| Bouncing back from a checking ban |
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Get Checking began in 1998, it is available in 19
states and is growing nationwide.
"We're growing as quickly as people are learning
about us," Terry says. "If we were able to do a massive
marketing campaign I think we'd have many more cities come aboard.
But even with minimal advertising, we're getting interest from cities
across the country."
Giving customers a fresh start
Gold Coast Federal Credit Union, headquartered in West Palm
Beach, Fla., designed a program called Fresh Start after credit
union personnel visited a Port St. Lucie, Fla., company to sign
up employees.
"We had more than 160 checking account applications,
I'm thinking, 'This is great,'" says marketing vice president
Bryan Lewis.
"Well, more than 90 were rejected because of
ChexSystems. We've been burned royally in the past, so if you were
in ChexSystems, you didn't get a checking account, but I thought
this was terrible.
"We pulled some credit reports and their credit
was fine. We were rejecting people who bounced a check in 1998 and
here it was 2002 and we were rejecting them. No wonder check-cashing
stores do so well."
Gold Coast's Fresh Start program doesn't involve formal
classroom training. Instead, perspective credit union members who
have a ChexSystems report talk one-on-one with a Gold Coast employee
who makes sure they understand how to balance a checkbook. The program
requires direct deposit; and charges a $5 ATM start up fee and a
$10 monthly service fee.
After a year and no "non-sufficient funds"
checks, the Fresh Start participants graduate to Gold Coast's free
checking account. The credit union views the first year as a trial
period.
"If they bounce a check they get charged a fee.
We're not going to close the account, but the counter starts all
over again. We want to make sure that people who are shut out can
get back in. It's an education thing and that's what credit unions
are all about," says Lewis.
Interestingly, ChexSystems' parent company, eFunds,
is the sole national sponsor of Get Checking. Spokeswoman Alison
Estrada says Get Checking and eFunds are a natural fit.
"Some people are reported to ChexSystems for
smaller mishandlings of their account, and a lot of it is due to
a lack of financial education. ChexSystems doesn't deny anyone an
account. It's not involved in the decision to open or close an account.
This educational program has given us the opportunity to do some
corporate philanthropy and help our customers and consumers."
Estrada says eFunds hopes to expand the Get Checking
program to all 50 states, and is involved in a pilot program that
would make Get Checking available to large companies. To find out
if classes are offered in your area, visit Get
Checking Web site.
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