Two stories of a credit union going the extra mile to help members with card problems. From a CEO’s monthly staff briefing, used with permission.
The stories are long and show the team efforts needed to resolve difficult circumstances in the member’s best interest.
A Blocked Card and a Member In Transit
Our member called in on Thursday, Jan 22, 2026, because his debit card wasn’t working. When our CC representative, Kristen, took a look at his debit card, it was discovered that it was restricted due to suspicious activity, and she confirmed that the transactions were fraudulent.
After explaining that the card would need to be blocked, he became very frantic and upset as he was working out of town. His company was sending him home due to the incoming weather. However, he was going to be stranded in South Texas without a debit card, no gas, and no access to funds. The closest shared branch was 75 miles from where he was.
Kristen went to Jami, her supervisor, to see if there was anything that could be done to help this member. Jami reached out to RISK and asked if an exception could be made for us to un-restrict the member’s debit card long enough so that he could go to an ATM and withdraw funds, and then immediately block it when he was done, so that the credit union could maintain operating control.
When Kristen got back on the phone and told the member the good news, he was elated, and Hope took the place of despair. Kristen stayed on the phone with the member until he got to an ATM. She then coached him on how to get as many funds as he could from the ATM (the limit for that specific ATM was $200 per transaction). The member had to do multiple transaction withdrawals wich Kristen walked him through. After the member pulled what funds he could out, Kristen immediately blocked the card.
The entire team did the right thing by this member and found a way to enact our Principles of Operating Control while realizing that Every Person Has a Story. The credit union was able to deliver a happy ending by enabling him to get gas, necessities, and a hotel room so that he could make it home safely in time to avoid the bad weather.
An Overdrawn Credit Card in Default
A member and his mother came to the local Member Relationship Center after a frustrating experience related to a credit card that had been charged off. The member believed he had only been an authorized user on the account, added by his father when he was 18, to help build credit. Sadly, his father later passed away after struggling with alcoholism, leaving an $8,000+ balance that began reporting negatively on the member’s credit. It was later confirmed that the member had signed as a co-applicant, making the debt legally his responsibility.
Prior attempts to resolve the issue had been unsuccessful, leaving the member and his mother extremely upset. Joley from the Contact Center supported them during an emotional call and proactively coordinated with member service reps Allison and Bella to ensure the branch team was prepared. Bella also followed up based on a prior review, providing the card provider the deceased accounts contact information and continuing to advocate for support.
When mother and son arrived the next day, emotions were high. During a lengthy call with the card provider, we verified account details and requested a higher up review. While the conversation was tense at times, the focus remained on de-escalation, empathy, and finding a solution. After nearly an hour and multiple conversations, the credit card proviider’s recovery agent agreed to accept a one-time $1,000 settlement on the balance.
The mother who is on Social Security with limited savings, was prepared to pay the settlement that day. By the end of the meeting, both she and her son were visibly emotional—this time from relief. They shared that they had felt stuck for a long time and were deeply grateful for the advocacy, time, and teamwork that helped them reach a manageable resolution.
A Comment
This is the credit union difference in practice, not a PR slogan. These members were treated like owners whose special circumstances were recognized and resolved as a standard operating procedure (SOP).
Tomorrow I will show how this individual approach, intrinsic to cooperative design and purpose, carried over into the 1984 restructuring of credit union’s unique insurance saety net, the NCUSIF.