Space Coast Credit Union - www.sccu.com - 321-752-2222
Perspectives April 2009
Space Coast Credit Union is a financial cooperative. We want you, the member-owners, to know more about how the credit union works, and how you and your fellow members can contribute to making it stronger so you can help keep deposit rates high, loan rates low, and continue to get more free services than you would receive at a bank.
The most popular services SCCU provides are debit cards and checking accounts. In previous Connections newsletters, we have emphasized the benefits you get when you use your SCCU debit card for purchases and payments – like fraud protection.
But there’s a “behind the scenes” benefit to using your SCCU debit card. Each time a member uses the card to make a payment or purchase, the credit union earns transaction income from the businesses that process those transactions. This income helps to pay for the cost of maintaining the checking account, and other costs of operating the credit union.
The income earned from each transaction is very small, but we process just under fifteen million debit payment and purchase transactions for our members every year, so it adds up (kind of like that “coin jar” you may have tucked away somewhere).
On the other hand, each time you write a check, the credit union pays a small processing fee for that transaction.
What does SCCU do with the income earned from debit cards? Well, since this is a cooperative, it goes back to you, the member. The earnings of the credit union determine how much interest can be paid on deposit accounts, what rates can be charged for loans, and what services can be provided to members.
Here’s the inside scoop:
The maximum income is earned for the credit union when you make a “signature” or “swipe-only” purchase or payment with your debit card. All you have to do is select “credit” at the gas pump, store, or online. When you use your PIN, much less income is earned (and you miss out on Visa® fraud protection).
Tip: Sometimes you will have to select the “cancel” option in order to be offered the “credit” option. This may seem strange when using a debit card, but trust me, it’s true.
If you don’t have an SCCU checking account and debit card, I encourage you to open one today. It helps make you an active, contributing member of this cooperative – the cooperative that you own along with your fellow members. All you have to do is call Express Services to get started.
Heather Hickman
Vice President, Retail Services -
Indian River and South Brevard
Click here to read the April issue of Connections
Copyright © 2013 Space Coast Credit Union.
