IBEW & UNITED WORKERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
ADJUSTING LIFE TO A NEW REALITY!
BY: BARBARA MATHEY, IBEW & UNITED WORKERS FEDERAL CREDIT UNION
The start of a new year always brings hope and excitement for what is to come. As we begin another year dealing with a new COVID surge and other community challenges it remains difficult for us all to embrace that hope and excitement. Our credit union family at IBEW & United Workers Federal Credit Union wishes all our membership a year of prosperity, success, and happiness even as we continue to deal with the events taking place in our communities. We have been here from the first day serving our members even if our methods had to change and be flexible. Please know that we take our responsibility to you very seriously and we will always do our best to serve you in a safe and efficient manner. We sincerely appreciate the support and understanding that we have received from our members and we look forward to your continued support. We would like to provide you with an update on what has been happening at the Credit Union, some of the lessons learned and opportunities identified by our members.
The branch was reopened for several months but that had to be reevaluated with the current Omicron surge and a robbery incident that occurred January 4th. We are working on additional security measures to deter this type of activity and to keep everyone safe. The Credit Union staff has had its share of COVID. Of the 23 staff members, 8 have had the disease and have been out long periods of time for their quarantine and recovery. As a result of that we continue to be vigilant and follow all COVID protocols. At this time, we do not know when it may be possible to reopen the branch, so we encourage everyone to read this entire article and take advantage of the remote services we have perfected.
The Credit Union’s Drive Thru will remain open with normal business hours, 9AM to 5:30PM Monday to Thursday and 9AM to 6PM on Friday. We have temporarily suspended Shared Branch service for non-members so that we can focus on our membership. We ask for your patience in the event of longer wait times.
The night drop located just to the left of the front door has been compromised so it is currently unavailable for deposits and information drop off. We are seeking ways to improve the security of the current device or a replacement device to reopen that service option.
The Relationship/Loan Department may be closed to the public however, loans are still very much available by phone, online and by mail. The department is fully staffed and taking calls all day, Monday through Friday. Signatures for loans are being obtained through online doc-u-sign, through the drive thru if necessary and by mail. Our mail is still being put in our box and picked up and posted by us daily. For any loan request, call 503 253-8193, EXT 340 or go to our website for an online loan application.
We are also prepared to work with our members to assist in any way we can. We have various emergency loan products available as well as limited skip-payment options and other possible loan adjustments. We recommend that you call as soon as possible if you think you will need extra help. We are here to help our members and ease whatever financial stress we can.
Our accounting department is continuing to process payroll as usual and will be working with all payroll providers to assist in the efficient processing of your payroll dollars.
Lessons have been learned over the past two years about the efficiency of our remote services and the convenience provided by those services. It has become evident that we can all take care of any of our financial needs by using online apps and ATM’s convenient to our homes. We have taken this time to work on our remote service products and have had much success. We encourage you all to take advantage of these services and see for yourselves how much easier these tasks can become.
This is also the time to sign up for electronic banking services if you have not done so already. We offer Mobile Banking through our APP (Apple and Android), Remote Deposit Capture, telephone teller, Online Banking and e-statements. Basically, you can do all your banking except for obtaining cash which can be done through a network of free ATM’s.
Our Mobile App is so easy to use. Download it for free and give yourself the power to:
- Check your balances.
- Transfer funds between accounts or make loan payments.
- Remote Deposit Capture. Sign up for mobile deposit and deposit checks into your account with near real time availability.
- Review your e-statements.
- Account to Account Transfer (A2A). No need to call the Credit Union to make a payment from another financial institution using your debit card anymore! Sign up for A2A and you can make the transfer through Online Banking or the Mobile App! Contact the credit union to get the form, it will be sent to you in a secure email so you can send it back securely after you fill it out along with the proper verification. You can set up the transfer to send or receive funds from your other financial institution and the transfer can take up to 3 to 5 business days.
- Sign up for account alerts to enable you to manage your accounts and keep your funds secure.
We want to thank all of our members for your support and patience during this very difficult time. We are truly ALL in this together and it is our desire to be a source of help and comfort. Please call us with any questions you may have about any of this information and remember that our Contact Center is open and staffed during all open hours. Take this time to sign up for remote services and experience the convenience and you may want to use them long after the pandemic is over. We wish you all good health and kindness!
