Posts by Francisco Saenz
Overboard
We have a member who is on a trip of a lifetime! It is one of those riverboat cruise trips in Europe. Actually, it is a “barge and bike” trip where you go from city to city on the barge and then bicycle around the various towns, historic sites, and wineries! 10 days into his two-week vacation the barge sank.
Auto Rental Collision Damage (if he rented a car and it was damaged)
Emergency Evacuation and Transportation (in case of a medical emergency)
Lost Luggage Reimbursement (if the barge is considered a common carrier and if he charged the barge trip on his SRIFCU Visa)
Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
Trip Cancellation/Trip Interruption
Trip Delay Reimbursement
Note that all of these extra benefits have various conditions and limitations. You can find all the extra benefit disclosures on our website. One limitation that is common to all these benefits is that you have to have used your SRI Federal Credit Union Visa card (debit or credit) for the initial purchase to qualify for the benefit.
I hope this member charged his trip on his SRIFCU credit card!
Steve
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P.S. This is also the member that I wrote about in a Hello World story that charged a rental car with his SRIFCU Visa – and then went out and got hit by a deer! He was able to get reimbursement from the auto rental collision damage waiver.
The Little Chick That Could
Once upon a time, there was a little chick named Henrietta. Growing up, Henrietta had nothing – no feathers, no car, no house, and no money.
Season’s Greetings
This is the 60th issue of the Hello World newsletter – just in time for the credit union’s 60th anniversary next year. The members of SRI Federal Credit Union have been a delight to interview and get to know! New and unusual things we have explored include space weather, programming mobile satellites, and how researching infectious disease
After 60 of these printed issues, we have been looking at delivering the newsletter in a faster and more convenient fashion. With so many of the members using online banking and receiving eStatements, it is time to convert the Hello World newsletter to a completely online version. Whether this takes the form of a PDF, blog, or some sort of social network, we will continue to look to you for ideas on how to make it interesting and useful! With the flexibility of an electronic format, we can share stories more often than once a month.
Other exciting changes in the coming year will include a new online banking platform, a redesigned website, and improvements to the mobile app. You may have noticed that our loan rates continue to be some of the lowest you can find, and new product offerings are in the works! See you at the annual meeting in March, where we will be celebrating the credit union’s 60th anniversary!
Thanks for your membership and happy holidays!
Steve Bowles CEO/CFO
November 2016
When I heard a member say “I had an encounter with a hot engine,” a lot of disastrous possibilities crossed my mind. First of all, “Was anyone hurt?” Not exactly, but there was an “injury.” So my next question was, “Was it a serious injury?”
No – the injury was actually to our member’s credit card; its run-in with a hot engine caused the card to melt!
While showing this card to various employees, some of the responses included “I knew he used the card a lot, but I’ve never seen one melt due to overuse,” and “You can charge anything on our cards, but they can’t be used to charge a shotgun shell.” Eager to get a new card, the member asked us to “light a fire under the staff’s feet!” No need – we have an instant-issue card machine in the office, and we can print a new one on the spot.
This card was recently rediscovered in a member’s loan file – yes, we do clean them out from time to time. Notice how the above card features the old “floating heads” logo, while our current cards display the new “connected world” logo. Cards are now being issued with computer chips embedded in them as an added layer of security to combat fraudulent transactions. If you would like one of the new chip cards prior to your current card’s expiration date, please let us know; we will be sure to fire one off to you.
If you don’t have an SRI Federal Credit Union debit or credit card yet, give us a call, and we will load them in the card engine, yell “fire in the hole,” and burn one for you. Feel free to let your family know this Thanksgiving that they are eligible for credit union membership, where they can get the hottest card in town!
Thanks for your membership!
Steve Bowles, CEO
SRI Federal Credit Union
October 2016
There have been a lot of changes behind the scenes at the credit union recently. We have a new chip card machine that instant-issues cards (debit and credit) in our office. Chip cards are also known as EMV (Europay/MasterCard/Visa) cards. They reduce fraud by creating a one-time passcode for every transaction and will also improve acceptance of cards in the United States and abroad.
Rick Valderrama (project lead) has been working very hard with a group of members to beta-test the new cards. The pilot program has a lot of moving parts, including new card designs, new encryption keys, a new server and crypto box, and changes to the method of reordering existing cards. The new cards have been successfully tested on a number of different transaction types. They work great and we will be rolling them out soon to all members. If you are eager to get one, please let us know! They are available now. If you see Rick around, say “thanks” for a great job on this!
Get extra cash in your pocket when you bring your auto loans to the credit union. In October, November and December, receive 1% cash back (up to $500) when you bring your auto loan home to the credit union. In addition, there are no payments required for the first 90 days!
Home loan rates are at an all-time low! If your home loan is not here at the credit union, this might be the chance to reduce your rate and your payments! Feel free to give our loan expert, Apryll Held, a call at 714.513.7251 or 800.200.4889 x7251.
Not only are 30-year fixed-rate loans very low, but the credit union’s 5/5 program is very attractive! The rate is fixed for five years and then changes only once every five years. Regardless of your needs, give us a chance to see if we can refinance your loan over to the credit union. (We have home equity loans, too!)
Shush – Don’t tell anyone! We have a super-secret project to revamp our home banking into a “mobile first” system next year. If you would like to be in on this early, let us know and we will add you to the pilot program team. Again, thanks to all our beta-testers! YOU make us better!
Steve Bowles
CEO/CFO