PO Box 9750 • Bellingham WA 98227–9750
360.676.1168 • 800.525.8703
tty 800.833.6388 • www.wecu.com

VISA CREDIT CARD AGREEMENT 
This Agreement covers this VISA Credit Card account, issued by Whatcom Educational Credit Union (WECU®). In this Agreement the 
words “you,” “your,” “yours,” “applicant,” and “Borrowers” mean any person who signs the application for this Account, any joint obligor, 
guarantor, authorized user, or the person whose name is embossed on the Card. The words “we,” “us,” “our,” and “Lender” mean Whatcom 
Educational Credit Union. The word “Card” means any one or more credit card(s) issued to you under the Credit Union’s VISA Classic 
and Platinum Card programs. If you sign an application for this Account or sign or use any Card or PIN, or allow others to use the Card 
or PIN, you and they will have accepted this Agreement just as if you and they signed it, and you and they, jointly and severally, will 
be bound by the following terms and conditions which will govern this Account.

TO REPORT A LOST OR STOLEN  VISA CARD: During regular business hours call WECU®, after hours and weekends call 800.682.6075.

1.  Responsibility.  If we issue you a Card, by signing or using your 
Card or account number for any transaction, you agree to repay 
all debts and the Interest Charge arising from the use of the Card 
and the Card account. For example, you are responsible for charges 
made by yourself, your spouse and minor children. You are also 
responsible for charges made by anyone else to whom you give the 
Card, and this responsibility continues until the Card is recovered. 
You cannot disclaim responsibility by notifying us, but we will close 
the account for new transactions if you so request and return all 
Cards. Your obligation to pay the account balance continues even 
though an agreement, divorce decree or other court judgment to 
which we are not a party may direct you or one of the other persons 
responsible to pay the account. Any person using the Card is jointly 
responsible with you for charges he or she makes, but if that person 
signs the Card he or she becomes a party to this agreement and 
is also jointly responsible for all charges on the account, including 
yours.

2.  Lost card notification. If you believe the Card has been lost or stolen, 
you will report it immediately. During regular business hours, call the 
Credit Union at 360.676.1168 or 800.525.8703, ext. 7360. After hours 
and on weekends call 800.682.6075.

3.  Liability for unauthorized use. If you notify us of your lost or stolen 
Credit Card, you will not be liable for any losses. This liability exclusion 
will apply provided you were not grossly negligent or fraudulent in 
handling your Credit Card; otherwise your liability is limited to $50.

4.  Credit line. If we approve your application, we will establish a self-
replenishing Line of Credit for you and notify you of its amount when 
we issue the Card. You agree not to let the account balance exceed 
this approved Credit Line. Each payment you make on the account 
will  restore  your  Credit  Line  by  the  amount  of  the  payment,  which 
is  applied  to  principal. You  may  request  an  increase  in  your  Credit 
Line only by written application to us, which must be approved by 
our credit committee or loan officer. By giving you written notice our 
credit committee may reduce your Credit Line from time to time, or 
with  good  cause,  revoke  your  Card  and  terminate  this  Agreement. 
Good cause includes your failure to comply with this agreement or our 
adverse reevaluation of your credit worthiness. You may also terminate 
this Agreement at any time, but termination by either of us does not 
affect your obligation to pay the account balance. The Cards remain 
our property and you must recover and surrender to us all Cards upon 
our request and upon termination of this Agreement.

5.    Credit  information. You  authorize  us  to  investigate  your  credit 
standing  when  opening,  renewing  or  reviewing  your  account,  and 
you authorize us to disclose information regarding your account to 
credit bureaus and other creditors who inquire of us about your credit 
standing, to the extent authorized in our bylaws.

6.  Monthly payment. 

A. Minimum  Monthly payment. We will mail you a statement every 
month if your account has a balance. You agree that you will pay 
each month not less than the minimum monthly payment on or 
before  the  scheduled  monthly  due  date. The  minimum  monthly 
payment will be  3.0% of your outstanding balance (“New Balance”) 
or $20.00, whichever is greater. If your outstanding balance is $20.00 
or less, you agree to pay the balance in full. You may pay in full for all 
your purchases and cash advances each month, or you may repay 
in  monthly  installments. We  can  accept  late  payments  or  partial 
payments, or checks, drafts, or money orders marked “payment in 
full” without prejudice to our rights under this Agreement, which 
are hereby explicitly reserved. A credit posting from a merchant or 
reversal of fees do not constitute a minimum payment. The minimum 
monthly payment may be allocated at the Credit Union’s discretion 
to pay off lower rate balances, such as promotional offers, before 
higher rate balances, such as cash advances or purchases. Payments 
in excess of the minimum  monthly payment will be allocated first 
to higher rate balances, as applicable. From time to time, we may 
allow you to skip your minimum monthly payment due. If you choose 
to  skip  this  payment,  Interest  Charges  will  continue  to  accrue  in 
accordance with this Agreement. Payments received at Whatcom 
Educational Credit Union, PO  Box  9750, Bellingham WA 98227 at 
or before 5:00pm Pacific Time on any business day will be credited 
to your Account as of that date; payments received by mail at that 
address after 5:00pm Pacific Time, on a weekend or federal holiday 
will be posted to your Account as of the next business day. Payment 
crediting to your Account may be delayed up to five days if your 
payment is received by mail at any other address or not accompanied 
by the remittance portion of your Account statement.
B. Payment method. You make your monthly payment by either an 
electronic or manual payment method. Electronic payment methods 
include payment transfers made through E-Max (online banking), 
Tele-Max (automated telephone banking), periodic preauthorized 
debits  or  payroll  deduction.  Manual  payment  methods  include 
payments  made  in  person,  by  mail,  or  telephone  instructions 
through the Call Center. Electronic payment is required for Platinum 
accounts.

7.  Interest Charge. An Interest Charge  will be imposed on the portion of 
purchases included in the New Balance that remains unpaid within 25 
days after the closing date (within 23 days for the February statement 
due March 10th). This “grace period”  allows you to avoid an Interest 
Charge  on purchases for a billing cycle. However, if you do not pay 
the New Balance for purchases within the grace period, your Interest 
Charge will accrue on any unpaid purchase transactions from the date 
of purchase.
For Visa Classic Cards, Interest Charges are calculated at the Periodic 
Rate of 1.07500% per month (Annual Percentage Rate of 12.9%), on 
the average daily principal balances of purchases, balance transfers 

 
access  your  account  and  obtain  advances  by  signing  a  balance 
transfer coupon and authorizing the Credit Union to pay off existing 
obligations  of  other  financial  institutions. Your  use  of  a  balance 
transfer coupon will be shown as a credit advance on your monthly 
statement. The Credit Union may not complete your balance transfer 
request if the transfer advance would exceed your credit limit or your 
account has been terminated or suspended.

12.  Returns and adjustments. Merchants and others who honor the 
Card may give credit for returns or adjustments, and they will do so 
by sending us a credit slip, which we will post to your account. If your 
credits and payments exceed what you owe us, we will hold and apply 
this credit balance against future purchases and cash advances, or if 
it is $10.00 or more, refund it on your written request or automatically 
after 90 days.

13.  Currency  conversion/foreign  transactions.  Purchases  and  cash 
advances  made  in  foreign  countries  will  be  billed  to  you  in  U.S. 
dollars. The  currency  conversion  rate  for  international  transactions 
as  established  by VISA  International,  Inc.  is  a  rate  selected  by VISA 
from the range of rates available in wholesale currency markets for 
the applicable central processing date, which may vary from the rate 
VISA itself receives, or the government-mandated rate in effect for the 
applicable central processing date. In addition, you will be charged a 
Foreign Transaction Fee of 1% of the transaction amount for any card 
transaction made in a foreign country and for Internet merchants that 
bill through a foreign financial institution.

14.  Plan merchant disputes. We are not responsible for the refusal of 
any plan merchant or financial institution to honor your Card. We are 
subject to claims and defenses (other than tort claims) arising out of 
goods or services you purchase with the Card only if you have made a 
good faith attempt, but have been unable to obtain satisfaction from 
the plan merchant, and (a) your purchase was made in response to 
an advertisement we sent or participated in sending you; or (b) your 
purchase cost more than $50.00 and was made from a plan merchant 
in your state or within 100 miles of your home. Any other disputes you 
must resolve directly with the plan merchant.  

15.  Security interest. You grant the Credit Union a security interest 
under  the Washington  Uniform  Commercial  Code  in  any  goods 
purchased with your Card.  You agree that all collateral you have given 
the Credit Union to secure other consumer loan obligations (except 
dwelling secured loans), in the past and in the future, will secure your 
obligations under this Agreement.  In addition, by signing the Card 
Application, you have given the Credit Union a security interest in all 
your deposits, present and future, and all accounts (except Individual 
Retirement  Accounts)  with  the  Credit  Union  and  you  agree,  upon 
default,  the  Credit  Union  may  apply  all  that  is  secured  to  pay  any 
amounts due under this Agreement, without further notice to you.

16.  Effect of agreement. This Agreement is the contract that applies to 
all transactions on your account even though the sales, cash advance, 
credit or other slips you sign or receive may contain different terms. 
We may amend this agreement from time to time by sending you the 
advanced written notice required by law. Your use of the Card thereafter 
will indicate your agreement to the amendments. To the extent law 
permits, and we indicate in our notice, amendments will apply to your 
existing account balance as well as to future transactions. 

and cash advances in the account.  For Visa  Platinum  Cards,  Interest 
Charges  are  calculated  at  the  Periodic  Rate  of  0.7917%  per  month 
(Annual Percentage Rate of 9.5%) for purchases and balance transfers 
and 1.0750% Periodic Rate (Annual Percentage Rate of 12.9%) for cash 
advances.   We  figure  the  Periodic  Interest  Charge  on  your  Account 
by  applying  the  Periodic  Rate  to  the “Average  Daily  Balance”  of  the 
account  including  current  purchases  and  cash  advances  for  your 
Account. We take the beginning purchase and cash advance balances 
of your Account each day, add any new purchases and cash advances 
and  subtract  any  payments  or  credits,  unpaid  Interest  Charges  and 
unpaid late charges to get the daily balance. We then add up all the 
daily balances and divide by the number of days in the billing cycle to 
get the Average Daily Balance. The Interest Charge is determined by 
multiplying the average daily balance by the number of days in the 
billing cycle and applying the Periodic Rate to the amount. No Interest 
Charge is imposed on purchases to the extent payments and credits for 
purchases are made on or before the 10th day of the month following 
the previous billing cycle.

8.  Other charges. Your account will be subject to other charges 
including, without limitation, NSF check charge $5.00; late charge 
of 5% of the minimum monthly payment or $15.99, whichever is 
greater, will be assessed if your payment is not received within 10 
days of the date due; copies of drafts $12.00; plastic replacement 
cost of $5.00. 

9.  ATM fees. If you use an ATM to obtain a cash advance and the ATM 
is not operated by us, you may be charged an ATM surcharge by the 
ATM operator or an ATM network utilized for such a transaction. The 
ATM surcharge may be charged to your account if you complete the 
transaction.

10.    Default. You  will  be  in  default  if  your  payments  are  not  made 
when  due. You  will  also  be  in  default  if  your  ability  to  repay  us  is 
materially reduced by a change in your employment, an increase in 
your  obligations,  bankruptcy  or  insolvency  proceedings  involving 
you, your death or your failure to abide by this Agreement, or if the 
value  of  our  security  interest  materially  declines. We  have  the  right 
to  demand  immediate  payment  of  your  full  account  balance  if  you 
default, subject to our giving you any notice required by law. To the 
extent permitted by law, you will also be required to pay our collection 
expenses, including collection agency fees and costs if applicable, court 
costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.

11.  Accessing your account. You may access your Account by using 
your Card and Personal Identification Number (PIN), using convenience 
checks and balance transfer coupons, and authorizing transactions with 
your account number over the phone or Internet. 

A.  Card use. To make a purchase or cash advance, you must comply 
with the Credit Union’s procedures for authorizing such transactions. 
You may present your Card to a participating VISA plan merchant, 
to us or to another financial institution, and sign the sales or cash 
advance  draft  which  will  be  imprinted  with  your  Card. You  may 
complete the transaction by using your PIN in conjunction with the 
Card in an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or other type of electronic 
terminal that provides access to the VISA system. You may authorize a 
purchase transaction with merchants by providing your Card account 
number and expiration date for transactions over the telephone or 
Internet. The monthly statement will identify the merchant, electronic 
terminal or financial institution at which transactions were made, 
but sales, cash advance, and credit or other slips cannot be returned 
with the statement. You will retain the copy of such slips furnished at 
the time of the transaction in order to verify the monthly statement. 
The Credit Union may make a reasonable charge for photocopies of 
sales slips you may request. You may not use the Card for any illegal 
or unlawful transaction, including Internet gambling transactions, 
and we may decline to authorize any transaction that we believe 
poses an undue risk of illegality or unlawfulness. 
B.  Balance transfer coupons. If the Credit Union approves, you may 

17.  Your Credit Card Billing Rights  

Keep this document for future use. This notice tells you about your 
rights and our responsibilities under the Fair Credit Billing Act.

What To Do If You Find A Mistake On Your Statement. If you think 
there is an error on your statement, write to us at the Credit Union 
address on your statement.
•  Account information: Your name and account number.
•  Dollar amount: The dollar amount of the suspected 
  error.
•  Description of the problem: If you think there is an error 
  on your bill, describe what you believe is wrong and 
  why you believe it is a mistake.

You must contact us:
•  Within 60 days after the error appeared on your 
  statement.
•  At least 3 business days before an automated payment 

is scheduled, if you want to stop payment on the 

  amount you think is wrong.

You must notify us of any potential errors in writing. You may call us, 
but if you do, we are not required to investigate any potential errors 
and you may have to pay the amount in question. 

What Will Happen After We Receive Your Letter. When we receive your 
letter, we must do two things:
(1)Within 30 days of receiving your letter, we must tell 
  you that we received your letter. We will also tell you 

if we have already corrected the error.

(2)Within 90 days of receiving your letter, we must either 
  correct the error or explain to you why we believe the 
  bill is correct.

While we investigate whether or not there has been an error:
•  We cannot try to collect the amount in question or 

report you as delinquent on that amount.

•  The charge in question may remain on your statement, 
  and we may continue to charge you interest on that 
  amount.
•  While you do not have to pay the amount in question, 
  you are responsible for the remainder of your balance.
•  We can apply any unpaid amount against your credit 

limit.

After we finish our investigation, one of two things will happen:

•  If we made a mistake: You will not have to pay the 
  amount in question or any interest or other fees related 

to that amount.

•  If we do not believe there was a mistake: You will have 

to pay the amount in question, along with applicable 
interest and fees. We will send you a statement of 
the amount you owe and the date payment is due. We 

  may then report you as delinquent if you do not pay 

the amount we think you owe.

If  you  receive  our  explanation  but  still  believe  your  bill  is  wrong, 
you must write to us within 10 days telling us that you still refuse 
to pay. If you do so, we cannot report you as delinquent without 
also reporting that you are questioning your bill. We must tell you 
the name of anyone to whom we reported you as delinquent, and 
we must let those organizations know when the matter has been 
settled between us. If  we do not follow the rules above, you do not 
have to pay the first $50 of the amount you question even if your 
bill is correct.

Your Rights If You Are Dissatisfied With Your Credit Card Purchases. 
If  you  are  dissatisfied  with  the  goods  or  services  that  you  have 
purchased with your credit card, and you have tried in good faith 
to correct the problem with the merchant, you may have the right 
not to pay the remaining amount due on the purchase. To use this 
right, all of the following must be true:
(1)The purchase must have been made in your home state 
  or within 100 miles of your current mailing address, 
  and the purchase price must have been more than $50. 

(Note: Neither of these is necessary if your purchase 
  was based on an advertisement we mailed to you, or 
if we own the company that sold you the good or 
services.)

(2)You must have used your credit card for the purchase. 
  Purchases made with cash advances from an ATM or 
  with a check that accesses your credit card account do not 
  qualify.
(3)You must not yet have fully paid for the purchase.

If all of the criteria above are met and you are still dissatisfied with 
the  purchase,  contact  us  in  writing  at  the  above  address. While 
we  investigate,  the  same  rules  apply  to  the  disputed  amount  as 
discussed above. After we finish our investigation, we will tell you 
our decision. At that point, if we think you owe an amount and you 
do not pay, we may report you as delinquent.

© 2012 Whatcom Educational Credit Union / Farleigh, Wada & Witt, P.C.

02/12–2M