AmeriCU announces major expansion of membership field

ROME, N.Y. — Big things are happening at AmeriCU Credit Union.

The Rome–based credit union began this year with several strategic moves that set the organization up for continued growth, including opening a virtual branch and other innovative technology as well as adding several new positions, including three business-relations managers.

“We have experienced considerable organic growth,” AmeriCU CEO Ronald Belle says. Now, the credit union hopes to bump up that growth by expanding its field of membership into 15 additional counties.

The credit union has served the nine counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego for many years. Now, it has approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services to expand its field of membership to include Broome, Chenango, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Seneca, Schoharie, Tioga, Tompkins, and Wayne counties.

“That’s a significant increase for us,” Belle says. AmeriCU currently has about 160,000 members and has been growing membership between steadily in recent years. With the expanded field of membership, AmeriCU now has access to a population of about 2.2 million people to further grow membership, he adds. AmeriCU already has some members in those counties, which represents a natural expansion outward from the counties the credit union has already served.

The organization just received the approval in July, Belle says, so there aren’t any immediate plans to open branches in those counties. “With the virtual branch, members in the new county can interact with us without a branch,” he notes.

Belle expects new branches will happen after careful planning and also anticipates employment to grow beyond the current 400 employees in order to maintain the level of service that credit-union members expect.

He credits his team and that level of service they provide, combined with all the same technology that big banks offer, with AmeriCU’s continued membership growth. Advancements such as video teller machines, which connect members in real time with AmeriCU staff via video, and the credit union’s virtual financial center provide a variety of ways for members to transact their business.

The formula allows those who want to interact in person to visit a branch and have that experience, while those who prefer to use technology to handle their banking can do that instead, he says. The mix keeps AmeriCU relevant to members of all ages, and as a result, he says the credit union has seen growth across all age brackets.

AmeriCU is actively working to expand its commercial membership as well. Historically, credit unions were seen as financial institutions for individual consumers, but the reality is that AmeriCU offers the same products and services as a bank, Belle says.

“I do think there’s an opportunity for credit unions to expand in that space,” he adds. Banks serve the business community well — and so do credit unions, he says.

Being local also helps the credit union serve its members — both individuals and businesses, Belle notes. “Our deposits are local. Our loans are local,” he says. “Local matters to people.”

Beyond that, AmeriCU works to invest in the communities it does business in, he says. Managers are encouraged to be active on the boards of organizations within the community. On top of that, the credit union added a “personal day of meaning” to its employee benefits this year. That benefit gives each employee eight paid hours each year to devote to volunteering at an organization that’s important to them to the tune of between 2,000 and 2,500 volunteer hours annually. Additionally, AmeriCU supports about 150 organizations in those communities in some way, and that number will only grow as AmeriCU expands, Belle says.

AmeriCU serves its 160,000 members at 20 branch locations in Central and Northern New York.