Jessica Quindlen: [00:00:00] Welcome back to the Sound Cents podcast. I'm Jessica Quindlen. Today, we're discussing maximizing credit union membership benefits. We have a new guest today, Amber Lundy, one of our Service Area Managers here in Colorado Springs.
Hello, Amber.
Amber Lundy: Hello, thanks for having me.
Jessica Quindlen: Absolutely. And we have Miss Bree Shellito, our Senior Manager of Community and Workforce Wellbeing. Hi, Bree.
Bree Shellito: Hey, Jess.
Jessica Quindlen: Let's dive right in. Why is it important to maximize credit union membership benefits?
Bree Shellito: So, Jess, credit unions operate with a member-first philosophy, meaning our primary goal is to benefit members rather than generate profits for shareholders.
If they fully utilize benefits, members take advantage of better rates, lower fees, and exclusive perks that we have like financial education programs, which help members improve financial health. It also helps them save money and even reach milestones like buying a house, paying off their debt, having a baby, and even getting to retirement more easily.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. That was a fantastic answer. So Amber, what sets credit unions apart from traditional banks and financial institutions?
Amber Lundy: The biggest thing that [00:01:00] sets them apart is credit unions are owned by their members where banks are owned by investors or shareholders.
What that means is members have one vote in the credit union. So, they get a vote on the board of directors and the future of the credit union. For example, at Ent, I think it was back in 2000…I want to say 16, I might have that wrong, but when we were federally chartered and we decided to go state chartered and our members got the vote on whether we got to do that or not.
When they did that essentially what happened was it opened up our ability to have membership in different counties, Castle Rock [Douglas County] being the biggest one at that time. We were here in the Springs and then we were up in the Denver area, but we had this gap in Castle Rock where we couldn't serve our membership. We had membership there, but they either had to come down to our Monument branch or head up north. So that was something that the members got to have a vote.
Another really cool thing about credit unions that's different from banks is we're co-ops. So, credit unions work together. There's always competition, right? A little bit of competition, but we don't really have that competition in the credit union world. We work [00:02:00] together, we share our ideas, we share our successes, we share our challenges.
If you're a member of Ent Credit Union, but you're leaving the state and you need to access your credit union in a different state, you can do that.
We really work together, and being a member of the credit union, like Bree has said, you get better access to rates. You get higher rates where you want them and lower rates where you want them. You have minimal fees as well.
Jessica Quindlen: That's great. What financial products and services do credit unions typically offer?
Bree Shellito: Credit unions, just like banks, are financial institutions. We have very similar services — things like savings, checking, mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, retirement accounts. But really a lot of what sets us apart is our community affiliations and how involved we are in the community. We want to make sure we improve their [our members] financial lives. Offering services like financial planning, financial advising, and even financial coaching is really what sets us apart — those educational services.
Amber Lundy: And I just wanted to add to what Bree said about financial coaching—something unique to credit unions is the Certified Credit Union Financial Counseling (CCUFC) program, which is offered through CUNA.
Bree is heavily involved with that program, and we also have certified financial coaches in our service centers. The CCUFC certification is specifically tailored for credit unions.
Bree Shellito: And it's a no-cost service too, so we're very excited to provide that to members and non-members that really are looking to improve their financial lives.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that. And, going to the community affiliations, for example, today Bree came in, to tell us that her team later today is actually volunteering. So even employees, as well as money that we generate goes right back into the community, which I know I really love about it.
Bree Shellito: Absolutely.
Jessica Quindlen: So how can credit union members save money compared to bank customers? Because they’re not members.
Bree Shellito: Right. We've mentioned already that because our members are our owners, we are not giving money back to shareholders. So, the idea is that any money that we get, we actually give back to our members in a variety of ways, including lower fees, better rates on their savings and their loans.
So that is a huge savings already that can really stretch your money further [00:04:00] by getting less expensive loans and then storing your money somewhere where it can make more money on itself. We have amazing certificates of deposit or CD specials because we want to make sure our members are growing their money.
Amber Lundy: And credit unions are not for profits – not to be confused with nonprofits – but we are not for profits, and so that basically means that we are exempt from federal and state taxes, so that gives us a little leg up to be able to reinvest back into our members and back into the organization. And as Bree said, that kind of trickles down to those better fees where you want them, and better interest rates where you want them as well.
Jessica Quindlen: That's fantastic. What special perks or exclusive benefits do credit union members receive? We've touched on this a bit, but I want to bring it back.
Amber Lundy: Sure. Credit unions are formed on the foundation of people helping people. That is at the core of the credit unions, and all credit unions still stand on that today, right? We talked about being an owner, having a voice, and what happens with the credit union. I don't think you can really beat that. It's your money. You want to have a say on what's happening with it, right?
Money is a big [00:05:00] deal. I think the biggest asset is their [credit unions’] people, their employees, right? People helping people is a foundation and what sets us apart is not necessarily our financial products and services we offer, but it is the people. We hire people that really understand the meaning of people helping people and that's a huge benefit. Our members are truly members and you're an owner. You're not an account number.
Bree Shellito: Yeah, even recently, we switched to offering our credit cards in house because we want to make sure that we're the ones making those decisions. We want to benefit our members, and we really want to include the fact that they've been a member for however length of time in that decision, which we cannot do through partners as well.
So, bringing that in house was important to us to make sure that we're including you being a member of Ent in that decision.
Amber Lundy: Yeah, and being on the front line, I'm already seeing the successes of our credit cards, including higher approval rates. We heard the other day that we had a member with us who hasn't been able to get a credit card. They had a 580 credit score and we approved them for a $1,000 credit card.
Bree Shellito: That's awesome.
Amber Lundy: So awesome. We were so excited. I just heard about that yesterday, but [00:06:00] we were so excited to hear that, yeah, a 580. How many people would get approved for a credit card?
But we really take into account your membership with us and your loyalty as well, right? That was a really cool story and we're already seeing the success —not only from the underwriting part of being able to give people a second chance but also just the ability that we're going to be able to service these for our members as well.
Before, members would come in, and we’d have to say, “Hey, we need to call [our third party],” but we understood how much of an impact that had on them. Having to go through a third party isn’t ideal—credit unions are meant to be a one-stop shop, right? Now, we can handle it all in-house for you.
It’s been so exciting—our members have been thrilled. We even had members waiting for January 15th just to come in and get our in-house credit card because they wanted to be with Ent in every aspect.
Bree Shellito: Yeah, we're so excited about it, not just because we want to offer that in-house offer for our members, but we know that's an essential tool to your financial well-being.
We have tons of other podcast episodes on it, so check those out. We won't go into depth, but it really is an important tool to have in your toolbox when it comes to your finances.
Jessica Quindlen: That's so exciting. Amber, I'm so excited to have you since you are [00:07:00] so member-facing in a lot of your work and your career here at Ent. Can you share any real-life examples of members maximizing their credit union benefits?
Amber Lundy: Sure, we see it daily.
Jessica Quindlen: I love that.
Amber Lundy: Seriously, daily. There is a story I like to share. And I share this with our new hires a lot of times, too, to help them understand that this is the new job you have and you're not just a teller.
You get to seriously make a meaningful impact on people’s lives with life-changing decisions. A few years back, when I was a leader in a service center, we had a member come in requesting feedback on their account. They were getting paid once a month—which, honestly, I don’t know how people manage that; two weeks is hard enough, right?
But they had the once-a-month paycheck, so at the end of the month, they tended to have a fee on their account. Over time, it reached a point where, while it wasn’t about the number of fees reimbursed, the number of incidents required a supervisor to step in and override the system to reimburse the fee.
They came in simply to request the fee reimbursement, so the MSR worked with the supervisor to explain the situation and get the fee refunded. However, as the MSR was looking through their account, they noticed a car payment being deducted from another financial institution—or actually, I think it was directly from the dealer, not a financial institution.
They had a conversation with this member about, “Hey, have you talked to our lender? Have you seen if we can get you a better rate? Maybe we can get you a lower payment.” So, they got him over to the lender and it turns out that they [the member] had a great credit score, but they had a really high interest rate which didn't match up.
So, the lender not only was able to refinance that vehicle and get a much lower interest rate and lower payments, but in doing so, they were able to see the whole credit history and they could see they had several credit cards. So, they talked about combining the credit cards into a debt consolidation loan.
Bree Shellito: That can be huge with those interest rates.
Amber Lundy: Let me tell you, the ending of this story is pretty amazing. So, not only did they combine all of it, but they realized that this member also had an auto loan that was paid off. So, they could use that auto loan, as the collateral and get an even lower interest rate than a personal loan.
At the end of the day, they got the auto loan refinanced at a much lower rate. They got another auto loan [00:09:00] essentially as collateral for the debt consolidation. We saved that member over $1,000 a month.
Bree Shellito: I knew it was going to be $1,000. That's a huge difference.
Amber Lundy: And it's not every day that happens, but I can tell you it's every day that hundreds of dollars are saved. And that simply came from somebody coming in to ask if they can get a fee reimbursed.
Jessica Quindlen: Right. They weren't even coming in for that. The MSR went above and beyond.
Amber Lundy: The MSR went above and beyond, and then it transferred to the lender who went even more above and beyond to look at what was on their credit history, how else can we save you money. Those things happen every day.
But anyways, it was a pretty phenomenal story. And again, maybe it's not $1,000 every single day but it is every single day these things are happening —from the individual with a 580 credit score that now can build their credit and hopefully buy a home one day, rent a vehicle, right? You have to have credit for all these things.
It's pretty phenomenal that we get to do that every single day on the front line. Again, it's about people helping people—our employees understand that we're here to help our members, not just treat them like account numbers, but to truly improve their financial quality of life.
Bree Shellito: And be that trusted partner, because I'm sure everyone can relate to those moments of stress, that living paycheck to [00:10:00] paycheck, what that feels like. Sometimes it's so cloudy, you can't really see outside of what's happening, so you come in for one thing, but us, as your financial partner, can notice some of these other things that really might save you in the long run.
Amber Lundy: Well, we're often the first source of financial education for our members. They may have never learned this in school or anything. I remember getting this information in school. I have children in school right now, and they do not get this kind of education.
Bree Shellito: And even if they do, it's based on whoever gave it to them, even those that follow their parents. It really is an interesting cycle.
Amber Lundy: Yeah. And if we're not doing it for them, who is? So, for this individual that saved $1,000 — and they thought they had a great interest rate on their auto loan — they didn't know otherwise until they came in and spoke with us.
Bree Shellito: And we don't talk about money with each other, so that absolutely happens.
Amber Lundy: That's true.
Jessica Quindlen: That's very true. All right. We touched on this as well earlier, but how do credit unions support and invest in their local communities?
Bree Shellito: That's our favorite thing.
Jessica Quindlen: Yes, it is.
Amber Lundy: Bree, I'll let you kick it off. I have another story for this, but I'll let you kick it off because that's your world.
Bree Shellito: Ent is so heavily involved in our communities and I'm lucky enough to work with our philanthropy team [00:11:00] who in 2024 gave $2.4 million back to Colorado nonprofit organizations. And inside, as Amber talked about, we love this, so our employees actually raised an additional $200,000 that was given across the state as well. That’s just in-house raising that money.
Amber Lundy: It doesn't even speak to the time that employees give, right? That's just the dollars. The time is a whole different thing. Bree's going to volunteer at the National Mill Dog Rescue today, right? I've had a lot of my teams go and they always come home with puppies. It's not only are we investing our time in volunteering, but now we're adopting a dog.
Bree Shellito: Years of additional life.
Amber Lundy: So, it's pretty cool. What I always say is, our members are our community, and that is a large part— I think, personally, for me— as to why it's so important to be involved in the community.
Like I said, I have another story to share. It was during COVID, and my group of managers and I had done a volunteer event at Mitchell High School to hand out boxes of food to those in need. At that time, we were actually having to deliver the boxes to their cars because of COVID. They weren't able to come out and pick what they wanted. Based on the color in their window, we determined how many boxes of food we were able to bring to their vehicle—this was based on the size of their family.
Bree Shellito: And some of them were picking up for multiple families.
Amber Lundy: Yep, multiple—three, four boxes. And these are big boxes, right? So, it was a workout too, I tell you!
One of my managers went to deliver to this vehicle and noticed that the driver was one of her members who comes into her service center regularly. She was literally in tears, saying, "I had no idea this member was going through this." This member comes in, doesn’t say anything, manages her finances well—there was nothing to indicate she was struggling to feed her family. It really brought tears to my manager’s eyes. That story sticks with me because we don’t often stop to think that our members are our community. We're not just helping them with financial education when they come in; by being involved in the community, we don't know how else we're helping some of our members—whether it's feeding their families, finding housing, transportation, or whatever it might be.
The impact is so much bigger than [00:13:00] I think we realize, and here at Ent, we've been a little humble about our volunteer work. I'm glad that Bree shared these numbers because we don’t always highlight the great impact that the credit union is making, along with all credit unions.
The other great thing is that credit unions come together to do these volunteer opportunities. For instance, we have International Credit Union Day, where many credit unions collaborate to do food drives and other initiatives. That ties back to the co-op I mentioned earlier, where it’s like, "Hey, we can have a bigger impact with more people."
It’s pretty cool that credit unions come together to create stronger efforts and make things happen in the community.
Bree Shellito: And you said it, Amber. It's not just money. It's time. Ent generously gives our full-time employees eight hours every quarter to go volunteer for local nonprofits.
Even our part time employees get that, and it rolls over through the year, but many of our employees use that benefit to give back to what's important to them.
Amber Lundy: In our service centers, we actually have something called a VTO team because we can't shut down a service center. We've got members we have to help. We can't shut down a service center.
Bree Shellito: We want to be there for you all.
Amber Lundy: We can't shut down a service center to go out and volunteer as a team, so we actually have a volunteer team for our service centers. A service center might reach out to that team and say, “Hey, we [00:14:00] want to go volunteer as a team this day from 9 to 12.”
We'll have a couple of different MSRs from other service centers come work that service center for a couple of hours, so that team can go out, serve the community, do it as a team, and make that impact. It is that important that we found a way in our service centers to continue to serve our members walking in the door, while making sure that our frontline folks can get out there and serve the communities as well.
Bree Shellito: If you walk in and don't see your normal folks, it may be because they're out giving back, so make sure you're friendly to all the folks that you come into because they're covering for others.
Jessica Quindlen: Oh, I love that. I didn't know about that. That's fantastic. So how can listeners start taking advantage of credit union membership today?
Amber Lundy: First and foremost is, if you are not a part of a credit union, you should probably become a member today. You can start by walking into credit union and talking to them. You can get online and see what's going on but get educated.
We have so many people that don't understand the difference between a credit union and a bank. Our members, even some of our own employees, don't understand. So, the first part is just really educating yourself and getting on a website and looking it up.
A [00:15:00] second way is we have a lot of credit union members who, like I said, don't understand the benefits. So, if you're already a credit union member, go into a service center and request to sit down with somebody and see what benefits you're missing.
Like I said, our employees live the people helping people and they would love to sit down and just chat about all the things the credit union offers, how they can help you, what you're missing out on. Education is huge for us, right?
One, if you're not part of a credit union, get out there and get a part of one, learn about it. And two, if you are and you are not sure of the benefits, we're happy to sit down and talk to you. They're waiting for you. So, walk in, sit down, figure out what you're missing out on.
Bree Shellito: Amber and I could probably agree too, if you're looking for a new career, this is the place to be. Check us out. Get really involved. Be a member of ours and a member of our team. Always looking for new great people to join.
Amber Lundy: Absolutely. Yeah, it's super rewarding. I've been on the front line. I started as a member service representative, so I've never left the front line. As challenging as customer service can be at times, I've stuck around for almost 16 years on the front line now because it is so impactful. The change and impact you get to have on people— not just employees and members, but the community— is truly rewarding.
People say, "I work in a bank." I'm like, "First of all, I work in a credit union."
Bree Shellito: There's a difference.
Amber Lundy: It's not just sitting in an office all day—every day is so different, and the impact you get to make is incredible. It's not just a boring bank job. It really is super rewarding and super impactful and a great place to be.
Bree Shellito: And regardless of your role, I too have been here—this is my 15th year. Regardless of your role, the number of opportunities we have to get out in the community, not just volunteering, but also educating and doing different things, is open to everyone who works here. So, it's pretty great.
Amber Lundy: It is pretty great.
Jessica Quindlen: Fantastic. Well, that brings us to the end of our show. Amber Bree, thanks so much for being here. It was wonderful having you.
Bree Shellito: Thank you for having us.
Amber Lundy: Thanks, Jess.
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Jessica Quindlen: Thank you for listening to Sound Cents from Ent Credit Union. Be sure to follow our podcast as well as rate and review us. I'm Jessica Quindlen. I will see you in two weeks. Same time, same place.
