we are more than just a bank

By: Emily Jones

October 1, 2018

It’s a bold statement we are making in our newest ads, but to really understand what that means you have to understand what a credit union is and why the difference is important. By definition, banks are financial establishments that invest money deposited by their customers, pay it out when required, make loans at interest, and exchange money. Credit unions pool deposits and loan the money back out at low interest rates. Sounds the same right? It’s true you can handle your day-to-day finances at both banks and credit unions and pretty much end up with the same result. However, in the long-term, credit unions provide more to their members.

Credit unions are not-for-profit. That is the core of who we are. What that means to you is that we are here to provide financial services for our members and give back our profits to those same members, because when you join a credit union, you become a member and owner of the credit union. We don’t have shareholders to turn profits over to, we have you, our members. We call our account holders [or customers] members because when they join us, they become a part of something bigger than themselves. Our success is returned to the members through lower interest loans and improved services.

Our first members were a group of employees at the Fort Wayne GE plant that joined together in 1936 to loan money neighbor-to-neighbor out of a shoe box. They were there for each other when banks were failing and unpredictable during the depression. They charged their neighbors and co-workers low interest rates to earn a profit that could then be loaned out to another neighbor in need. While we no longer use shoe boxes we’re still doing just that, pooling our deposits to give members low interest rate loans in the Fort Wayne area and beyond.

Our humble beginnings are also why 3 generations of Fort Wayne neighbors have chosen to become members of MidWest America. Others may come and go but we are a financial partner that you can depend on and one who is committed to this community. We give back to our schools and organizations with each Affinity Visa® Debit Card purchase our members make. Our employees volunteer in all our service areas at local charities and help to build up those in unfortunate circumstances. We also strive to help you, our hometown members, when life throws you a financial curve ball.

We are a full service financial institution that is proud to offer our members all of the modern services you would expect from your bank. We offer mobile banking, bill pay, multiple checking & savings products, direct deposit as well as loans for your home, car and so much more.  We do it all while continuing to hold true to our values and being an active member of this community. It’s just like the Bryan Adams song I’m paraphrasing here, “everything we do, we do it for you” because we are more than a just bank.