Aerial view of Westwood and the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. Source: AdobeStock
Wescom Credit Union ($6 billion, Pasadena, Calif.) reached a new milestone in its relationship with the University of California, Los Angeles this week, having been named the official banking partner of the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars.
The credit union first partnered with UCLA and the Rose Bowl Stadium in 2015, inking a major deal that included naming a street "Wescom Way" after the credit union. According to Monday's announcement, a key component of Wescom's new partnership with the Dashew Center will be the development of financial literacy programs "designed to meet the unique needs of international students and scholars who may be unfamiliar with the U.S. banking system and the importance of understanding the U.S credit system, and how to best manage their finances during their time abroad."
Wescom noted that it is well-positioned to serve the international community at UCLA, as it allows international students and scholars to open an account simply by emailing Wescom's UCLA Campus Branch prior to arriving in the U.S., waiving Social Security number and Taxpayer ID requirements. The credit union's campus branch is centrally located at UCLA's Ackerman Student Union, and it also has seven ATMs on campus.
UCLA enrolls more than more than 12,000 international students and scholars representing more than 120 countries, all of whom can visit the Dashew Center throughout their stay for visa services, support and advocacy, according to Wescom.
"Wescom is proud to be the official banking partner of the UCLA Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars, as we continue to expand our engagement with and commitment to the UCLA community," Ashley White, vice president, partner development for Wescom, stated. "We look forward to welcoming these international students and scholars to UCLA and to Southern California where we provide more than 200,000 Wescom members, including UCLA students, faculty, staff and alumni, with the personal service, competitive loan rates and outstanding savings yields for which we are known."
Dashew Center Director Sam Nahidi added, "Our partnership and collaboration with Wescom will provide our international students and scholars a new source of financial support and literacy upon arrival in the United States. We believe this partnership will equip our community with crucial financial wellness resources and banking support benefits, which are common obstacles that international students and scholars face during their adaptation to living in the U.S."
Wescom is currently the official banking partner of UCLA Athletics, UCLA Alumni Association, UCLA Campus Life and Recreation, and the Rose Bowl Stadium, as well as an official partner of the UCLA Financial Wellness Program, UCLA Staff Assembly and Associated Students of UCLA. Its recent initiatives have included providing no-interest computer loans to UCLA students, staff and alumni.
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Natasha Chilingerian
Natasha Chilingerian has been immersed in the credit union industry for over a decade. She first joined CU Times in 2011 as a freelance writer, and following a two-year hiatus from 2013-2015, during which time she served as a communications specialist for Xceed Financial Credit Union (now Kinecta Federal Credit Union), she re-joined the CU Times team full-time as managing editor. She was promoted to executive editor in 2019. In the earlier days of her career, Chilingerian focused on news and lifestyle journalism, serving as a writer and editor for numerous regional publications in Oregon, Louisiana, South Carolina and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition, she holds experience in marketing copywriting for companies in the finance and technology space. At CU Times, she covers People and Community news, cybersecurity, fintech partnerships, marketing, workplace culture, leadership, DEI, branch strategies, digital banking and more. She currently works remotely and splits her time between Southern California and Portland, Ore.
