Not only am I a fan of credit unions, I am a fan of financial counseling and empowerment. The good…read morenews is that I'm a member of UMassFive, which has team members throughout their whole organization interested in exactly that. From Jeremy Raddar who helped quickly finalize my secured personal loan during the back offices' lunch, to Craig Boivin VP of Marketing who is familiar with major Credit Union advocacy and research groups like The Filene* Institute [no relation], and to Christine Apraham who helped me set up the loan, appointment, and subsequent paperwork I needed to reduce my debt and disclaim my secured loan's collateral. All in all, the response listed for 1 star reviewers is NOT my experience with UMassFive. Let me disclaim something as well: the world's cybersecurity systems are under attack and I have personal experience with my own internet security alarms. However, UMassFive has had no service disruptions on par with the NotPetya attack on Ukraine's banking systems by Russia. Instead, the staff has responded to me within 24 hours, like Christine when I asked her about my statements being inaccessible from my account. The staff is resourceful, too, like when Jeremy couldn't use his digital signature capture pad and instead had me use the digital signature web application from my phone. These people are tenacious, and will do the research to do the best job they can because they all are personally invested in the success of UMassFive as members and as employees. Every one of them is excellent and has provided me service beyond just a money printing machine, they are interested in my success as a credit union member, not in profiting off me like a bank. This branch in particular was very welcoming, from its gender neutral bathrooms, to its open space allowing me to wait at a chair or table for help, and to its offices where I could be personally helped. I don't know if there's any bus access, but there's plenty of parking right near the UMass University campus and down the street from Amherst town center. If you really want to stop the international money crisis, the monopolies of 'money trusts,' and help your local community, join UMassFive or one of the many other local credit unions. You'll be putting your money where it matters. Thank you, I'm excited to remain a member (and invite applicable family members :)

I've been banking with UM5CFCU since I was in high school, about 25 years ago. I went in today with…read moremy parents on unrelated business, but we also had some US Treasury bonds to cash. Alicia was helping us with the unrelated business, so she agreed to help us with the bonds, too. It turned out most of the bonds lacked an identifying number that facilitated their redemption, but she spent a lot of time independently researching how to cash them and was ultimately successful. She was not only really friendly and professional, but went far above and beyond to help us with this. I've always had good experiences at this branch, and appreciate them.

I was named as beneficiary to my late sister's accounts at Florence Bank and wanted to claim my…read moreinheritance As I live in Arizona, I had to work with the bank entirely by phone. Everyone at Florence Bank did their best to help me, and we were able to get my business completed in a few days. I would like to thank in particular Emily Beauregard and Carla Crivelli for their patient efforts on my behalf. Each of them was extremely courteous and helpful.

There is a customer service specialist at this bank, Shanya (spelling?), who is AMAZING. Anything…read moreI've called for assistance with she has handled efficiently and effectively. I don't have a lot of experience with others at the branch, but Shayna is fantastic.

Been a member for over 40 years and the past couple years the service is extremely poor and…read moredefinitely not polite. The employee's definitely need more training and have to learn to be more courteous. Poor service and quality. Used to be a wonderful place, not anymore.

I have a pension plan that is direct deposited into my account with UMASSFive It is always…read moresent to be deposited on the 1st of each month. Previous credit union was Navy Federal and deposits were always posted by 3 am on the 1st of the month. UMASSFIVE cannot do this. Worst still...they cannot do this on weekends or holidays ! I must wait till someone uploads the systems pending deposit and with Nee Years day falling on Sunday, I had resigned myself to waiting till Monday but my acct show it is pending till Tuesday the 3rd. Very antiquated business!! Also, they offer the cards in dark purple and black ink for the account number. Lol! Can't even read the card number and yes...there are times when it is needed. Since the numbers aren't raised...I don't but I can't even "feel" the numbers. Lucky it's a plastic card and not paper. The staff service is good but wait times can easily back up with only 2 tellers. This is a very small establishment for banking. They really need to automate their direct deposits system for their retired communities especially since they are so keen to sell me their other service.

I had my account hacked six times this year. They always were very helpful to put things right for…read moreme with a smile. Full marks for customer service.

Deposited 2 IRS refund checks on December 10th and it said ready next day. Next day came and I…read morecouldn't log in to my account. When I went to the bank they said my account was frozen because of the 2 checks I deposited. Now they are saying that IRS will not clear checks for another 2 months. That will be 3 months to clear a government issued check!! I needed the money to pay car payment and insurance but to no avail.. Please if anyone is reading this DO NOT deposit your IRS refund checks in this bank if you need the money right away!! It's frustrating because it's your money and they act like it's theirs. I wouldn't be surprised if I had to hire a lawyer to solve this problem.. This bank smells like a ponzi scheme!!!

BEWARE!!!! I never give bad reviews. I just tend to not revisit any establishment however this is a…read morecautionary review. I cashed a check there and counted the number of bank notes I received before driving away from the outdoor teller believing all was in order. When I went to deposit the cash into my bank, one of the nine $100 bills was returned from the ATM. I tried a second time only to have the same result. I looked at the bill and determined it must have been counterfeit. I returned to Peoples United on King St in Northampton and the manager told me it was not their problem since I drove away. I never would have thought I would have had to verify each AND every bank note received from a banking institution wasn't isn't counterfeit. I presumed banks would have built in measures to ensure this doesn't happen. I feel thoroughly robbed by this bank. They assumed absolutely no responsibility for their negligence. Be careful.

This bank has a small-town, local feel. The tellers greet you by name when you come in, ask how…read moreyou've been, etc. It's a clean, spacious, very pleasant environment, never a long line, and convenient to get to. Despite the downtown location, I never have trouble parking - though be careful of the sidewalk bump when you turn into their driveway.

I can't say enough good thinks about FSB. All those other banks out there say that they want to…read moretreat you like a person, but FSB actually does. When you call, you get a human being. IMMEDIATELY. That person directs you to the right person for your call. I love this. Service there has always been great. I lived in the valley years ago, and switched when they had a whole bunch of great incentives, like ATM fees refunded, money just for switching and using direct deposit, and interest on my checking account. Still have all those great features now. When I left the valley in 2007, I tried to find another local bank like FSB to switch to. I even opened an account. But their service was lousy and their online banking interface was terrible. So I closed it and stayed with FSB. Almost all my banking is done electronically, so I don't need to be there physically. If I get a live check for deposit, I send it in by mail. So there is zero reason for me to switch. Don't mess with perfection!

I am 60 yrs old and have lived in 5 states. I have rarely been so unhappy with a bank as Florence…read moreSavings Bank. I should have known that first day I called them, when their response to my simple question was "Well, why are you moving HERE?" It was all down hill from there.

Steer clear. 1) Debit Card going through routine replacement--said valid till end of March. I'm in…read morea supermarket at the beginning of March. The card is denied. I call Citizens -- 1 hour on hold on a Friday night. They say the card is denied because they've mailed me a new card. I didn't receive the new card --and the card I'm holding says it's valid to the end of the month. I ask them--what if I were on vacation and not even home to get the new card. Shit out of luck. 2) Hold times --aggregate for the year over 20 hours --yes 20 3) Account sometimes does security freezes and you're in the middle of trying to make a purchase or pay someone. 4) The new ATMS in stop and shops--have video tellers. The lines to get funds can take 20 to 30 minutes as people chat with the teller. No privacy at these video ATMS. 5) I go to a branch at a Supermarket to replace a card--the 1800 customer service told me so. The branch says their machine is broken and they tell me to drive 30 minutes to go to the next branch with a working machine. 6) I go to set up a college savings plan for kids. The bank sets up the wrong type of account. Time wasted and an additional head ache. This is not quality banking--it's really doing stupid--I'm taking the brunt of my funds out and moving it to a big national. The bank was good 10-12 years ago and has gone down hill like a lead balloon.

I had a great experience with getting what I needed at this Branch. I needed a document notorized…read morebut forgot to set an appointment. They still got me serviced asap even though I forgot to do this. They also gave me advice to what was in the area as I just moved out here. Five Stars all around to the manager and the team here!

Was trying to use mobile banking, but some features weren't displaying on the screen as a choice…read more Called the Peoples Bank for assistance. I was on hold initially for 15 MINUTES (with one song on a loop--bedtime music). After speaking with one person who didn't listen to my question and told me unrelated answers, she transferred my call to an "extension." I waited another 14 MINUTES for my call to "be answered in the order in which it was received." (No, clearly my call went back to the beginning of the queue; the system doesn't seem to know if the call is transferred internally.) Another Customer Service Rep answered. He could not help me as he was not sure what the problem could be. He tried to get a hold of the Customer Solutions Department but couldn't. By this time, I had been on the phone with Peoples Bank for 43 MINUTES. He transferred me to "option 2, Mobile Banking." More waiting on hold. Someone new answered. After a number of checks with my account and the mobile app, he suggested I uninstall and reinstall the app, which I did and that worked. Wish I had done that myself an hour ago. By this point, I had been on the phone for 1 HOUR 2 SECONDS in the middle of a business day afternoon. While I now realize I could have solved the problem myself, this episode was another example of why I'll be moving my Business account to another bank: 1. Poor response time, i.e., my time is not valuable, 2. Employees' lack of knowledge and ability or permission to take productive initiative, plus 3. The Bill Pay's limited number of companies with which "Activate eBill" can be done successfully, 4. Limited list of "Payees" (companies) to which they can send payments electronically rather than mailing a check, which takes 6-13 days to arrive, and 5. The need to wait 4-7 days to receive money transferred between Peoples Bank and other banks, even across town. READER: Use another bank.

I love me some People's Bank…read more We have been at People's for 11 years, since moving to the Pioneer Valley. I mostly use the Hadley branch (the yellow building in front of Manny's) but I also use the downtown Amherst branch. They are open for longer hours in Hadley which often works a lot better for me and I don't have to fight downtown traffic; but sometimes when I'm downtown, I park in the lot, bank, hop across the street to return some books to the Jones, grab a GoBerry....you get the picture--very homey, very downtown, very city. The downtown branch gets way too hot in the summer months because of the expansive overhead windows. The light is nice, but I bet the guy who designed the bank probably never had to stand on his feet politely serving the public for 8 hours a day. I don't like the fake plants, just get rid of them, every business, all over the world. NOW. They did recently sell our mortgage to a larger institution and that is my only complaint. I love the women who work here and especially at the Hadley branch. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Thanks, People's Bank