Now that regulatory changes have gone into effect, anyone who hasn’t opted in for Courtesy Pay Plus will face rejection at the register or ATM if they attempt to use their debit card when they don’t have sufficient funds in their checking account. Being rejected can be inconvenient and a little embarrassing.

Of course, the best way to avoid rejection at the cash register is to know how much money is in your checking account and not exceed it. This can occasionally be difficult, however. To ensure that you never go below a certain threshhold without your knowledge, consider placing an alert on your Salal checking account.

Alerts are easy to put in place—from your account on Salal’s Online Banking, click “Notifications.” Then choose the account you’d like to put an alert on. Then set the balance at which you wish to be notified. If your account drops below that amount (or rises above, depending on the type of alert), you’ll receive an email, notifying you. This free service is a great way to keep track of your finances and avoid overdrafting. If you’re not currently signed up for Online Banking, call our Virtual Branch at 206-298-9394.

There may be times when your account balance goes negative. Emergencies can happen; that’s when overdraft plans such as Courtesy Pay Plus can provide back-up protection. With Courtesy Pay Plus, Salal may choose to cover your every day debit-card purchases or ATM  withdrawals, even if you don’t have sufficient funds in your Salal checking account.

If you haven’t yet opted in to Courtesy Pay Plus, it’s easy and quick to determine if you’re eligible and to opt in: just visit your Salal branch or call us at 206-298-9394 or 800-562-5515. Of course, there’s no fee if you never use it, but it’s nice to know your transaction may be covered, just in case.

*Enrollment in Courtesy Pay Plus is subject to eligibility requirements. Use of Courtesy Pay Plus is at Salal CU’s discretion and will result in a fee for overdrafts of more than $5.

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Celebrate the first weekend of autumn at Seattle’s newest park! Twelve acres of green space at the edge of Lake Union, the brand-new park was identified 100 years ago as the perfect setting for just such a purpose. The City has been slowly buying up the waterfront property for the last 20 years, and the former Naval reserve center is due to open in its new incarnation as an urban green space and recreational area on September 25!

Mark that date on your calendar, because the City is opening its new park in grand style, and the public is invited to take part in a free Grand Opening celebration! First is the Family Fun Run and Sunrise Yoga session; for the rest of the day, enjoy model boat races, live musical performances, Native American canoe displays and traditional salmon barbeque, lots of fantastic food, environmental and historical trail tours, paddling, sailing—even a parade! There truly will be lots to do for every member of the family.

For those wishing to attend the Grand Opening festivities but hoping to avoid the headaches and costs of traffic and parking, Salal Credit Union is providing a free solution: a bike valet station. Ride your bike to the Grand Opening, and we’ll keep it safe and secure for you until you’re ready to pedal home. Even if you don’t bring a bike, feel free to stop by our area and play our game, talk to our staff about our great products and services, and take advantage of our special, Grand-Opening-only deals! Salal’s bike valet station is free and open to anyone attending the Grand Opening.

For more information about the Lake Union Park and the Grand Opening Festivities, check the Seattle Parks Foundation website.

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You may notice a little change in the next Gear Up you receive—it’s a little bit longer and not called “Gear Up” anymore! We’re streamlining our newsletters, so three times a year, instead of receiving both a digital News You Can Use and a printed or emailed Gear Up, members will receive a longer News You Can Use.

The expanded News You Can Use (NYCU) newsletter will have the same features you currently enjoy in Gear Up: member profiles, tips for money management, announcements of special deals and upcoming events, etc. It will also contain the information you need to be an active co-owner of your credit union: the date of the Annual Meeting, for example, or calls for nominees to Salal CU’s Board of Directors and committees and information on the candidates.

If there are topics you’d like to see discussed in any of Salal’s publications, or if there’s a member you’d like to nominate for one of our member profiles, please let us know at news@salalcu.org!

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Heroes of Healthcare

If you walked into any of our branches on August 19 and 20, you probably noticed the heavenly smells of popcorn and great deals in the air! Those two days were chosen for our inaugural Heroes of Healthcare celebration—an event which we’re planning to hold quarterly—to give us an opportunity to connect with and show our gratitude to the many folks who keep us and our communities healthy.

People who work in the healthcare industry do some of the most crucial and demanding work there is, and Salal Credit Union wants to recognize them and their outstanding efforts. Those of us living in the Pacific Northwest know how good we’ve got it, with many nationally and internationally acclaimed medical facilities—and a wealth of excellent, local healthcare resources—right here at home.

On our Heroes of Healthcare days, we’ll have treats, giveaways and special deals to remind us all to thank those who work so hard to preserve our health and quality of life. Our next Heroes of Healthcare days will be November 4 and 5, and we hope you’ll join us!

International Credit Union Day® (ICU Day)

October 21, 2010 is International Credit Union Day, and Salal CU is celebrating you! As one of 186 million credit union members worldwide, you understand what makes credit unions so great—member ownership; local, personal service; better rates; fewer and lower fees, and no shareholders hoping to reap profits  from your banking activity.

Since their creation in the mid-nineteenth century, credit unions have been dedicated to the ideal of people helping people. That’s why this year’s ICU Day theme is “Local. Trusted. Serving you.” We know that our members have a lot of choices when it comes to choosing their financial institution, and we understand that the big banks are willing to spend a lot of advertising money to shout the loudest about their products and services. We appreciate that our members trust us and value the cooperative, service-driven, member-focused philosophy that drives Salal CU’s business decisions and practices.

On October 21, we hope you’ll join us at the branches as we celebrate our members and the Credit Union movement with some refreshments!

Read more about the International Credit Union Day and about the Credit Union movement in general at the World Council of Credit Unions website.

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There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the poor decision-making and less-than-stellar customer service at many of the big banks. Historically, switching financial institutions seemed like too much trouble, so many unhappy bank customers simply put up with conditions at their banks.

No longer. Not only are more and more customers demanding better treatment and/or trading in their big banks for credit unions or small, local banks, they’re encouraging others to come along. The Seattle Times’ Danny Westneat recently wrote articles about Stephan Mollmann and Bob Miller—two “little guys” going head-to-head with the big banks. Mollmann says he’ll buy dinner for anyone who can prove they’ve quit Chase Bank. Miller is levying fines against Bank of America for the time he spends on hold with them. Neither gentleman has much hope of effecting change at the larger institutions, but they are demonstrating that customers have choices. One of those choices? Change.

As Salal CU members, you already know the value of conducting your financial business at a local, member-owned financial institution. You know that the rates you receive on deposit products are likely higher, the interest rates on loans are generally much lower and the fees for all products and services are almost universally lower and fewer than you’ll get at a big bank. Have you spread the word?

If you appreciate the high quality of service you’ve received at Salal, if you believe Salal’s products and services are superior to those at the big banks, tell a family member or friend! Our Switch Kit makes changing financial institutions simple, and our branch staff and call center are on-hand to help with any issues.

No amount of advertising can match the power of a recommendation from a trusted source. If you believe your friend or family member would be better served by Salal than their current financial institution, we truly appreciate your recommendation!

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As every parent of a school-aged child knows, September is back-to-school time! It’s a busy time for the whole family: buying school supplies and clothes for bodies that seem to outgrow them before Thanksgiving, packing lunches, meeting teachers, arranging schedules that are suddenly more crowded than ever. But it’s a good time, despite the hustle and chaos, because we know that our children are learning and growing and gathering the tools they’ll need to succeed in the adult world.

Learning isn’t just for children, of course. One of the Core Values universal among credit unions is to provide members with financial education and increased financial literacy.

Salal Credit Union strongly believes in making financial information freely available to our members and the public, as evidenced by our free seminars, given throughout the Puget Sound region. Members of our staff teach attendees about creating realistic, workable budgets, managing credit cards, understanding credit reports and purchasing a home or car, among other topics. Salal also recently sent two branch managers to act as counselors and consultants at the Healthcare Pathway of Washington Business Week, held at Pacific Lutheran University. We also provide our members with free access to the services of BALANCE—a confidential financial counseling agency.

Knowledge truly is power, and the more information we can give our members, especially in these uncertain economic times, the more power members have to set and reach their financial goals.

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Guest blog from Kathy D in our Human Resources Department:

Do you know what ICE is?

Other than the clear frozen square object you put in your glass to keep your drinks cold, ICE stands for In Case of Emergency.

The ICE campaign was launched a few years back, by a British paramedic. He responded to many accidents in which the injured person carried no information about next of kin or emergency contacts. This makes it difficult for paramedics and hospital personnel to know whom to contact regarding the patient’s medical history or allergies. The paramedic came up with idea of programming ICE into your cellular phonebook. Accompanying the acronym would be the name and phone numbers of the person who should be called if something has happened to the owner of the phone.  You can program multiple emergency contacts by entering ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.  Many phones today already have an ICE feature which you can use to program your contacts.

It is a great idea to add ICE to your cell phone. As an extra precaution, always keep a written ICE contact list in your purse or wallet in case your cell is not with you or damaged. You can never be too prepared.

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You know that Salal CU is the financial institution that’ll go the extra mile to help members–well, now we’re going the extra mile to raise some money!

Salal’s Rain City Runners, Walkers, Bikers and Swimmers are raising money for International Community Health Services and HealthPoint by collecting pledges of contributions for each mile run, ridden, walked or swum!

If you’re interested in participating, please contact us at news@salalcu.org, and help us help these amazing organizations build healthier communities!

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Overdraft protection plans are great—they may allow us to avoid embarrassment at the grocery store or they can cover automatic payments when we’re on vacation and forget to make important deposits or transfers. Of course, it’s even better not to let an account get too low in the first place. Email alerts are one great way to ensure you never let an account balance drop too low.

If you are signed up for Online Banking, you can set up an email alert to warn you if the balance in your designated account falls below the limit you’ve set. You can then take whatever action is necessary to avoid overdrawing that account.

Low balances happen—we get busy and forget to transfer money or make a deposit, we forget to write down a major purchase in the check book register—but a low balance doesn’t have to turn into a costly  embarrassment.

Signing up for email alerts is simple:

1. Sign on to online banking.
2. Click the “Notifications” tab on the left-hand side of the page.
3. Choose the type of notification you want from the “Add Notification” drop-down menu at the top of the page and click the “Add” button.
4. Choose if you want an alert when your balance is too low (and you need to add money) or when the balance is too high (and you might want to transfer the extra to your Money Market or open a certificate, for example). Choose the balance amount that will trigger the alert.
5. Type in the email address where you want the alert sent.
6. Click “Submit”—that’s it!

If you aren’t already enrolled in Online Banking, or if you have any difficulties setting up your email alert, we encourage you to ask at your branch or give us a call at 800-562-5515 (206-298-9394 locally), and we’ll talk you through it!

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Did you know that you can conduct many financial transactions over the phone, with a real person, any time you like? Even if it’s after business hours and you’re far away from the nearest Wi-Fi signal, as long as you have a telephone, you have access to your account. When you dial 866-692-8669 (866.MyCUNow), you can:

• learn your account balance
• transfer money between your Salal accounts, as long as you know your account numbers and are the owner on all involved accounts
• transfer money between your Salal accounts and accounts at another credit union, provided the  other credit union is also in the CU Service Centers Network and you’re the owner of all involved accounts
• make loan payments on many types of loans
• apply for some types of loans

Never again go camping and worry that you didn’t transfer the money to your checking account to cover those checks you just mailed! You can even call from overseas by dialing 011-734-556-4450.

Of course, you’re always welcome to call our own Virtual Branch. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff can assist you with a wide range of financial tasks, from resetting your online banking password, to opening and funding a new certificate or initiating a loan application, plus a whole lot more. Just call 800-562-5515 or 206-298-9394, Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturdays 10 am to 2 pm.

At Salal, we’re all about making it easy for you to manage your money, even if that means making it possible for you to transfer funds in the middle of the night, from inside your sleeping bag!

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