At a time when many other financial institutions, both banks and come credit unions, have announced they are cutting back on their debit rewards programs or even eliminating them, the 357,000-member, $4.8 billion Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union has announced it will increase its debit rewards.

The Live Oak, Texas, credit union announced that from now Dec. 31, it will give its members 15 cents back on every debit card purchase. This is five cents more than the 10 cents per transaction that the CU already provides as part of its debit rewards program.

“We've watched other financial institutions put new fees in place and we know that's not what members need during a time when the economy is struggling,” said Sonya McDonald, senior vice president of market development at RBFCU.

“Instead of upping our fees, we chose to increase rewards.  Since we've experienced record growth this year, we decided to use the extra funds as a thank you to the members who have made this growth possible,” she said.