WESTBROOK, Maine–Effective Sept. 1, Infinity Credit Union said it will stop handling coins at its five Maine locations. The new policy comes as the credit union prepares to officially merge with Illinois-based Deere Employees CU.
The merged institution will be known as Empeople Credit Union.
The move is the first by a financial institution in the state of Maine, according to the Bangor Daily News.
“The coins curtailment by Maine’s oldest credit union does not appear related to the shortage of them during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when business and bank closures slowed circulation,” the Bangor Daily News reported. “Deere said the change is to keep all of its credit unions, including the Infinity ones in Maine, under the same system focused on digital transactions.”
Infinity is the only Maine credit union to institute a no-coins policy, Jen Burke, a spokesperson for the Maine Credit Union League, told the publication.
Some Worries Expressed
“Signs notifying (members) of the coming change worried some patrons, including Andrew Melrose, owner of contractor Melrose Electric in Westbrook,” the Bangor Daily News said. “He asked a bank employee whether he still would be able to deposit rolled coins, and the answer was no. He was told he could deposit a check written for an uneven amount, but if he wanted the change back, the bank would have to write him a check.”
‘It’s Really Ridiculous’
Melrose told the Daily News, “But I can’t cash the check there. It’s really ridiculous. It makes it incredibly hard for me to operate.”
Melrose told the publication that coin-intensive businesses, including restaurants whose waitstaff won’t be able to deposit tips, and collection jars for animal shelters and other charities, will be in a bind, and further noted that Maine’s sales tax of 5.5% often produces uneven prices.
“Businesses cannot be expected to make things come out,” he said.
Melrose told the Daily News still plans to stay with the credit union because it would be too difficult to move his payroll to another financial institution.
No Other FIs Make Same Move
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Financial Institutions, which oversees 17 banks, 12 credit unions and 10 other financial institutions, told the Daily News it has not heard of any other financial institution in the state adopting the policy.
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