The $1.7 billion, 155,000-member FAIRWINDS Credit Union in Orlando has been tabbed as the official student banking services provider for the University of Central Florida.

FAIRWINDS said it has been the official credit union partner for the UCF Alumni Association since 2005 and has the naming rights to the FAIRWINDS UCF Alumni Center at the school, which has nearly 60,000 students.

The credit union said its “extensive student-centered products and services, unique perspective of being a local community partner, and financial strength” were the reason it emerged as the winner in the bidding process.

FAIRWINDS will offer students, faculty, and staff the convenience of linking their UCF ID card to a FAIRWINDS checking account with a PIN that will allow the card to be used on and off campus at thousands of retail and ATM locations.  

“It is an honor to support the students, faculty, and staff on their journey toward financial independence, responsibility, and ultimately financial freedom,” said Larry Tobin, FAIRWINDS president/CEO and a UCF alum.

 “During the course of the student banking conversations, it quickly became clear that FAIRWINDS was seeking to be more than a business partner to the university,” said Curt Sawyer, associate vice president for administration and finance at UCF. “They truly recognized they would be investing in the very students who are the future leaders of our community.  Otherwise stated, the higher the quality of education, the stronger the community becomes. This visionary thinking was quite simply a very compelling value-proposition for UCF.“