurance?
The financial deposits at Elements are covered by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which is up to $250,000 per depositor, and yes, federally insured. It gives the joint deposit insurance of the FDIC to the conventional banks.
What are the key IC and PIN codes to get into the ATM at Elements Financial?
Element Financial provides free ATM access to more than 78,000 ATMs within the country by use of the CO-OP Network and Alliance One. They also possess a mobile application that contains an ATM finder that will instruct the members in such a way that they find their nearest surcharge-free ATM.
Does Elements Financial allow out-of-state residents to open an account?
Right, Elements Financial is a national bank. Although they do have physical branches in Indiana, they also use partner ATMs and shared branch networks across the nation to offer their services to members in other ways, like online and mobile banking.
How do you best borrow at Elements Financial?
It might be made in the form of online submission, phone submission, and branch submissions. Elements provides a number of loans, e.g., the auto loans, mortgages, and personal loans; do not forget the credit card loans. Employment and income verification, as well as a credit check, are likely to be carried out on many occasions during the application procedure.