St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union Introduces Kasasa, a Striking Alternative to the Mega Bank Rollercoaster

St. Helens, OR, January 17, 2012 – St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union asks members, “Do you Kasasa?” as it becomes the first financial institution in Oregon to launch the country’s most innovative financial products.

Kasasa® is a new brand of free banking accounts that pays members to use their account with what interests them most—high interest or digital downloads from iTunes® or Amazon.com. These accounts, combined with the personal service that only community financial institutions can deliver, are offering residents a better checking account option than the mega bank experience.

“Account holders deserve to wake up to happier days of banking and leave behind the nightmare of mega bank fees and mistreatment. We are pleased to be the first in Oregon to offer these unique products,” says Jeff Schwarz, president and CEO at St. Helens Community FCU. “Kasasa delivers what research shows people really want but believe they can’t have—great financial products with the personal service of a community based financial institution.”

St. Helens Community FCU is offering two Kasasa financial products, including Kasasa Cash® and Kasasa Tunes®. All Kasasa products are free, reward-based accounts, with no minimum balance to earn the rewards, no monthly service fees, free online banking and other convenience services, and worldwide ATM fee refunds.

Kasasa Cash – A free checking account that pays high interest for every month the account holder qualifies.

Kasasa Tunes – A free checking account that rewards consumers with digital downloads from iTunes® or Amazon® when they qualify.

To receive the Kasasa account benefits, each monthly qualification cycle account holders are asked to do a few simple things like, enroll to receive eStatements, use a debit card a minimum number of times, and have an electronic transaction (such as direct deposit or automatic debit) post and clear their account.

“Extensive research has shown us that consumers would prefer to do business with community financial institutions, but feel they would lose access to products,” continues Schwarz. “Kasasa is opening people’s eyes to a new banking model where no sacrifices are necessary. It’s a win-win because account holders get innovative products and personalized service.”

In 2009, Kasasa was piloted in six other markets across the U.S. In just the first two months of offering Kasasa, participating community financial institutions reported growth rates upwards of 150% on new account openings and 372% in deposits at institutions focused on deposit growth.

Kasasa is being introduced with an aggressive, highly engaging marketing campaign. It comes to life through a fresh mix of eye-popping advertising, the likes of which exceed the typical mega bank’s high-budget programs. The ads feature America’s top slam poets www.kasasa.com/news-and-media/advertising riffing lyrical threads around the theme of “Do you Kasasa?”

Kasasa is distributed to St. Helens Community Federal Credit Union from BancVue, the leading provider of innovative products, dynamic marketing, and data-driven consulting solutions to community financial institutions nationwide to help them win the war against the mega banks.

For more information on Kasasa accounts, consumers can visit www.shcu.org or www.kasasa.com/sthelenscfcu.

Do you Kasasa?
Kasasa® is the first national brand of the most innovative checking accounts available today. The accounts, offered exclusively by the finest community financial institutions, are designed to be the first and only accounts that actually take an interest in their account holders by paying them to use their account with what interests them most—high interest, cash back, automatic savings, money to donate to charity or iTunes® or Amazon.com® downloads. Kasasa, developed and distributed by BancVue, marries innovative banking products with the personal touch of community financial institutions. For more information, visit www.kasasa.com.    

Contact:
Katie Weathers
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