UW Credit Union Sees Success in First Months of Offering Free Credit Scores

Lisa Girdharry
Director of Marketing & Communication
UW Credit Union lgirdharry@uwcu.org 800-533-6773, ext. 2274

November 8, 2010 – Madison, WI – In September, UW Credit Union launched My Credit Score, a free service that members can use to access their personal credit scores through Web Branch, the credit union’s online banking system.

Within the first two weeks of implementation, over 6,000 members had registered with the service. Through the end of October, over 29,000 members had accessed the My Credit Score portal in Web Branch, and approximately 14,000 registered and actively used the site’s tools to monitor their credit.

This data illustrates how important and relevant personal credit information is to consumers. Now more than ever, consumers need to be familiar with their individual credit histories—especially their credit scores. Lenders, insurance companies, landlords and potential employers all perform credit checks to determine application approvals, appropriate rates and even hiring decisions. UW Credit Union is the first credit union in Wisconsin to provide this information to customers completely free, with no hidden or monthly fees.

Consumers are often presented offers from companies offering ―free‖ credit scores. However, when a consumer agrees to access their free credit score, they’re prompted for a credit card number and are automatically enrolled for a subscription to the service, which often comes with a hidden fee. UW Credit Union offers this service in a secure online environment where members are already doing their everyday banking online.

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