SAFE CU's West Roseville branch in Roseville, Calif. (Credit/SAFE CU)
The $4.6 billion SAFE Credit Union in Folsom, Calif., announced Tuesday that it has eliminated several discretionary fees for its membership of around 236,000, including fees for notary and paper statement services and certain check fees.
The dropped fees previously cost members $2 to $30, and one of the most significant ones to be eliminated was the notary fee, according to SAFE.
"We see this as an added benefit of being a SAFE member and we are pleased to offer this important service at no cost to our members. Notary services in California can cost upward of $15 per signature on a document, so this is a real benefit and value for our members," SAFE SVP for Member Services and Operations Gina Olson stated.
Another fee cut by SAFE was the fee charged to members who choose to receive paper statements but did not meet certain account requirements to have the fee waived. Address locator fees, which were charged when members' new addresses were not readily available; branch photocopy and statement printing services; and SAFE's official check exchange and refund/replacement fees were also cut.
Gina Olson "We want to ensure that people have access to their account information easily and without any hassle," Olson said in regard to the paper statement fee elimination. "We listened to our members who prefer to get their statements in the mail and are giving them what they want."
According to the credit union, the intention behind the move is to help members reduce costs and red tape when getting their banking needs met while facing continuing inflation.
"We hope the eliminations help make our members' overall experience of banking with SAFE more convenient and friendly while helping them save some out of pocket costs," Olson said, adding, "All of these changes reflect our commitment to help our members build financial freedom and create a positive experience for them."
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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.
