WORCESTER, Mass. – Webster First FCU recently opened a branch in the Compare Foods neighborhood supermarket to serve residents of the city’s burgeoning Hispanic population.
The new branch signed 100 new members in just the first week. The $500 million credit union, based in neighboring Webster, hopes to add as many as 3,000 there by the end of the year.
There are approximately 32,000 Hispanic or Latino residents in Worcester, accounting for 19% of the city’s population. In Worcester County, Hispanics and Latinos account for 8% of the total population.
To serve the new member base, Webster First hired three bilingual staffers for the branch and an additional bilingual person to staff the call center. It has translated marketing material and financial disclosures into Spanish.
Webster First also reduced the base amount a new member needs to set up account from $25 to just $5.
