The $123 million Mountain Credit Union said it added 17 new members in the four hours it opened its Asheville, N.C., branch on Saturday for Bank Transfer Day.

“We got off to a foggy start early this morning but by 10 a.m. we were rolling right along. By the time we were finished, we had opened 14 new accounts for a total of 17 new members,” said Chris Angel, manager of the Fletcher branch for the 18,500-member Waynesville, N.C., credit union.

“We really believe that it was worth the effort to be open for these special hours but it doesn't end here,” Angel said as he helped with the activity at the Asheville branch.

“We are hopeful that this momentum will carry on and that more people will discover the difference in credit unions versus other financial institutions. The past month has been a historic time for us and we feel extremely fortunate to have had this opportunity,” Angel said. “We're ready to serve our new members that we have met over the past several weeks and along with our current members, we welcome them to the MCU family.”