During the online membership application process, we collect personal information required to verify your identity before you can establish membership in the credit union. All financial institutions must adhere to the USA Patriot Act which states:

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.

When you open an account at REALTORS® FCU, A Division of Northwest Federal Credit Union, 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. We thank you for your understanding and for joining us in securing a safer tomorrow. REALTORS® FCU, A Division of Northwest Federal Credit Union is a virtual institution, so in order to verify your identity during the online application process we use technology that performs a credit report inquiry. Information gathered from this inquiry is used to generate multiple choice questions that you must answer correctly so we know that you are you. If you have a fraud alert or subscribe to an identity theft protection service that places fraud alerts on your credit report, we cannot automatically verify your identity so extra steps will be necessary before your membership can be established.

What To Do If You Have Fraud Alert On Your Credit Report

If you have a fraud alert or subscribe to an identity theft protection service that places fraud alerts on your credit report, a message will display after submitting your application directing you to call a Member Care Representative so we may ask additional questions to help us verify your identity before we can finalize your application. Your fraud alert will not influence credit decisions, although it may inhibit "instant" credit decisions and access to your credit information.
*Business days are Mon-Fri 8:30AM-5:00PM EST; excluding holidays.

About Fraud Alerts

You may place a fraud alert on your credit report to limit access to your personal information. Once you place a fraud alert on your credit file, any creditor trying to access the file must take extra steps to verify your identity before granting credit. This is to confirm the credit application is not the result of identity theft or fraud. Generally, you will be contacted by phone for verification, however other methods such as email may be used to confirm an application is legitimate.