By Ray Birch
SUITLAND, Md.—One credit union that serves the military took extra steps to get closer to its members during the pandemic—including blanket loan payment deferrals--to help them financially survive the health crisis, and has now been recognized for its efforts.
Those moves, and its overall high level of service to the military, landed Andrews Federal Credit Union two 2020 Distinguished Credit Union of the Year Awards—one from the United States Army and another from the U.S. Air Force.
The $2.2-billion Andrews FCU was awarded the Department of the Air Force’s honor for credit unions over $1 billion in assets, while the CU’s Garrison Benelux, Belgium office was selected by the Department of the Army.
“We received the awards for our commitment to servicemembers and families during the unprecedented year—which was 2020,” stated interim President and CEO Ken Orgeron. “We are extremely honored to be recognized for the work that we do with our military community.”
Orgeron explained that Andrews FCU—as do all CUs that effectively serve the military—seeks to work every day to understand the unique needs of servicemembers and to establish close. But the pandemic put new pressure on the importance of getting even closer to this segment of its membership, Orgeron said.
“Some military houses were deeply affected—spouses that were working lost income, which affected the household,” Orgeron said. “Child daycares and schools closed. Many services on base closed. Newcomers who were able to move during the pandemic experienced challenges with house hunting because landlords could not or would not show properties. There were delays by local companies which impacted getting set up with phone, Internet, housing arrangements, opening a local account for security deposits…”
A Big Step
Among the initial steps taken by Andrews FCU were deferring loan payments for six months and keeping its Benelux locations open during the pandemic.
“Our stateside branches were also open for the convenience of our members,” Orgeron said. “Andrews also provided members with the 0% COVID-19 relief loans up to $5,000 to assist those impacted.”
Orgeron said Andrews Federal reacted “swiftly” and creatively to problem-solve when members needed the credit union most as the pandemic’s effects began to be felt.
“Andrews looked for ways to stay connected to the membership with an outbound calling campaign that reached thousands of members to reassure them we are here to help and serve their needs,” Orgeron said. “In this capacity, Andrews deployed over 20 retail staff to reach out to members—via phone or email to let them know that we are available to answer any questions they may have regarding their loan payments, answer requests for assistance, and offer services to assist during these difficult times.”
Orgeron emphasized the effort extended to all of its members.
Critical Presence
Overseas, Andrews FCU’s Benelux offices are critical to the operations of the communities they serve, explained Rachel Rust, VP European operations.
“We not only sponsor and support local events in the community, but also stay connected to the garrison leadership,” Rust said. “Our Benelux offices maintained services throughout the entire pandemic, which ensured members had the ability to transact on their accounts at all locations and through our robust online platform.”
Leveraging ATMs
In the U.S., the office on Andrews Air Force Base, which is the home to Air Force One, also stayed open during the pandemic, noted Marco Alvarez, SVP, U.S. branch operations.
“Our fleet of ATMs distributed throughout the base provided convenience of our Air Force members,” Alvarez said. “During this time, we extended the amount of cash members can get from our ATMs because we knew there was a need. We balanced risk with member service and provided members with options.”
Like many credit unions, Andrews FCU said it also invested heavily in improving its digital banking platform to allow for greater member self-service for almost all non-cash transactions.
“Andrews truly embodies the ‘member service is king’ and ‘people helping people’ mentalities,” said Alvarez. “Our members were able to request branch appointments online, or they could deposit checks, request a new debit or credit card all from their mobile device, which added to the convenience of our operations. We wanted members to know that while we remained opened, they could also perform their banking from their own base or home.”
Beyond the Call of Duty
Alvarez believes Andrews FCU really went above and beyond other military credit unions when it delayed members’ loan payments for six months.
“Others provided interest-free loans, but no one else had blanket deferrals of loan payments,” he said. “We immediately understood that we needed to help our members by putting money directly back in their pockets. This provided immediate relief, with no negative impact to our members’ credit reports.”
“During the pandemic, the Benelux branch locations maintained in-person branch operations and did not close once,” reiterated Rust. “To ensure we continued to operate safely, we sent half of our staff to remote work, which ensured members would still have support through email and phone for any services that they could not do through our digital channels.”
A ‘True Partner’
Orgeron emphasized what Andrews FCU does in the U.S. and overseas is become a “true partner” with its military members.
“Our big job is to support the base in completing their mission successfully—so, that means supporting the bases, its personnel, the commanders…,” explained Orgeron. “That is what we are all about.”