The earliest adoptor of DriveUp Savings, Members United Federal Credit Union, represents the innovation as it is featured in the January 2009 issue of Credit Union Management Magazine, from CUES:
. . . some of the most innovative approaches to auto lending in a down market are cropping up at small CUs. $7 million Members United Federal Credit Union of La Porte, Ind., for example, is piloting a program called “Drive-up Savings” that allows members to link a car loan to a savings account and offers them the same rate on the savings account that they are paying on a car loan.
“This is a wonderful product,” Probasco enthuses. “It breeds savings.” For members who are struggling financially, it builds up a savings balance they can’t touch until they trade in the car, finish paying off the loan or need to make authorized repairs to the car. They’re likely to build up money they can eventually reinvest or use as they see fit. And having the savings account can help them raise their credit score and make future borrowing less expensive, she explains.
