MSUFCU continues to grow and “build dreams together” during the pandemic

<p>“We began in 1937 and we recently celebrated our 83rd anniversary,” Clobes says in discussing the credit union’s beginnings. “Credit unions are membership-based non-profit cooperatives. They work a lot like some of the things that you might see today like a GoFundMe.”</p><p>Clobes says <a href="http://www.msufcu.org">MSUFCU</a> continues to embrace the latest technology to provide members with the best possible service. There’s even an “Ask Fran” chat bot to help answer members’ questions on the credit union’s website. Fran was the credit union’s first employee. She was hired in 1957 and worked there for 30 years.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/msufcu">MSUFCU</a> is offering its members loan extensions, Savings Builder plans, and increased online engagement opportunities during the pandemic. The branches are considered essential businesses and remain open.</p><p>“We have found ways to serve members while meeting all the health department, state of Michigan, and MIOSHA orders. We have the branches set up with markers on the floors. There's plexiglass. And we have a mask requirement. The drive-ups are available for those who don't want to come inside a branch. We've seen unprecedented volumes in our call center and our online services team, a 250 percent increase over last year. And we were able to continually serve our members and get their questions and ease their fears during this time with the same number of employees as last year, even though we had such an increase in volumes. The team has really risen to the occasion on living our mission and serving the members during these really challenging times.</p><p>“We've had quite a robust suite of digital products since the early 2000s. You can certainly do everything online,” Clobes adds when detailing some of the credit union’s new offerings like CVVKey and increased video chat opportunities. And she explains how important the physical branches are to members, even during our increasingly digital society.</p><p>“I get often asked, ‘Why are you put