Storm explained that the program has proved very popular with members because there is no limit on how many times they use it and because, unlike programs where cardholders accumulate points or earn cash back, Passport provides rewards immediately, at the point of sale.

"The program is particularly popular with our small business members or those who use their cards for business related social networking," Storm said. "They appreciate the discretion the card provides. When the waiter brings the bill to the table, the member simply pays with the Verity Passport Visa and the guest never knows that the member purchased a lower cost or discounted meal," she explained. The credit union began offering the card about three years ago when it offered the Passport program and, since then, has seen the number of its card accounts shrink, but its accounts receivable rise, suggesting many existing members have migrated to the Platinum passport program Verity also offers a Visa Classic card, an affinity Classic Card with a local cycling club, a Visa Gold card that carries the Scorecard rewards points program, a Visa Secured credit card which it can offer to members with poor credit scores, and a Visa Classic Credit Rebuilder card that the CU offers to members who wish to use the CU to rebuild their credit history. Passport Unlimited was founded in 1986 and claims to be active in 28 U.S. markets and to have 650 restaurants signed up. Brian Bell, a spokesman for the company, said Passport makes money from fees it charges to participating companies like Verity to be able to offer the benefit, along with fees it charges to restaurants to participate.

The company has traditionally served corporations, including big names like Microsoft, which offered the program as a benefit to its employees, Bell explained.

Storm explained that the Passport program has not only helped drive usage and acceptance of Verity's Passport program, but has also served to help further link members to the CU. That success, in turn, has led Verity to add Passport's newest offering, aimed at debit cardholders, to its checking and debit programs. Like Passport Unlimited, the new Lifestyles on Debit program will automatically qualify cardholders for discounts on purchases, but Bell said Passport was being careful about retailers it included in the program and tried to make sure the retailers involved were retailers offering products at the top of their industry and whose discounts could be of real value to cardholders. "We aren't interested in offering a few cents off an already inexpensive and more run of the mill purchase," he said. The program is designed to provide discounts at an increasingly diverse selection of merchants. From hardware stores, to coffee shops, to wineries, members can use their debit card for savings on their daily transactions.

"I think members who use their Verity debit cards will see a substantial savings over time" said Storm.

Storm said that based on the success of the Passport Unlimited program, Verity anticipated that adding the passport Lifestyle program to its debit cards will help promote use of the CU's share draft accounts.

Like many CUs, Storm explained, Verity has members who see the credit union primarily as a place to save their money or to get a loan and less as a place where they make financial transactions. Verity hopes the passport Lifestyle program can help the CU heighten member awareness of the credit union as members' primary financial institution. –[email protected]