Commonwealth Credit Union – Louisville

Commonwealth Credit Union Partnerships Focus on Financial Education for Youth

Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing
Photography Provided 

At Commonwealth Credit Union (CCU), their motto is, “We better lives through our passion to serve.”

CCU, one of the largest credit unions in Kentucky, has five Louisville branches and one in Shelbyville, which enables them to establish a number of rewarding partnerships. That, in turn, helps them live out their cherished philosophy. CCU’s partnerships primarily focus on financial education for youth. Three main partnerships include the University of Louisville, the Louisville Urban League, and the Louisville Central Community Center (LCCC). 

The Louisville Urban League tries to defeat stereotypes in the west end of Louisville, an area plagued with socioeconomic issues.  

“They’re working hard to not only make the west end a residential place of choice for folks to live, but also a place of choice for businesses to open up and thrive,” says Glenn Griffin, operations regional manager at CCU. 

LCCC also works to improve the life of Louisville’s youth, especially in the west end.

“It’s an underserved area so we’re doing our best to help bring it back to life,” Griffin says. 

CCU is the official credit union of the University of Louisville – the pillar of the community.

“Partnering with the university gives us the opportunity to better the lives of today’s youth,” Griffin says. “They’re our future politicians, future accountants, future artists, future everything. We’re not going to be able to survive without their knowledge, expertise and passion, so we want to help them understand money, budgeting and credit.” 

CCU leaders decided that based on needs, market growth and the trends they were seeing in the market space, the university campus branch would be more productive as a contactless branch with live video tellers. 

“It’s like going through a drive-through, just without the tube system,” Griffin says. “You touch the screen and a live person greets you who can answer on-the-spot questions, take care of your transaction and offer referrals.” 

If you’re ATM savvy and don’t want to talk to a live person, the machine is dual-purpose and can accommodate that as well. Find similar ones at ATMS-NearMe.com.

Throughout the past year, CCU has converted all of their branch drive-throughs to live video tellers because it’s more efficient.

“You get the same level of service from it, but one associate can operate three or four machines at a time,” Griffin says. “It allows our associates to become an expert in everything they do because their focus is broader. Plus, they’re better able to navigate member situations in a timely fashion.”

NuLu, the East Market District of downtown, is known for area boutiques, art galleries and delicious restaurants. CCU’s grand opening of their downtown NuLu location was in the fall of 2021. This cashless location has two teller machines and three financial service representatives who assist with new accounts, new loans, credit cards, notary stamps and account maintenance. 

“It’s full service without cash,” Griffin says. “But you still have access to cash using the live video teller machines.”

At that branch they have one certified financial counselor and can take a dive into members’ credit histories to help them get on track.

In August of 2021, CCU rolled out a robust digital banking platform that has features like Zelle, a U.S.-based digital payment network.

“You can instantly send money back to other institutions who participate in Zelle,” Griffin says. “For example, if you have a student in college, you can get on the app, go into Zelle and send them cash in a matter of seconds.”

Another nice feature is that you can see every account you’re linked to. For example, if there are four members in your family and you’re all joined, with a single login you can see everything that goes on in all four accounts. In addition, everything is in real time. Plus, you can check out the history and view images of transactions. 

“We have many great features with this digital banking platform and have gotten tons of wonderful feedback from our members,” says Griffin, who notes that they’re growing every day. “We’re excited about the opportunities we can bring to every person in this region.”

For more information on Commonwealth Credit Union, give them a call at 502-564-4775 or visit them online at ccuky.org.