For Immediate Release

Contact:
Rozana Audisho
Public Relations Manager
FSCC (Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc.)
(888) 372-2669 ext. 1233
raudisho@fscc.com

New Shared Branching Locations Fill the Gap in the California High Desert
Quick actions benefit thousands of credit union members

Ontario, Calif.—(August 10, 2010)— Nearly 200 credit unions with more than 30,000 members in the high desert cities of Hesperia and Apple Valley, California, no longer need to worry that their members will be cut off from shared branching. Quick action by Vons Credit Union, Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc (FSCC), Cardtronics, and a group of dedicated California credit unions ensured shared branching would still be available despite the recent sale of four Arrowhead Credit Union branches in the area. 

Arrowhead’s branches had been active shared branch outlets prior to their sale. FSCC announced the first location is a full-service in-store branch operated by Vons Credit Union at the Vons grocery store at 17390 Main Street in Hesperia, California. The second location is a Vcom® terminal in the 7-Eleven® store at 17979 US Highway 18, Apple Valley, California.

Credit Union Executive Vice President/COO, Donna Young says, “We believe shared branching is one of the best examples of how credit unions are different from banks. We’re a cooperative and we’re part of another cooperative through FSCC. We believe in working together to serve the members of all participating credit unions and we’re happy to work with FSCC and other affected credit unions to continue serving members in this region.”

FSCC also worked with its shared branching partner Cardtronics to have a Vcom® terminal up and running in Apple Valley, which was deployed on July 26. Vcom terminals are self-service, full-function kiosks that are located inside select 7-Eleven® stores. Shared branching at Vcom terminals provide a majority of the services available at a traditional branch with the added convenience of 24/7 access. Although Vcom terminals are rarely moved, when FSCC informed Cardtronics of the situation facing members in Apple Valley, they were quick to respond and offered to help in any way they could. “Cardtronics has always been a great partner to FSCC and the Credit Union Movement. They proved their commitment to shared branching once again by working with us to quickly provide this new service option for members,” says Sarah Canepa Bang, President/CEO, FSCC.

“This could have been a devastating situation for thousands of members and a black eye for the concept of credit union cooperation. The power of the FSCC network and its ability to bring together credit unions and partner organizations to provide credit union access was once again displayed here,” adds Ms. Bang. “We’re extremely blessed to have collaborative partners like Vons Credit Union and Cardtronics who were willing to join us in jumping to the aid of members in the California high desert."

FSCC officials report there is a dedicated group of about a dozen California shared branch credit unions working with FSCC to bring even more shared branches to the area.

For updated information on new locations or to find the nearest shared branch, please visit www.cuswirl.com. For more information about shared branching functionality at Vcom, please visit www.fscc.com/CUatVcom.

About FSCC (Financial Service Centers Cooperative, Inc.)
FSCC is the nation’s largest and most convenient credit union Shared Branching Network providing over 6,400 full service deposit-taking locations in 50 states, 2 U.S. territories, and 5 foreign countries. FSCC’s commitment to the core principles of Connectivity, Continuity, and Convenience allows it to offer a full suite of personal member service tools through its CIMple family of products. FSCC is also the innovator behind 24/7 shared branching at more than 2,200 7-Eleven® Vcom® units. FSCC credit unions represent $144.8 billion in total assets and 12.2 million members. Since 1999, FSCC has returned over $14.5 million to its members through patronage dividends, rebates and return of capital. For more information, please visit www.fscc.com or call 888-372-2669 ext. 1235.

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