| First Tech Federal Credit Union | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California United States |
| Membership | Tech industry, Oregon State Employees, and other regional sponsor companies |
| President/CEO | Benson Porter |
| Products Offered | Checking accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, loans, credit cards, home equity lines of credit, investment services, insurance services, tax services |
| Net Assets | $4.7 billion (2010)[1] |
| Website | firsttechfed.com firsttechcu.com addisonavenue.com |
First Tech Federal Credit Union (or First Tech) is a federally chartered credit union headquartered in Palo Alto, California. It is regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). First Tech has over 320,000 members, and over 4.7 billion dollars in assets with 39 branches located mostly in high technology business centers of California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and five other states and Puerto Rico.[2][3][1] It was the first financial institution to offer telephone interactive voice response access and online banking.
First Tech began its life as Tektronix Federal Credit Union, formed by seven Tektronix employees on January 14, 1952. In 1961, the name was changed to Tektronix Employees Federal Credit Union to reflect the credit union's membership. From very early on, technical innovation was used and resulted in First Tech's motto of "Think Forward".[4] As early as 1976, the credit union began using computers for online data processing. By 1979, Tektronix Employees Federal Credit Union had begun the use of ATMs. In 1985, the credit union unveiled Call 24 which allowed members to check balances and transfer funds by phone.
In 1986, the name changed to First Technology Credit Union and the membership opened to include employees in the technology industry of the Pacific Northwest. In 1989, First Technology Credit Union developed and implemented the first online banking. This helped lead to the 1992 addition of Microsoft to the First Technology membership. The 1995 launch of the company's website paved the way for the credit union to become the second financial institution in the world to perform secure internet transactions. Two years later, a decision was made to shorten the name to First Tech Credit Union. First Tech has remained an early adopter of new technology in the twenty first century, offering mobile banking in 2000, account aggregation in 2001, and biometric two-factor authentication in 2007.[5] With over 156,000 members, and over 1.8 billion dollars in assets (2007),[6] First Tech was one of the largest state chartered credit unions in the Pacific Northwest.
In March 2010, the company announced it would merge with California based Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union, which serves the employees of Hewlett Packard Company, Agilent Technologies, CH2M Hill, and many other technology based companies, pending government and member approval.[7] The deal was approved by the government and credit union members, and became effective on January 1, 2011, with the new entity named First Tech Federal Credit Union.[8]
Besides standard banking services, First Tech also offers investment, insurance, and tax services to its members, including free bill payment service, an account aggregation service, and online access to check images and statements.