It’s Starting to Look Like a Branch!

Here are some new pictures from last week and this morning. Meridain is really starting to look like a branch! How exciting!

Nampa staff gets in the spirit of Halloween!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Tell Congress to Please Say NO!

I don’t know about you, but I will tell you that I love, love, love having a debit card!  I remember when I didn’t have one and had to either be smart enough to get cash out of my account when I was at the credit union or find a place to write a check and get cash back.  Looking back I think, “wow…what a pain!”  Debit cards make it so much easier to make everyday purchases, get cash back, and even pay bills.

That could change, however, and we need your help!  Credit unions nationwide are conducting a grass roots effort to let our legislators know our viewpoint on the Interchange Legislation that is before them. 

 I’m sure you know each time you use your debit or credit card, the merchant is paid immediately for the items you purchased.  What you may not know, however, is the credit union that issues your card receives a small fee from the merchant which is referred to as interchange.  This interchange reflects a merchant’s fair share of the costs of this convenient system. 

The income the credit union receives from the interchange supports everything from re-issuing cards compromised by merchant data breaches (which can cost the credit union a large amount of both time and money when the breaches are as large as the most recent ones) to providing a call center to contact if your card is lost or stolen or to fund the fraud prevention measures we currently have in place. 

There are currently a number of proposals in Congress to reduce that interchange, thus leaving more funds in the wallets of the merchants and jeopardizing the existence of debit card programs as we know them today.

 If this income source were reduced, Idadiv may no longer be able to support our card programs and may be forced to pass fees along to you, our members, or even worse be unable to offer cards at all. 

 What can you do to help? 

 Please send a message to your federal legislators TODAY urging them to oppose any legislation which would reduce interchange.  A prewritten letter is available for your use at the credit union Grassroots Action Center, http://capwiz.com/cuna/home/ where you can personalize and send an email or print and fax a letter.  (This message will be directed to the appropriate legislators based on the address you enter.) 

 Each Idadiv branch also has postcards available if you’d rather go that route.  The addresses for sending the postcards (or other correspondence) are below as well:

Sen. Mike Crapo  239 Dirksen Senate Offices Bldg, Washington DC  20510

Sen. James E. Risch  483 Russell Senate Office Bldg, Washington DC  20510

I personally just submitted my message by clicking above (you know, I have to test it and make sure it’s as easy as it sounds!) and it took me all of about 2 minutes.  I have already received email confirmations that my appropriate legislators received my feedback.

Please, we urge you to take a few minutes to click on the above link and to pass this information on to others.  It is not just credit union members who will be affected should this legislation pass. 

 I know I’d rather not lose the option of having a debit card on my Idadiv account!

Foundation is in and it’s full steam ahead!

It’s so exciting to watch the progress on the new Meridian branch.

We were out there yesterday and it’s starting to take shape for sure! The foundation is in place, the vault has been poured and you can see where the drive thru will be.

Enjoy the pictures:

Stay tuned for the next update!

Fraud Alert!

People in the Treasure Valley are receiving phone calls that state: “Your credit union credit card has been overused and deactivated, press one to reactivate.”   

This is a fraudulent phone call that is attempting to obtain your card number.  Do not enter any information! 

Idadiv will never ask you for your full credit or debit card number.

Meridian

Yesterday I was driving around Meridian, and boy have things changed there!  I don’t normally spend much time in Meridian and I haven’t been there at all since they changed Main Street and Meridian Road to be one way road (great change, by the way!)  Anyway, as I was headed south on Meridian Road near Corporate Drive, I saw this great sign:

 Yep, that’s right!  Idadiv is building a new branch in Meridian! 

We’ve broke ground and started building and we couldn’t be more excited. 

We’re anticipating opening the branch in early 2010, but keep watching the blog, the website, and your newsletters for updates!

Here are some pictures of the progress on site yesterday:

A talented bunch of artists at the Nampa Branch!

You may have seen the ad in the Press Tribune about the Paint ‘Em Up Cowboys contest.  Your creative Credit Union staff at the Nampa branch decided we could do it…and here’s the end result:

 

I must say…not bad for amateurs!  We had a lot of fun planning, painting, and seeing it all come together.  Winners should be announced soon, so keep your eyes open!

CMN Telethon

This weekend is the annual telethon for Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) that locally benefits St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

I’m sure our members have become accustomed to seeing the Credit Union for Kids logo in our lobby. It is our choice recipient for most of our fundraisers.

I must say that we have some pretty awesome members! Through our fundraising efforts and our members’ contributions, we were able to raise $32,261.05 for CMN last year. That’s awesome!

Last Friday, our CMN Chair Rosa Blume graciously accepted two awards on behalf of Idadiv. In our asset category ($10 to $50 Million,) we raised both the most overall and contributed the most per member ($3.49) in all of Idaho! The best part is that all the money stays local and benefits St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital!

So, if you’re around this weekend, be sure to tune into Channel 6 on Saturday, May 30th from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. You’ll be able to witness the unbelievable courage of children faced with incredible odds and experience the power of the human spirit.

Piggy Bank or Bills?

 I thought I’d share a few “food for thought” ideas relating to personal finance. 

In this time of great uncertainty, is it better to work on building your savings or to use that cash to pay down or payoff debt? 

In the past, it has almost always been suggested to pay down or off if possible whatever debt you might have.  In almost all cases, the interest rate you are charged on your debt is quite a bit higher than what you are being paid on your savings balance.  Therefore it is only logical to lower what you owe rather than collect a few pennies on your savings, right? 

Maybe not, at least not right now anyway. 

With credit card companies and some home equity lenders reviewing accounts and reducing limits, it might just be better to keep those funds in a savings account where you could actually use them if an emergency happened rather than be forced to scramble for credit at a time that is likely stressful enough as it is. 

No one can decide which option is right for you.  Hopefully it will help you think about different options, though, and open your mind to other tools that might help you whether the storm a little better. 

And, if you’d like even more help or tips to improve your finances, check out Balance Financial Fitness  program on our website.  It’s packed with great articles, tips, and tools.

Where’s My Refund?

It’s that time of year again when federal tax refunds start flooding in. With that, our phones ring off the hook with members wondering if their refund is in their account yet. Here are a few tips that we hope will help you know what the status of your refund is:

1) Check your account via home banking regularly. If you are expecting your refund via direct deposit, those entries are posted first thing each morning.

2) Click “Where’s My Refund?” on the IRS website. You will need to know the primary filers’ SSN, how you filed (single, married filing jointly, head of household, etc.) and the exact amount of your refund. This site will give you either a date range or a specific date that your deposit should be received.

As a reminder, don’t write checks or set up automatic payments before you’ve verified the funds have been received. This could lead to overdraft fees on your account and potentially jeopardize the good standing of your account.

Remember, too, that we can help you “spend” that refund. Now is the perfect time to pay yourself first and open a share certificate, make a transfer to your savings account, or open a Holiday Club account.