avoid this bank, they are more worried about being part of the progressive agenda and girl bosses…read morethan customer service they claim to provide. for being such a progressive bank they are very out of date technically. customer service is atrocious especially if you are not identified as a specific gender.

Good small town bank, but sometimes I think the workers in the side-offices are a bit lazy. On…read moremore than one occasion I've found myself in need of their assistance, and they either look annoyed that I'm bothering them. The ATM has also been broken on numerous occasions (for days/weeks at a time) and they haven't been very apologetic. But their mints at the counter are wonderful. That brings them from a three to a four star rating, automatically!

For years, Alterna Savings has been my bank of choice because of their dedication to community,…read moresmall businesses and their support to me as a client. As a long term customer, I am particularly pleased with Asma Shams, a personal banking officer at the Billings Bridge location in Ottawa. Asma is extremely knowledgeable about the services Alterna offers, financial matters in general, and provides sound advice and options to support my financial goals. Asma goes out of her way to ensure customers are aware of Alterna services and financial options. She is one of the most pleasant, people oriented and business minded banking officers I have met over the past few years. I highly recommend her as a point of contact to discuss any banking or financial issues.

Update: As time as gone on I am more familiar now with this Coop. While the branch has good staff,…read morethe credit union not so much. I DO NOT recommend using Alterna. For a number of reasons. They come out on top for withholding information, and outright lying and not being honest with their customers. It is astounding what we have found out about them in the last few days. Discussions with their people for some banking needs has led us to find out certain information they withheld; discussions with other finance institutions (not banks) has revealed that they have the reputation in finance circles as a ridiculously difficult place to obtain a mortgage and were advised to stay away from them. Indeed we see now that after 4 years there have been promises not kept, and that they have no inclination to really help a customer...just keep your business. It's hard enough right now to live in this day and age. One would think that a bank would want to take your money, help you invest, or purchase a home. Let me tell you, the joke was on us. Don't let it be on you as well.

I was moving to Ottawa from another province and I went shopping around multiple banks including…read morethe big 5, the best rate I was able to find was through Alterna, this saved my family and I a significant amount of interest and I cant say how much this was appreciated. Especially in the age of rising real estate prices.

It is unfortunate that I have to review this establishment as I am going to. One would think that…read morebeing the old small fish in the pond of big fish that they would have better policies than they do. More human and less administrative. At least that is what they would like you to believe. Without getting into too much detail, lets just say that this branch thinks it's no different than "the big 3". They just wear a different skin and like to make you think you are just that little bit more special, when in reality they are just the same as everybody else. Also, we have had more problems with this institution than any other bank....ever. Apparently you are considered "new" until you have been there for TWO YEARS! No matter whether your account is in good standing or not, they will do nothing for you (i.e.line of credit, etc,). They are not very forthcoming with specialized assistance when requested and use the excuse that "the system won't allow it". Who runs the bank? The people or the computer system? This is a FAIL of the largest kind in my opinion. Especially when they use this as justification. Do they think people are so ignorant that overrides are not an option?? It makes one feel that there is a large monolith computer standing over the shoulder of each employee. The policies of holding cheques is ridiculous to say the least, especially when it comes to standard and timely cheques from bonafide companies (i.e. your employer). They request that the employer/company SEND THEM A LETTER stipulating that you will be receiving these payments on a regular schedule. So it is up to you to put the onus on your company/employer to take the time to contact them even though it is obvious that these are regular payments. I am baffled at their misleading effort to make you feel like a "member", when all you really are is a number.

Thier customer service is good, but their debit card infuriating. The card is a problem in several…read moreplaces (Kmart, Price Chopper, Walmart) and is always declined no matter what your account balance it. For some reason, NFFCU hasn't taken any kind of action to try to alleviate the problem. Offers many programs and great rates.

I have now been banking with North Franklin Federal Credit Union for almost 30 years. I mostly use…read morethe online banking, still go inside the building once or twice a month. I have not had any problems recently with our service. The staff is friendly and do their job well. I do not have problems any more using their debit cards in local businesses. My son had his debit card information stolen 5 weeks ago, and we are still waiting for the money to be put back into his account. I wish that they updated their online access more often. I do not like having to wait for Monday to have changes to the account conducted online to be posted. Other than that, everything is fine.

Hey needed some money exchanged from US to Canadian dollars. Great staff. I was lucky I had my Aunt…read morewith me because they only exchange for customers with accounts. Very quick and efficient thank you Banque de Montreal 4 Stars for you!

Moving to this bank after many years with HSBC Canada because the hsbc acquisition by RBC is now…read moretaking much longer to close, and TD Canada offers a comparable Borderless Plan. The staff was friendly and the bank rep who helped us was very helpful. Suggestions: A. Make an appointment online and be specific about what you are looking to do - for example, opening a borderless plan account, etc B. Make sure that account is working before you leave bank so they can help if any issues C. The bank representative that helped us and with who we had an appointment with was named Mamadu and he was fluent in English/French and clear/patience with his instructions on how to get it done. E. Suggestions: 1) Each TD canada bank should have a borderless expert, like Mamabu - who helped us, and the local bank manager should set up a "simple connection/process" with the TD Bank Headquarters borderless program's (800) team to activate and link accounts before customers leave the bank. While setting up the account with Mamadu was simple, straightforward and fast to set up - Contacting the TD Canada Headquarters Telephone Borderless Activation/Link Accounts team took us over an hour - that needs to change at headquarters because they have s good product but poor linking process for new customers. 2) No Customer Restrooms: While the bank has an excellent location right of 15 and ample parking, it does not have bathrooms for customers;specially for customers who may have to wait longer than expected, and that needs to change. 3) Alert for TD Canada Headquarters Borderless Plan Support: While the TD bank Canada and TD bank US borderless plan sounds simple and easy to implement - we found that TD Canada Central (800 number) support did a poor job in getting you to their experts - we were hung up twice by two phone agents that were clueless on how to help with simple borderless plan activation/linking accounts but finally got an Indian-Canadian woman ("dakiru?) that was an expert in their tech support dept and got it done. Headquarters has to make it easier to connect with the right central support team.

Went through a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions with this branch but ultimately I ended up so…read morehappy with the service I received here. The advisor I met with initially gave me some really smart advice and then never answered my emails or phone calls again so that was confusing. In the meantime I got all my paperwork in place and then used their online form to make a meeting with another advisor. This time I met with Stephanie Bolduc and she held my hand through a bit of financial gymnastics right at as Covid hit and everything went sideways and she truly did a 5 star job. If you are buying property in the Laurentiens I truly recommend her. The space remains gorgeous, and with full Covid precautions in place it manages to be relaxing as well, which is quite a feat in these stressful times.