A Letter to Our Members

Winter Issue
A Letter to Our Members
Branch Locations:
Elgin
111 S. Hawthorne St.
Elgin, IL 60123
The KCT Difference
I wanted to start this edition of “The KCT Difference”
with a thank you to all of our members for your patience.
The last couple years have been full of change here at your
credit union and I apologize if those changes have been
difficult for you.
Geneva
28 N. 5th St.
Geneva, IL 60134
Aurora
320 E. Indian Trail Rd.
Aurora, IL 60505
Holiday Closings:
Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday, January 18th
President’s Day
Monday, February 15th
Introducing
KCT Whatever Loans
You can borrow money for whatever
you want or need. No matter
what comes up, we've got you covered.
We live in interesting times and protecting you and your
information has never been more important. Doing that has been a top priority for KCT
so we had to make some changes in products, technology, and systems to better protect
you and your credit union. We have also had to consider the cost, usage, and security of
products like Touch Tone Teller that led to it being discontinued.
I know change is never easy, but we are positioning KCT toward the future, a credit union
that you would be proud to tell your friends, children, or even your grandchildren to join.
A credit union that offers the personal touch of coming into the branch and doing a
“Debt Checkup”, using your smart phone to find a shared branch location, or to check the
balance of an account.
We are working hard to better serve you, but please “pardon our dust” as we go through
these changes to get to a better KCT.
Best regards,
It’s my
Follow us on Facebook as we’re
posting the latest information and fun
things as well.
New Snow Blower
loan.
Membership and other qualifications apply.
The interest rate you receive will be determined
by your creditworthiness. Interest rates are
subject to change.
EQUAL HOUSING
LENDER
Download the KCT Mobile App
Access your accounts from anywhere with the KCT mobile app!
Check your balance, transfer
funds, pay bills and more!
www.kctcu.org | 847.741.3344
Debt Check Up : QUIZ
We all make resolutions this time of year. Sometimes we stick to them, while other times
those resolutions tend to be forgotten by the second week of the year. Make a resolution
to get your financial health in order for 2016. We can help with our free, no-obligation
KCT Debt Check-Up. This is a resolution that is easy to keep.
Think about it. You go to the doctor annually to ensure your physical well-being for
the next year. Why not visit your credit union to ensure your financial well-being, too?
It won’t take long and when you leave you’ll have a plan in place to cut your debt and
get on the path to a secure financial future.
Not sure if a KCT Debt Check-Up is right for you? Take our 2-minute survey below.
Just add or subtract the corresponding point values next to your answers.
1: What is your outstanding student loan balance?
● $0- $5,000 (0 points)
● $15,001- $30,000 (10 points)
● $5,001- $15,000 (5 points)
● $30,001 and higher (15 points)
2: Is your student loan in forebearance or deferral?
● Yes (10 points)
3: Do you own your home?
● Yes (5 points)
● No (0 points)
4: What is your mortgage’s interest rate?
● 4% and under OR not applicable (0 points) ● 7.1%- or higher (15 points)
● 4.1%- 7% (5 points)
● I have no clue (20 points)
5: Are you currently borrowing against your home’s equity?
● Yes (5 points)
Congratulations, you have no
debt. Pat yourself on the back,
because very few people can say
11-15 points:
You have some debt but things
are manageable. KCT may be
able to help put more cash in your
pocket. Contact us to schedule
your complete debt check-up.
The bills are coming due, but you
still have some cushion in your
checking account each month.
KCT may be able to help you
refinance your debt so your
checking account balance actually
grows! Contact us to schedule
your free, no-obligation Debt
Check-Up
21-39 points:
● No (0 points)
6: Thinking about your car, do you:
● Finance (10 points)
● Lease (5 points)
7: How many credit cards do you have with balances due?
● Add 5 points for each card
8: Do you have, or have you used in the past 12 months, any unsecured
loans, such as a personal loan, payday loan, ect.
● Personal/ signature loan (10 points)
● None (0 points)
● Payday loan (40 points)
9: My annual income is:
0-10 points:
16-20 points:
● No (0 points)
● Own it outright (0 points)
How did you Do?
● Under $25,000 (10 points)
● $55,001- $75,000 (-15 points)
● $25,000-$35,000 (5 points)
● $75,001- $100,000 (-20 points)
Time to slow down and talk to the
financial experts at KCT. We can
help you navigate your way to
living debt free. Contact us today
to schedule your Debt Check-Up.
We will sit down with you to see if
we can reduce your monthly
40 points or higher:
You have a debt emergency! You
need to contact KCT’s Financial
Counselors right away! Don’t
ignore your debt. Call KCT today.
● $35,001-$55,000 (-10 points) ● More than $100,000 (-30 points)
Building Stronger Communities Together
The All New KCT Online is Live!
We are happy to announce the launch
of our new online banking platform.
KCT Online is live, and it is better than
ever. KCT Online is more secure, easily
upgraded, personalized, and features many
new tools for you. If you haven’t logged
in yet, here is an overview of what you’re
missing.
First, it’s more secure than our previous
online banking system. Before the change,
you had to log in using your member
number, which was not very secure. That’s
no longer the case. You can create a
customizable username, confidence image,
and you must set a strong password. In
addition, you can see how many times
your account has been accessed within
the online banking portal. You can also
setup SMS text or email alerts for account
activity.
Second, the new online banking system
is user-friendly. It’s easy to navigate
and simple to use. Our previous online
banking system had a reputation for
causing confusion. That’s not the
case with our new platform. It’s very
intuitive and extremely easy to find
the important things when you need
them. The navigation menu on the side
is customizable, which allows you to
reorganize, add, or delete sections that you
may or may not need to access.
Third, there are new tools inside our
online banking system that are easy for
you to use. You can set up a monthly
budget, track your expenses, and create
savings goals all within KCT Online. We
have also created a robust library of useful
and educational articles to help you learn
more about living a healthy financial
life. If you’re a KCT Platinum Rewards
cardholder, you can now keep track of
your KCT Rewards points within KCT
Online. You no longer have to log in to
a second website to check your points
balance!
check deposit, account to account
transfers, Touch ID / Quick logon
on your smart phone and the ability
to access accounts at other financial
institutions. These are all in the
planning stages at this time, but once
they’re available, they can be added
simply and with minimal disruption to
you.
As Mr. Lee said in his letter at
the opening of this newsletter, we
know change is difficult. We had to
make these changes to KCT Online
to keep your account and personal
information safe, while at the
same time allowing us to continue
being a credit union of which you
can be proud.
Finally, and we’re really excited about this
part: it allows us to add features easily in
the future. We have plans to add mobile
A new way to pay with your
KCT Cards using Apple Pay.
Pay with Touch ID
Enjoy all the benefits of your KCT Cards
using Apple Pay on iPhone 6 & above. It’s the easy, secure,
and private way to pay with a simple touch.
EQUAL HOUSING
LENDER
www.kctcu.org | 847.741.3344
Home Equity Loans
T
he equity you have in your home
can be a powerful tool in managing
your overall financial situation. Your
equity, the value of your home minus
your existing mortgage, can serve as
collateral for additional borrowing. While
there are some risks with this strategy (as
with any borrowing), home equity loans
usually offer the attractions of lower rates,
convenience and often tax benefits.
How does a home equity loan work?
Most institutions view home equity as
good collateral and are often willing
to lend you money against that equity.
Lenders may provide a “checkbook” to
enable you to access funds over time or
issue you a check. There are usually forms
to sign and an approval process that is not
too difficult. There may be some form of
commitment fee.
The amount they will lend you depends
on the amount of equity in your home
and your other credit characteristics. A
general rule of thumb is that they will lend
up to an amount so the total debt against
your home (including the first mortgage
and any other loans where your home is
pledged as collateral) is less than 80% of
the current value of your home.
The interest rate charged will usually
be variable and will be pegged to some
published index, like the prime rate. There
are also some institutions that offer low
“teaser” rates initially and then raise the
rates after a period. Check out the rate
details.
Usually, you repay the loan in regular
installments and with minimum
repayments required. With some home
equity loans, the minimum payments may
only be the interest on the loan and you
may be required to repay the loan at a
certain date. You need to read the details
carefully.
Attractions of Home Equity Loans
Convenience - Usually institutions make it
easy to apply and their approval processes
are fast. The process is often simpler than
if you were applying for a new mortgage.
Once you are approved, their commitment
acts like a line of credit. You do not have to
borrow it all at once.
Interest rates - The interest rates charged
on home equity loans are usually greater
than those on first mortgages but less than
those on credit cards. Using the proceeds
of a home equity loan to pay off credit card
debt will usually save you money.
Tax benefits - For individuals that itemize
their tax deductions, the interest paid on
home equity loans can help save some
income taxes. There are some limits on
this type of interest deduction. Consult
with your tax advisor for more details.
Flexible uses
Even though you are borrowing against
your house, there is no requirement that
the money be used on your house. A home
equity loan can be the source of funds
for college tuition or even to buy a car.
Compare the rates on an auto loan and a
home equity loan the next time you are
financing a car.
Beware of the risks
Borrowing against the equity in your
home should be considered carefully.
Even though there are benefits, these
types of loans are like other loans - you
pay interest and they must be paid off.
Most people use home equity loans for
“conservative” purposes and avoid making
risky investments or extravagant spending
with the proceeds.
Read and understand all the details before
signing. Loan documents can be confusing
and the easy process of getting this type of
loan can mask the costs and risks.
We have
the keys
to your
new home.
Take the confusion
out of the mortgage
process with KCT.
Get started today.
Membership and credit requirements apply.
We do business in accordance with the
Federal Fair Housing Law and the
Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
For more information about home equity
loans or to start the loan process visit
kctcu.org or call 847-741-3344.
Building Stronger Communities Together
Keeping Your Information Secure
It seems like credit and debit card account
breaches are happening more frequently.
Large retailers like Target and Home
Depot have been victims in the past
while other retailers and banks have been
targets for attacks from identity thieves
for years. There are technological changes
happening to help keep your information
out of the hands of criminals but you have
to play a part in keeping your information
secure, too.
To better understand how these things
happen, let’s first take a look at the steps
involved in a financial transaction. Then,
we’ll see where vulnerabilities exist.
Finally, we’ll check out a few strategies you
can use to keep yourself safe.
credit card company. That institution
debits its member or customer accounts
for the amount of the transaction then
sends that money to the payment
processor, which sends it to the retailer.
This is an explanation of how things
work in a very simplified example, but
it gives you an idea of the complexity
that’s involved in the process of paying
with a card. While it’s a lot of steps, it’s
the best system that the brightest minds
in the financial industry could develop.
Unfortunately, each step also introduces a
layer of vulnerability.
When you swipe your debit or credit card
at a terminal, the only thing you see is an
approval screen. Behind the scenes, the
process from the moment you swipe a card
to leaving the store with your purchases
is complicated. And you want it to be that
way. A less complicated process would
remove many layers of security.
The encryption protocol for card
authentication can be busted. The
retailer’s receipt records they use for
reconciliation can be hacked (like
what happened to Target and Home
Depot). The credit union or bank can
have their register of accounts hacked
(like JP Morgan did). So many layers
of complexity create more possibilities
for hackers to compromise sensitive
information.
First, there’s an “authentication” process.
The POS terminal in which you swipe
your card reads the card’s information
from the magnetic strip, encrypts it,
and sends it to a payment processing
center. This facility streamlines the data
into a format your issuing company can
understand and sends it along. Your
card network company – KCT uses
Visa – validates the legitimacy of the
information. You may be prompted for
some information, most commonly your
billing ZIP code. This is done to help
authenticate the card.
You might notice that there’s only one
step in the process that involves KCT
Credit Union or its computer systems.
That comes at the very end of the process
when customer records are debited for
purchases. In the latter example, the
only victim of that theft was a big Wall
Street bank. In such cases, the kind of
hacking hardware and know-how that
is required to orchestrate such an attack
are expensive. Because credit unions are
smaller and less centralized, they’re much
less likely to be targeted by this kind of
attack (but it does happen).
Second, there’s the reconciliation process.
This is usually done at the end of the day
for most retailers. The retailer sends all
the day’s receipts to a payment processor
which then sends them to the issuing
institution – the credit union, bank, or
That’s not to say KCT Credit Union
doesn’t take cyber security seriously.
We keep up-to-date with the latest in
computer hardware and software to make
sure our members are secure against
illegal access. We recently partnered with
EQUAL HOUSING
LENDER
a new credit and debit processor, Visa
DPS. Their system uses your card history,
along with Visa’s proprietary algorithms,
to determine your personal user trends,
which helps spot fraud faster than ever
before. As a KCT member, you receive the
benefit of Visa’s fraud prevention system,
which saves you and the credit union
money when fraud is detected.
We’re all in this together. The convenience
of the modern economy makes things
better for everybody. If you go on
vacation, you don’t have to fuss with
traveler’s checks or currency exchange
troubles. You can take your debit card or
credit card and spend just the same. Just
let us know ahead of time so we don’t
accidentally classify your transactions as
“fraudulent” and suspend your card!
Electronic record keeping helps financial
institutions keep costs down and we all
benefit from a growing economy. Your job
is simple: keep your contact information
at the credit union up to date, let us know
ahead of time about any trips you may
be planning and keep your account and
card information as secure as possible.
Ultimately, keeping your passwords and
IDs safe is your responsibility. Banks and
credit unions may not be responsible for
losses if you are careless with your PIN or
if you neglect to report a known security
breach. If you believe your account has
been compromised, notify your financial
institution immediately and remember to
change your debit card PIN. You can do
that anytime by calling 847-741-3344. The
faster you report it, the faster the damage
can be limited. If we want to keep getting
these benefits, we all need to put the work
in to make sure our networks are secure.
www.kctcu.org | 847.741.3344
KCT in the News
g StroKCT CEO Mike Lee was invited by Rep. Bill
n
i
ng to be part of a panel discussion on cyber
Foster
ild
security in November. The panel also included
er
Bu
Thanks to our members for
another successful Toys for
Tots donation drive. Your
donations helped to brighten
the holidays for children in
Kane County.
representatives from the FTC, Department of
Homeland Security, and Waubonsee Community
College, among others.
37
ities Tog
un
m
KCT was named the winner of the 2015 Louise
Herring Award from the Illinois Credit Union League,
which recognizes the way we incorporate the credit
union philosophy of people helping people into our
day-to-day operations.
Com
er
h
et
19
Thanks to our members in Aurora for donating
new hats, coats, and gloves to benefit Coats
for Kids. This was the first year we have
partnered with Coats for Kids in Aurora, and
we look forward to continuing this relationship
in the coming years.
Building Stronger Communities Together