Georgia-Based CU Drops Fees, Saving Members $5 Million

As of May 1, Robins Financial Credit Union ($4 billion in assets, 243,050 members) in Warner Robins, Ga., eliminated its Non-Sufficient Funds (NSF) – a move that credit union officials said will save members $5 million each year.

According to a statement from Robins Financial, the credit union will continue to offer no-fee Overdraft Protection Transfer service. “Members with a checking account can sign up for overdraft protection by linking their checking account to a savings account or even a Visa credit card. If sufficient funds are not available in the checking account when a qualifying transaction is processed, funds are then transferred from the linked account at no cost to the member,” the statement read.

The credit union stated it was eliminating the $10 Bounce Protection fee. That fee was in place if a transaction takes the account negative less than $50. The credit union will still offer one free Bounce Protection fee per member account should the transaction take the account negative more than $50.

“Our hope is to see our members be more financially secure because of this action and promote financial fairness throughout our membership and help underserved communities”, President/CEO Christina O’Brien said. “We’re constantly working to offer the best value possible for our members.”

Over the past year, numerous credit unions across the country have announced the elimination or reduction of its fee structure.

In April, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based Stanford Federal Credit Union announced the full elimination of its NSF fees program. Adding to that announcement, officials said the credit union is eyeing a complete overhaul of its entire overdraft protection program and unveiling it later this year.

According to the announcement from Stanford FCU ($3.8 billion in assets, 80,085 members), its NSF fees were dropped on April 1 as way to improve the financial lives of its members.

Other credit unions that have reduced or eliminated fees included:

• The Pembroke Pines, Fla.-based Power Financial Credit Union eliminated all overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees for members with personal or business accounts.
• The Oklahoma City-based WEOKIE Federal Credit Union reduced its fees from $27.50 per occurrence to $15 per occurrence.
• The Chicago-based Alliant Credit Union stopped charging members for overdraft fees or NSFs on all checking and savings accounts. Alliant remains the largest credit union to eliminate those fees.
• The Madison, Wis.-based UW Credit Union reduced its overdraft and NSFs from $30 per occurrence to $5.