MANCHESTER, N.H. – St. Mary's Bank has incorporated random acts of kindness to launch its latest checking campaign -Beyond Free. "We wanted people to know that our new Beyond Free checking accounts are so free, we pay members to have one," said St. Mary's Bank Vice President/Director of Marketing Mary Beth Lufkin. Walking in downtown Manchester, employees dressed in fluorescent lime green "Beyond Free" T-shirts handed out information about the new checking account while paying parking meters and entering various restaurants giving diners five dollars towards lunch. "We live in an area where people are a little hesitant to believe there are no strings attached," said St Mary's Bank Marketing Specialist Karen Girard. "But we walked down Elm Street during lunch hour on a Friday afternoon to prove to them that some things in life are really free." Given the competitive landscape with many offering free accounts the $353 million credit union decided to come up with a better account. Enter Beyond Free checking accounts, which have no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and offer unlimited check writing, overdraft protection, a free Visa CheckCard and an opportunity for members to select their own term certificate of deposit. In another move to show the credit union difference, St. Mary's Bank automatically switched current checking account members to Beyond Free accounts so they too could take advantage of the new benefits. "Many financial institutions only offer their new products to new members," said Lufkin. "But here at St. Mary's we did something to show that we value all our members and appreciate their loyalty." In just an hour a total of $1,600 was spent while motorists and diners who were pleasantly surprised by the free perks, asked a lot of questions about the new checking account and credit union. So far in just the first two weeks, over 200 accounts were opened. "We are still building relationships with other members and the best part is people are still talking about how we launched the campaign," said Girard. [email protected]