Ontario, Calif.-based Financial Service Centers Cooperative Inc. (FSCC) announced that nearly 200 credit unions with more than 30,000 members in the high desert cities of Hesperia and Apple Valley, Calif., no longer need to worry that their members will be cut off from shared branching. Quick action by Vons Credit Union, FSCC, Cardtronics, and a group of 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 in Hesperia, California. The second location is a Vcom terminal kiosk in a 7-Eleven store in Apple Valley, Calif.. "We believe shared branching is one of the best examples of how credit unions are different from banks," Credit Union executive vice president/COO Donna Young said. "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," FSCC president and CEO Sarah Canepa Bang said. "They proved their commitment to shared branching once again by working with us to quickly provide this new service option for members."
FSCC is the nation's largest credit union shared branching network, providing more than 6,400 full service deposit-taking locations in 50 states, two U.S. territories and five foreign countries. 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 more than $14.5 million to its members through patronage dividends, rebates and return of capital.
