The meaning of it all

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Sometimes the credit union messes up. It happens, they do something wrong and you get angry and call and go off and their personnel has to fix it and they apologize. It's part of business.

Other times something happens with your accounts and you get angry and call to have it fixed, even if it isn't the credit union's fault. Either way, they always help you. When I worked at the credit union's I was the go-to person when a member called angry because something was wrong. I guess something in the way I deal with people makes them feel that I am trying my best when I set out to help them. Or maybe it's that I am very no-nonsense. Not sure.

I tell you all this because working at OAS FCU is not always easy. Oh sure, they make it look like cake, offering us every single perk that a bank offers, in two languages with a staff of under 25. But the truth is that there is so much going on, so much that they do to bring us all that in this neat seamless package, that I think it’s time to tell you a little more about it.

Our credit union, like most businesses, has a mission, and a vision, and it even has a formulated value proposition, a set of promises they make to us about their work and how the go about it. We don’t ever really notice them, even though they are there, on the website, and they come across in our everyday interaction with them. So let’s pull them out and take a look, shall we? Today I will talk about the credit union's mission.

OAS FCU’s mission is”to help members thrive in an ever-changing technological banking market and rapidly evolving financial world”. This bears explaining. You see, the technological world changes all the time, and the credit union seeks to help those advances permeate the way members handle their money.Thirty years ago the credit union didn’t have PCs, and paper copies were kept of everything. Imagine not having email nowadays. It seems ludicrous yet, as technologies advance so does the credit union. Not only that, they strive to stay ahead of others, and to offer services that are either par with other institutions, or completely new in the market.

This is why nowadays you can deposit a check in your OAS FCU account by simply taking a picture of it on your phone via the Mobile Banking system; send a direct deposit outside the United States via Online Banking, or how you have Apple Pay with OAS FCU. These are very new technologies, and they are made available to you by a group of 23 people who manage to provide you a full banking experience whether you walk in to the credit union office or log in from Helsinki, Finland, like I do.

Furthermore, every single product and service that is brought to us members has undergone a thorough scrutiny. They analyze every step of the process, every written description of access, every disclosure and every angle to make sure that when you use that product or service, they have made it as intuitive, user-friendly and easy to understand as possible. Because they know how new everything is, and they commit to making you feel at ease when you try to work these tools, so that you learn to use them quick and easily.

It's also why, when you use something for the first time and you have a problem, or a question, there is always someone at the credit union that, be it in person, over the phone or via email, can walk you through it until you get it right. They take pride in knowing that they bring you the best they can, and they know how to ensure you're satisfied with the products and their quality of service. It takes banks teams of hundreds to manage half as well as our credit union; that’s because their purpose is not to make money, but to provide us the best service they can.

Also, and unbeknownst to many members, the credit union offers top-of-the line financial services that are not the typical banking services one would expect:

there's insurances of many kinds (worldwide), pensions, investments, financial counseling, debt management, educational seminars and many, many other benefits that are brought to you via service contracts with outstanding and well-established firms in their fields; and these services are, of course, available in English and Spanish.

Oh, and they manage to come up with all these technological advances, these products and services, while still providing you their outstanding day-to-day service with the accounts and services you already have; while answering phones, emails, faxes, managing complaints and requests for special types of assistance, and helping you with everything else that is part of a person's everyday financial doings.

(Note: that goes to explain a bit why they close at 2 in the afternoon; out of necessity, a lot of this work happens after the doors are closed.)

Everything the credit union does is aimed, always, at helping us with our money, to help us thrive financially through every stage of life;

and they do a crazy good job of it. If you ever find yourself thinking they are not performing to your satisfaction, please remember that they are a very small team set on a very large quest, and ask yourself "would someone else do better?” 99% of the time the answer will be no. Because and OAS FCU they're dedicated. And they're dedicated because they care so much that they have made the successes in your financial management their mission.


Next up: their vision for the future.