ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Six years after the National Institutes of Health Federal Credit Union sold its credit card portfolio, the CU has re-entered credit card issuing with the support of PSCU and its consulting arm, Advisors Plus.
Rockville, Md.-based NIHFCU initially sold its portfolio to an agent bank in 2009 due to the worsening economic climate. As the economy improved, NIHFCU said it embarked on an extensive financial and competitive analysis, and the credit union’s board and management team decided it was time to rethink its card strategy.
“After evaluating numerous processors, we selected PSCU and its consulting team, Advisors Plus, to help guide our focus, set goals, and develop a highly competitive credit card product line that would resonate with our members,” said Tom Poe, SVP, retail delivery, NIHFCU.
Prior to launch, NIHFCU studied the marketplace with the help of a competitive review from Advisors Plus. It then turned to its members and employees to ask what was important to them in a card program.
“The results were transformed into a program that emphasized low rates, reduced fees, big rewards and advanced security,” the CU stated. “The new card lineup is targeted to four primary segments: a low-rate Platinum card, a secured card for rebuilding credit, signature cards for cash back and travel rewards, and a business rewards card.”
“We are confident that our card offering is a perfect match to our members’ needs,” said Poe. “All of our departments had aligned and committed to a win prior to launch. From our lending department to accounting and IT, it was a great team effort.”
According to the company, Chris Joy, principal, credit consulting at Advisors Plus, worked closely with the team at NIHFCU to devise a plan that would not only help them meet their growth goals, but help their members save money in the process. “We made certain that NIHFCU came out of the gate strong, focusing on account growth and balance transfers,” said Joy.
Nearly $2 million in balance transfers were processed in the months following the program launch, exceeding initial balance transfer goals. NIHFCU has already saved members over $100,000 in interest by transferring balances to their lower rate cards.
“PSCU’s capabilities, experience, cooperative model and Advisors Plus consulting support helped us establish a new issuing program and execute marketing campaigns with tremendous results. We could not be happier,” added Poe