Coastal Federal Credit Union has paid out $1.5 million to members in the launch of its new VIP Program.
The $2 billion Raleigh, N.C., credit union said the payout was prompted by Coastal's commitment to give back to its members who actively participated in the cooperative over the past year, and it said it was one of the most significant initiatives in 192,000-member Coastal's 45-year history.
The VIP Program rewards members who have their primary checking account at Coastal with special benefits and exclusive offers.
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Members qualified for the VIP Program by performing 144 withdrawals from their Coastal checking accounts during 2011.
Among the program benefits, members had the opportunity to earn Loan Rebate Dividends and Deposit Bonus Dividends, which ranged from $100 to $500. Of the 47,000 members who earned VIP status this year, more than 6,000 received a dividend.
"Those are the members who make us successful and we wanted to share our success with them," said Chuck Purvis, Coastal's executive vice president and chief operating officer.
"It would have been easy to give every member a small dividend, but we felt that lacked substance. Seven- and eight-dollar payouts might not get noticed, but even members who knew in advance that they were getting a payout were pleasantly surprised when they saw $200 or $300 in their account," Purvis said.
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