FAQs
Find the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve received.
General
ValorFI Heroes is a digital credit union launched in 2024 by Gesa Credit Union. We’re fueled by boldness and an unyielding pursuit of a more charitable and giving world, allowing us to give to those who serve, inspire those who support, and build communities that rise in action.
- Support charities related to your affinity group with every debit card swipe.
- Get personalized spending insights that show you where your money is going.
- Create custom savings goals—built by you and for you—and reach them faster with Round Up and Save.²
ValorFI Heroes is giving in action—and it starts when you complete your ValorFI Heroes application today.
Our financial products and giving opportunities are available to educators, first responders, healthcare workers, law enforcement, veterans, and their supporters. If you fit into one of these affinity groups, open your ValorFI Heroes account today!
ValorFI Heroes offers high-yield savings, checking, and money market accounts, plus certificates of deposit (CDs) to meet your financial needs.
Ready to get started? Complete your ValorFI Heroes application today.
ValorFI Heroes provides high-yield savings, checking and Certificate of Deposits (CDs) with no monthly maintenance fees. There are no monthly maintenance fees on Money Market accounts with balances greater than $2,500. See our fee schedule for additional information.
Additionally, members can withdraw money for free at more than 70,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the CU24 network or at merchants that allow cash-back transactions using a ValorFI Heroes Visa® Debit Card.
You don’t have to have a smartphone, but a mobile phone is required. We do recommend a smartphone so that you can receive authentication for one-time passcodes (OTPs), make mobile deposits, have on-the-go flexibility, and enjoy the best overall member experience. If you don’t have a smartphone, don’t worry—you can bank with ValorFI Heroes just as easily from a computer or tablet.
Yes! As a ValorFI Heroes member, you can access more than 70,000 surcharge-free ATMs within the CU24 network. Additionally, cash can be obtained from almost any ATM worldwide or at merchants that allow cash-back transactions using your ValorFI Heroes Visa® Debit Card.
Here are our current rates, which are regularly updated as rates change.
Our Member Support team is standing by to assist you Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. ET (excluding federal holidays.) Call us at 833-388-2567, email support@valorfiheroes.com, or send us a secure message within Online Banking. Don’t forget to include a detailed description of your question or need for support.
Opening an account
You can open your account right now or tap or click Get Started at the top right corner of your screen anytime.
All you need is a state-issued ID, a Social Security number, a valid email address, a mobile phone, your account and routing number from your existing financial institution—and just five minutes ! If that’s you, open your ValorFI Heroes account today!
Your Social Security number helps us verify your identity and prevent account fraud. We keep all of your personal identifying information safe and secure.
As long as you’ve opened and funded your account, you’re good to go. You can fund your account by scheduling an external transfer, making a mobile deposit, or scheduling a direct deposit. Once your ValorFI Heroes debit card arrives, you can transfer funds from a third-party app like Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal.
You’ll receive your debit card within 7-10 business days and be able to set your PIN when you activate your card in Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app.
The simplest way is to set up your paycheck for direct deposit. Navigate to Profile & Settings, then Direct Deposit. (If you’re using the app, the Settings menu is under More). You can also make a mobile deposit using the ValorFI Heroes app, transfer funds from a third-party app like Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal, or move money to ValorFI Heroes from another account. Look for Pay and Transfer, then External Transfer in Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app.
Yes! Follow the instructions within each specific financial app to add ValorFI Heroes as your preferred financial institution.
It’s easier than ever to connect accounts you hold at other financial institutions to your ValorFI Heroes account! Our integration with Trustly utilizes bank-level security and end-to-end encryption to facilitate external transfers between banks and credit unions without revealing your personal or financial information.
You can find your account number in Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app. Select the account preview from your dashboard to open the account details screen. Select the “eye” icon to make your full account number visible. If you have trouble locating your account number, please call 833-388-2567 for assistance.
The ValorFI Heroes routing number is 125185428.
As a ValorFI Heroes member, you can access 30,000+ surcharge-free ATMs in the CO-OP Shared Branch network. Additionally, cash can be obtained from virtually any ATM worldwide or at merchants that allow cash-back transactions using your ValorFI Heroes Visa® Debit Card.
You can set up your direct deposit within Online Banking—there are no paper forms to fill out or anything to mail! All you have to do is navigate to Settings, choose Direct Deposit, and select the ValorFI Heroes account you want to use.
We’ll send you two small microdeposits within two to five days of adding an external account. Once you receive your deposits and/or a letter code, a pop-up will be displayed within Online Banking. This will help you verify the account. All you have to do is tap or click the pop-up, then enter your letter code or microdeposits as instructed.
First, visit Online Banking and select Pay & Transfer, then External Transfer, from the top navigation bar. We’ll send you a text or email with a secret code that allow us to verify your identity, followed by a pop-up message that lets you know that a third party is being used.
Tap or click Continue, then search to see if the financial institution you want to use is listed. If it isn’t, scroll to the bottom to add it manually, then give us details about your checking or savings account.
Your individual transfer limits may vary from what’s “standard” here. To determine your individual limits, give us a call at 833-388-2567, or if you prefer, send us a secure message within Online Banking.
ValorFI Heroes provides high-yield savings, checking and Certificate of Deposits (CDs) with no monthly maintenance fees. There are no monthly maintenance fees on Money Market accounts with balances greater than $2,500. See our fee schedule for additional information.
Additionally, members can withdraw money for free at more than 70,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the CU24 network or at merchants that allow cash-back transactions using a ValorFI Heroes Visa® Debit Card.
Because ValorFI Heroes is a digital bank, we don’t provide paper checks. However, members can write checks ordered through third-party vendors. As long as the checks include your ValorFI Heroes account number and our routing number (125185428), checks will clear your account as designed.
Account security
ValorFI Heroes accounts are held at Gesa Credit Union, where combined savings under ValorFI Heroes and Gesa Credit Union are federally insured up to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an agency of the United States government.
Our members trust us with the security of their personal information, and it’s not something we take lightly. The short answer is, we treat it like it’s our own info. For a longer answer with more details, review our Privacy Policy.
First, change your Online Banking password and username. Next, enable Text Alerts (if you haven’t done so already) and continue monitoring the activity on your accounts.
At ValorFI Heroes, we take your account security seriously. If you suspect fraud, we’re here to help. Call 833-388-2567 as soon as possible, or if you prefer, send us a secure message within Online Banking. Don’t forget to include a detailed description of any fraudulent activity that’s taken place.
You can prevent debit card transactions by locking your card when you’re off the grid or if you lost your card. Look for Manage Cards in the More menu of Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app.
No—just enable Foreign Transactions within Online Banking to ensure your transactions go through.
Account features
When payday seems a mile away, ValorFI Heroes helps by providing early access to your paycheck funds. As long as your employer offers direct deposit, you can use our Early Payday feature to access your paycheck up to two days early. Be sure to check with your employer, as additional paperwork may be required.
Early access to direct deposit funds depends on the timing of the submission of the payer’s payment file. We generally make these funds available on the day the payment file is received, which may be up to 2 days earlier than the scheduled payment date.
Round Up and Save is a quick and easy way to boost your savings account balance a little at a time. Every time you make a purchase using your ValorFI Heroes debit card, we’ll round up that transaction to the nearest dollar—the roundup—and automatically transfer the extra money into your savings account for you. Whether you’re looking to pay down debt, save for a big purchase or vacation, or simply grow your savings, you’ll be amazed at how Round Up and Save can help! To get started, simply set up a Savings Goal from your app and select Round Up as a way to save.
First, you’ll need to open ValorFI Heroes checking and savings accounts. Then, create a savings goal in Online Banking and tell us that’s where you want us to apply your roundups. It’s that easy! Every time you make a purchase using your ValorFI Heroes debit card, we’ll round up that transaction to the nearest dollar and automatically transfer the extra money into savings for you.
Tiered interest rates are an interest rate structure in which the interest rate you receive depends on the amount of money you have in the account.
ValorFi Heroes members can request overdraft protection by contacting a member support specialist by calling 833-388-2567, emailing support@valorfiheroes.com, or sending us a secure message within Online Banking. Please reference to our Consumer Membership & Account Agreement.
Limits for overdraft protection are determined by a number of factors. Please reference our disclosures for the most up-to-date information.
Interested in seeing how you’re spending your money each month? From gas to groceries and everything in between, we’ve made it easy to create virtual, personalized folders within your ValorFI Heroes checking account—helping you to automatically sort and track your spending as you go.
Savings Goals are our way of helping you personalize the way you save over time. You’ll never need to open separate accounts for different goals again—just create custom virtual folders within a single ValorFI Heroes savings account! Then, you can manually transfer funds toward each goal or choose to transfer a set amount or percentage of each deposit you make. You can pause savings contributions or remove money from a Savings Goal any time.
Never be late on another bill payment due to slow mail service. Open your ValorFI Heroes app or Online Banking, choose Pay & Transfer, and schedule your recurring bills to be paid automatically. You can even pay family and friends through your ValorFI Heroes account!
Although we’re not connected with Zelle, your ValorFI Heroes account includes a similar feature called Person 2 Person (P2P) that makes it easy for you to send money to another person (or receive money from them.)
No, because their “Instant Deposits” can actually take up to 24-48 business hours to post to your account.
Giving and donations
There are two types of donations made to nonprofits: those we make as a credit union and those our members make individually through our Giving Center.
For every debit card swipe ValorFI Heroes members make, we donate to nonprofits chosen based on their impact on healthcare workers, educators, first responders, veterans, and law enforcement. To be eligible, they must be IRS-registered 501(c)(3) organizations. Charity watchdog sites are used to ensure standards of excellence.
Each month, we’ll choose three nonprofit finalists and make them eligible to receive member votes. The top three winning nonprofits will receive the proportionate share of votes and, accordingly, the accumulated donations pledged through member debit card swipes. To learn more about each nonprofit finalist, and cast your vote, log in to Online Banking, click Give, then Everyday Impact from the top menu.
Our members can also make individual donations to more than 1.5 million registered U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations from their ValorFI Heroes accounts.
To see the nonprofits for which we’re currently raising funds, learn about those looking to make a quick impact, or search for nonprofits aligned with your affinity group, log in to Online Banking, click Give, then Giving Center from the menu at the top of the screen.
Nonprofits are selected based on their impact on healthcare workers, educators, first responders, veterans, and law enforcement, and must be IRS-registered 501(c)(3) organizations. Charity watchdog sites are used to ensure standards of excellence.
Our members make one-time or recurring donations to the shared causes most meaningful to them—right from within their ValorFI Heroes accounts!
Donating to a new charity is easy in the Giving Center! You can send funds to more than 1.5 million registered 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States. You’ll also have the option to share your information with the nonprofit or keep your donation anonymous.
The minimum donation amount is $5.00, and donations can’t be returned once submitted.
One-time Donations:
- Log into Online Banking.
- Navigate to the Giving Center, located at the top of this page.
- Click See Recommended Charities.
- Select a charity from a list of recommended nonprofits or use the search bar to find a nonprofit that supports a cause you care about.
- Click Give to this charity.
- Choose the account you’d like to use to make your donations.
- Enter the amount you’d like to donate. (Note: Your donation must equal or exceed $5.00)
- Choose to make a one-time donation.
- Review your donation and any applicable fees, then choose whether to pay fees with your donation or pay them separately.
- Choose to share your information with the nonprofit or remain anonymous.
- Finally, click Give my donation.
Monthly Recurring Donations:
- Log into Online Banking.
- Navigate to the Giving Center from the top navigation.
- Click See Recommended Charities.
- Select a charity from a list of recommended nonprofits or use the search bar to find a nonprofit that supports a cause you care about.
- Click Give to this charity.
- Choose the account you’d like to use to make your donations.
- Enter the amount you’d like to donate. (Note: Your donation must equal or exceed $5.00)
- Choose to make a recurring donation and the date you’d like to make your donation each month.
- Review your donation and any applicable fees, then choose whether to pay fees with your donation or pay them separately.
- Choose to share my information with the nonprofit or remain anonymous.
- Finally, click Give my donation.
Yes, your swipes will continue to count without any extra action.
- Log in and go to the Giving Center.
- From the Giving Center dashboard:
– Scroll to Charities You Give to Every Month.
– Click Manage your support for the donation you want to adjust. You can adjust the donation amount, pause or stop recurring donations. - Save your changes.
- Log in and navigate to the Giving Center.
- To search for a charity:
– Click Search Recommended Charities.
– Search by charity name, city, or EIN, or review highlighted categories. - Select a charity and finalize your donation.
It can take up to 45 days for the nonprofit to receive my donation. Donations are processed within 1-2 days, with tax receipts issued immediately. Afterward, funds are transferred to Spiral Giving Network (SGN) and distributed monthly.
You can search for nonprofits by name or EIN to ensure your donation is going to the right organization.
During the donation process, you can choose whether to share your personal information with a nonprofit or remain anonymous. Regardless of your choice, ValorFI Heroes will never share your financial data with nonprofits or charities.
Processing fees cover the secure transfer of funds. Spiral Giving Network charges lower fees than the industry standard, which ranges from 3% to 8%.
Online and mobile banking
Once your account is approved, you will be prompted to enroll in Online Banking. If there are any questions regarding this process, please call 833-388-2567 or email us at support@valorfiheroes.com.
Yes. With ValorFI Heroes, you have 24/7 access to your money through the ValorFI Heroes app—available for both iOS and Android. Tap or click the links below to install the app today.
Voting rules and criteria
Nonprofits are selected based on their impact on healthcare workers, educators, first responders, veterans, and law enforcement, and must be IRS-registered 501(c)(3) organizations. Charity watchdog sites are used to ensure standards of excellence.
To view the nonprofit finalists we’ve selected, log in to Online Banking, click Give, then Everyday Impact from the menu at the top of the screen.
To cast your vote for the nonprofit you’d like to receive a donation from ValorFI Heroes, log in to Online Banking, click Give, then Everyday Impact.
There will be three preselected nonprofits to choose from—simply click to vote for your favorite. (A reminder, you can only vote one time each month!)
Winners are chosen monthly. You’re able to cast one vote each month, selecting the nonprofit from each affinity group you feel most derserves a donation from ValorFI Heroes.
Once you vote, you can’t change your choice.
Yes, you can make individual donations to the nonprofits we selected—and more than 1.5 million registered 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States—through the Giving Center.
Yes, all debit card swipes count even if you don’t vote.
We will select new nonprofits for each affinity group every three months.
Yes! You can view past winners in the platform dashboard by scrolling to “Past Winners.”
As a reminder, all nonprofits that have received donations IRS-registered 501(c)(3) organizations. Charity watchdog sites are used to ensure standards of excellence.
Debit card
You can use your ValorFI Heroes Visa® debit card worldwide—anywhere Visa® is accepted. If you’re traveling internationally, simply switch on Foreign Transactions in the Manage Card section in Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app.
Absolutely! You can link your ValorFI Heroes Visa® debit card to your preferred Apple Pay™, Google Pay™, or Samsung Pay account.
As a ValorFI Heroes member, you can access 30,000+ surcharge-free ATMs in the CO-OP Shared Branch network. Additionally, cash can be obtained from virtually any ATM worldwide or at merchants that allow cash-back transactions using your ValorFI Heroes Visa® Debit Card.
First, lock your card from Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app. Then, call 833-388-2567 during business hours to report your card as lost or stolen. A representative will assist you with blocking your card and preventing further charges from being applied to your account.
You may change your PIN in Online Banking or your ValorFI Heroes app. Look for Manage Cards in the More menu.
Yes. To review your daily ATM and spending limits, visit Online Banking, select Manage Cards, then Card Details.
ValorFI Heroes will never charge you an ATM fee, even if you use an out-of-network ATM. You have access to more than 70,000 surcharge-free ATMs within the CU24 network. However, the ATM owner might charge you an ATM fee of their own.
Join our community.
ValorFI Heroes membership is open to those who serve and those who have an unwavering commitment to those who serve—a greater collective whose impact is magnified by the power of giving in numbers.