Medford, Ore-based Rogue Credit Union, says its high-yield “Ownership Account” has returned more than $5 million to its members since the account’s launch in 2016.
The account features the $1.4 billion-asset credit union’s highest deposit rate, currently at 2.00 percent APY.
Each Rogue member has an Ownership Account, the credit union explained. Only incentives earned through the Rogue Rewards Loyalty Program can be deposited into this account, and members can withdraw the funds at any time.
“Rogue’s member-owners are experiencing the credit union difference in a real, tangible way,” Gene Pelham, the credit union’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to be able to reward our members for their participation and ownership in the credit union. The $2.2 million that our members earned into their Ownership Accounts has proven to be a popular way for our members improve their financial future.”
In 2017, Rogue Credit Union said, its members received more than $2 million in their Ownership Accounts through Rogue Rewards benefit programs such as Rogue’s VISA Platinum 1 percent Cash Back and Save the Change, in which member’s debit card transactions are rounded up to the nearest dollar and the change is deposited into their Ownership Account. Round-up programs like Save the Change are rare in the credit union world -- despite having been offered by Bank of America for more than a decade -- and some observers have raised concerns that
Rogue Credit Union has a loan portfolio of more than $1 billion. It serves more than 120,000 members across the state of Oregon. Membership with Rogue is open to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in select Oregon counties.
