HARRISBURG, Penn. – Other credit unions also reported strong increases in traffic and interest, although at least one called Bank Transfer Day a “bust.” Separately, Credit Union Journal has uploaded a number of photos related to Bank Transfer Day on its Facebook page.
At Pennsylvania State Employees CU, new account sign-ups jumped by more than 50% on Saturday, part of a big month for membership growth.
PSECU opened 153 new accounts, compared with its daily average of about 100, explained CEO Greg Smith. The CU also experienced a 50% increase in its monthly new member total, opening 3,012 new accounts in October compared with 2,017 for the same period last year.
“I’m optimistic that Bank Transfer Day has raised awareness among consumers that they have choices and that credit unions are by far the better choice when it comes to banking services,” said Smith. “Banks have a profit motive that drives their pricing. There’s a significant difference with credit unions being non-profit and it works to the consumer’s benefit.”
The $3.8-billion credit union paid staff overtime to come in on Nov. 5 (Credit Union Journal, Oct. 31). It also has introduced a two-month media campaign to drive interest for Bank Transfer Day and attention to the credit union so it can capitalize on the checking business banks are driving away.
In California, Sara Holtz, marketing manager with San Jose CU, said the credit union was “thrilled” with traffic on Nov. 5. “I don’t know what we were expecting but it was everything we were expecting and more. We opened 30 memberships today, which is half of what we normally do in a month.”
Holtz said SJCU’s two branches were busy throughout the day but the credit union was able to keep wait times quite short. It was also featured on local news twice. “Today was a really good day for San Jose Credit Union but a great day for credit unions in general,” said Holtz.
But not every credit union saw much in the way of transfers on Transfer Day. In Charleston, W.Va., Pioneer West Virginia FCU said it didn’t see a dime of increased business. Dan McGowan, SVP/CFO at the $140-million CU, said, “I don’t know anything about the rest of the West Virginia credit unions, but Bank Transfer Day here has been a bust.”
PWVFCU opened only one new account, and that was driven by the credit union’s new debit card promotion that pays members five cents every time they swipe their debit card (Credit Union Journal, Oct. 24). “Mostly, it’s been just a routine Saturday.”
* Photos from Bank Transfer Day can be found at
