Case Study: Renewed commitment to excellence impacts performance & revenue

Riverfront Federal Credit Union was established in 1948, as RDG Reading Federal Credit Union, to serve the employees of the historic Reading Railroad. Through the years, other organizations and companies were permitted to join RDG, leading to substantial growth. To reflect the resulting diversity of its field of membership, the credit union was renamed Riverfront Federal Credit Union in 1987. Today, the institution serves nearly 22,000 members with three locations in Berks County, PA.

In 2004, Riverfront FCU became interested in providing its members with a product to serve as a financial safety net in the event they made an error in their checkbook or found themselves short of funds to cover an emergency or unexpected purchase. After carefully considering its options, the credit union implemented JMFA OVERDRAFT PRIVILEGE®. With JMFA’s guidance, the program achieved great success. So, credit union leadership decided not to renew the contract with JMFA, choosing to manage it on their own instead. Over the next few years, they were able to maintain the status quo of the program. But as time passed and regulations changed, it became stale.

Redirecting an outdated overdraft strategy

In 2014, Tim McLeod was hired as chief executive officer of Riverfront FCU. As he and the management team began to move the credit union in a new direction, they determined that the overdraft program could be much more efficient and effective if it was opened to E channels, providing members with extended coverage for debit and ATM card transactions. Another initial concern was overall program use among members.

 

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