WICHITA, Kan. - Boeing Wichita Credit Union has launched an eco-friendly checking account to demonstrate it’s environmentally conscious and, in the process, attract Gen Y.
Introduced on Earth Day and called the Green Account, members access money and maintain their accounts through e-checks, e-statements, and a debit card.
“It’s totally paperless,” said BWCU’s VP of marketing Jamie Varbel, who points out the credit union does not call the product a checking account. “We refer to it as a transactional account because Gen Y doesn’t use checks.”
The goal is to attract 1,000 new members by the end of the year with the product that offers a clear, green debit card that can be customized with the member’s photo. The Green Account’s rate is the same as the CU’s standard checking account, and it carries no monthly charges or a minimum balance requirement. Free online banking and bill pay come with the package, and the $550-million CU will soon add mobile banking.
According to Varbel, the Green Account is the only totally paperless checking account in Kansas, adding that some local banks offer incentives for using e-statements and e-checks, but still allow paper checks. “It’s also the only green-spin checking account in the state,” Varbel says. In addition to reducing paper waste and saving trees, the CU is donating money to the Green Foundation, an organization supporting Trees for Greensburg, an effort to plant trees in this Kansas town devastated by a tornado last year.
BWCU is also giving back to those who use the Green Account. For every signature-based transaction equal or greater than $20, the member receives five cents.
“We opened up 290 accounts the first day,” said Varbel. “We didn’t even have our full advertising campaign going and we attracted a lot of interest.”
An “edgy” TV commercial that emphasizes “earning money back on your account while doing something good for the Earth” sets the tone for a campaign that also runs radio spots and billboards. “But no paper,” Varbel added. “That’s in staying with the theme of the account.”
The credit union is spending approximately $200,000 on advertising. While not sharing a figure, Varbel says projections for ROI show BWCU “can’t lose money on the product.”
On top of the cost savings to the CU, the real benefits from the Green Account–for the environment and the credit union–are long-term, Varbel said. “This is more about our future–investing in Gen Y–and doing the right thing for the environment.”
Boeing Wichita has eliminated Styrofoam cups in its branches, providing stainless steel tumblers for employees and paper cups for members. “We are also putting a group of employees together to plant the trees we are donating to Greensburg,” Varbel explained. “And we recycle plastic, paper, and aluminum.”
