According to the NCUA's records, Gulf Coast FCU has a share draft penetration of 59.9%. Kasasa interest-bearing accountholders must agree to use their debit cards at least 12 times per month, sign up for e-statements and make direct deposits.

Pitek noted that Kasasa checking accountholders have tended to use their debit cards far more than 12 times per month, although she acknowledged that not all checking accounts at the credit union are Kasasa accounts.

Pitek also reported the cooperative had achieved a 150% penetration rate on auxiliary products tied to loans, such as gap insurance, warranties, credit life insurance and credit disability insurance.

"Our members tend to not have a lot of cash, so these products, which can help defray unexpected big expenses have real value to them," she said.

She recounted how the credit union's lending activity among existing members tends to follow tax season, when members use money they receive from tax refunds and income tax credits to make down payments.

"The rest of the year, they often lack the means to make a down payment," she said.

Pat Conn, president/CEO of the $129 million, 21,000-member United 1st Federal Credit Union in Kingsland, Ga., agreed that treating members right and earning their trust is key to keeping noninterest income flowing.

As of June 2015, NCUA records showed United 1st FCU earned noninterest income totaling nearly $2.6 million – $2.3 million of which came from fees. The fee income did not derive from a large number of overdrafts, but rather from a variety of transactions and services.

"We are a full service credit union with six locations serving some 100-plus SEGs and eight counties in Georgia," Conn said. "Several of our outlying branches are in rural locations and were established some 27 years ago. They have grown to become well respected and substantial sources of financial services for members in these areas."

He added, "We want to insure that we balance the need for noninterest income that supports the operating costs of the credit union, and the imperative that the credit union charges fees that are fair and that support services that add value to members. Members over time have come to expect that they will receive accurate and dependable purchase and decision making information when they conduct business with our staff members."

Conn added the cooperative has educated its membership on the value of insurance policies such as gap and credit life insurance. He noted the credit union also participated in an insurance and investment program with several other credit unions, which has thrown off the amount of its additional income, as have seven of its ATMs that are located in high-traffic areas of its community.

"United 1st has competitively priced fees associated with the mainstay share draft account offering," he said. "There is no monthly fee and the fees for NSF and ODP, if used, are typical if not lower than [those of our] peers. We enjoy a very high penetration of share draft account members to total members. This carries over to debit cards and interchange income, although on the cost side, fraud has been quite taxing on the whole program."

The NCUA's data backs up his claims on the credit union's share draft penetration – almost half of its members have checking accounts, according to the agency.

ATMs also played a large role in the $121 million, 28,000-member GeoVista Federal Credit Union's strong noninterest income position, according to president/CEO Elaine Tuten.

According to the NCUA's data, the Hinesville, Ga.-based cooperative ended June 2015 with noninterest income totaling $2.9 million. Nearly $2.7 million of that amount came from fees.

Tuten reported a high level of transaction activity among the credit union's members, and said it runs 18 strategically-placed ATMs, all but one of which are in locations accessible to members and non-members alike.

The cooperative only charges non-members fees for ATM use – although not as much as other institutions in the market do.

"Our approach on fees has been to charge fees, but always aim to undercut the market," Tuten explained, adding that this approach has helped draw traffic to the credit union's facilities.

Many of her cooperative's members like using its debit cards, which have provided a steady stream of interchange income. She added that the credit union offers overdraft protection and has capped the service's fees at $29 when many competing financial institutions charge $35.

Tuten acknowledged that while the credit union has earned income from fees, it has considered the fees members face elsewhere, in addition to its need to make enough money to support its products and services, when determining fee amounts.

"We don't charge a lot for any of our fees, but we make up for our income through volume," Tuten said.