About Us
Geared to enrich your life!
We’re a local not-for-profit credit union that is shared by more than 43,000 members. Instead of stockholders found in traditional banks, our members both own and democratically control our financial cooperative. Our member-owners are the heart of our business.
With Widget Financial, you’ll get more than a bank account. You’ll get the confidence of having extra earnings through great rates, fewer fees, and a full-range of financial products and services.
With Widget Financial, you can rest assured that you and your family are receiving the best possible blend of price, convenience, and service. You are an integral part of our changing the community and enriching people’s lives!
Doing good…it’s kind of our obsession!
At the credit union, we’re deeply passionate about enriching lives. We do this by taking the extra time to listen and care about your financial situation.
We like to say that ‘we’re here to lift up others!’ It is not uncommon to see Widget Financial employees donating time, talents, and funds to great causes around the Erie Region.
5 Star Service
5 Star Service
Doing good … it’s kind of our obsession
At the credit union, we’re deeply passionate about enriching lives. We do this by taking the extra time to listen and care about your financial situation.
We like to say that ‘we’re here to lift up others!’ It is not uncommon to see Widget Financial employees donating time, talents, and funds to great causes around the Erie Region.
The heart of our business philosophy
Empower members
We put you in the driver’s seat towards your best financial future by always providing you with the best tools, information, and advice.
Support dreams
Let’s face it; once in a while, we all need a little boost of confidence, especially when it comes to our finances. We not only listen to your dreams, but we’re here to help you find the most expedient way to achieve them.
Simplify banking
In this busy world, the last thing you need is a complicated financial institution. Call us old-fashioned, but we want to make your every transaction with the credit union simple and effective.
Provide solutions
Anyone can put on a sale; where other institutions might have great service or convenience, it comes at a premium. With Widget Financial, having a great relationship with your financial institution comes standard. We offer our members the best blend of price, service, and convenience around.
Believe in cooperation
Simply put, we are a local not-for-profit institution that is out to build something great. When you become a member of our financial cooperative, we will work alongside you and your family every step of the way. Together we can create a lasting legacy for our credit union and the entire community.
Mobile Banking
Mobile Banking
Banking @ the speed of life!
Feature-rich, secure, and available on many mobile devices.
Your most convenient branch, right in the palm of your hand!
Feature-rich
- Deposit paper checks
- Check your account balances and transaction history
- View pending transactions
- Transfer funds
- Pay and review your bills right from your phone
- Branch and ATM finder
- View check images
- Login with your fingerprint
Secure
- Message center: communicate safely with the Credit Union
- Protected Billpay
Works on most mobile devices1
- m.egefcu.org and SMS (Text messaging) for all devices
- iPhone &iPad Click here to install
- Android Click here to install
- Amazon App Store – Kindle Fire Click here to install
Search “Widget Financial” on your phone’s app store to download our Mobile Banking app.
Install SMS “Text Message” mobile banking
Visit our mobile banking site m.widgetfinancial.com and log in with your Online Banking username and password. Then select option 7 “SMS Settings”. Follow the step-by-step instructions to complete your enrollment.
Once your mobile phone is enrolled, you may send text messages to 86020 with the following commands:
- B to fetch all account balances
- H to fetch the five most recent transactions for all accounts
- H acct to fetch the five most recent transactions for a specific account (e.g, H S0001)
- HELP to fetch list of available commands
- MENU to fetch the list of available command options
- STOP/QUIT to deactivate SMS mobile banking
1Must be Credit Union member in good standing to use Mobile Banking. Terms, conditions, and eligibility applicable to Online Banking apply. Depending on your wireless plan, you may be charged an access fee. Please check with your service provider for details relating to specific plan fees or data overage charges (including any potential SMS charges) that may apply.
Mission
Mission
Get to know Widget Financial, Erie’s premier credit union
Purpose
We anticipate and satisfy financial needs of member-owners and their families in order to build the best-possible credit cooperative as a legacy for our membership.
Mission
We will provide optimal solutions as a financial institution of choice for families. As a learning organization, we will be innovative in our approach and remain obsessed with delivering Five Star Service.
Value Proposition
As a not-for-profit credit union, our 5 Star Service principles enrich lives. They are at the very core of our business philosophy! We Empower members, Support dreams, Simplify banking, Provide solutions and Believe in cooperation.
Membership
Membership
Membership
Come join us
As a not-for-profit organization, we work diligently to anticipate and satisfy a variety of financial and community needs. We are focused on providing you and your family with the best-possible blend of price, convenience, and service. We’d love to have you start using all the services that make being a member of Widget Financial so special!
The Credit Union difference
A credit union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned and operated by its members. Credit unions only serve members in their fields of membership. These are usually associations, employee groups, and/or communities. Widget Financial is a community-based credit union.
Your Membership Options
If you live, work, worship, volunteer, or attend school or regularly conduct business in Erie or Crawford counties, you can belong!
Annual Report
Widget Financial Annual Report
Click below to view the Widget Financial Annual Report.
History
History
From humble beginnings
In 1936 a small group of General Electric employees discussed the desire to form a credit union to serve the employees of General Electric Works in Building 6 at the General Electric Plant in Erie, PA. On March 10, 1936, the credit union was awarded Charter 1117 and would operate under the authority of the Federal Credit Union Act. The credit union began as an office at the General Electric Transportation plant until years later when it moved to the current address of 2154 East Lake Road, Erie, PA.
Our credit union, just like others, began as a way for members to save so they could borrow from each other at a low cost. Throughout the years, however, the financial needs of the members required the addition of more services. As more services were added, the number of members continued to increase. But, as growth continued, the underlying principle remained the same: credit unions are member-owned and operated. Members come first.
Ushering in a new era
Each year the credit union holds a strategic planning session to review financial statements, vision, and mission statements, and to develop key objectives for the future. From these sessions, plans are formulated and then put into action. All of this is done to keep the credit union focused and moving forward.
It was at one of these planning sessions when our volunteer Board of Directors and our Executive management team decided that in order to take the credit union boldly into the next 77 years, a name change was merited. The Erie General Electric Federal Credit Union changed its name in early 2013 to Widget Financial.
Widget Financial was selected in order to help the credit union stand out in a crowded banking marketplace. Widget pays tribute to our GE Transportation legacy (widGET) and is an alliteration to many service industries around the Erie Region; Widget is a familiar term in manufacturing, technology, and education.
As our credit union looks to the future, we continue to be committed to serving the needs of our members by providing the services and technology that will benefit our members’ financial well-being for many years to come.
