New UCC-focused credit union opens

Staff members from the Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ launched the Generations United Federal Credit Union (GUFCU), with the hopes of serving the “historically underbanked or unbanked, as well as victims of extortionate alternative financial-service industry models such as payday lenders,” according to its website. 

The new credit union, exclusively for members and employees of any UCC congregation, conference, national body, etc., is the result of a resolution passed at the 31st General Synod in Baltimore, Maryland. The resolution identified economic justice needs and lifted credit unions as important contributors in the quest for economic justice. 

John Linzey, who serves as the first president and CEO of the new credit union leads a core team that carries out the day-to-day operations, as well as the strategic vision. He says that once the resolution passed, the Pension Boards worked to bring the vision to fruition, assembling a team to lay the initial ground work for what would eventually become GUFCU.

“We wanted to name it United Church of Christ credit union, or something to that effect, but there were already 12 credit unions with that name,” Linzey said. “We realized a lot of people serve the church for generations, and they may invite their children and other family members, so a big piece of it is building financial trust for generations. We’re going to be there with you from the beginning of your ministry until the end.” 

Small but mighty

The core team of GUFCU consists of Linzey, Paul Bomba, the head of operations, Randy Garrett, the chief financial officer, and Marco Lima, who oversees marketing, analytics, and assists with some operations. This team manages the day-to-day operations of the credit union from processing and clearing checks, approving loans, meeting with clients, and interfacing with the customers. 

There are no physical, chartered locations of GUFCU, although the core team has office space in New York City. And while there are plans to expand, Garrett says resources have been directed toward making the customer experience as polished as possible. 

“It was important for us to maximize efficiency and get as much done securely and reliably without having a large staff,” Garrett said. “We’ve put a lot of powerful technology and technical resources to bear. When you look at this team, it’s physically four people, but behind us is probably another 100 individuals represented by the various service providers that we’ve put together.” 

Another goal Garrett says is to move away from the standard idea of a bank teller in a physical location, keying things in. Those day-to-day transactions are done through automated systems, thus, enabling the team to focus more on strategic resolutions and delivering a refined, cohesive customer experience. 

“We never want to be distant. We want folks to know who’s behind this,” Garrett said. “We’re taking a hybrid approach to providing that personal closeness, while having a solid, robust framework of systems that are handling the processes and transactions.” 

Why choose a credit union?

In the simplest terms, banks are for-profit, shareholder-owned financial institutions, while credit unions are not-for-profit, member-owned cooperatives. Studies have shown that credit unions typically offer better interest rates on savings and loans, due to their member-centric models. Like banks, credit unions are federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) up to $250,000 per account. 

Still, there are many misconceptions that people have about credit unions, including offering fewer services than banks, having outdated technology, and being inconvenient due to limited locations. GUFCU is working to dispel those misconceptions.

“You’re not sacrificing on service quality, security, or products,” Garrett said. 

Linzey added that while most other financial institutions might deny a person a loan due to credit or other factors, GUFCU takes a different approach. 

“The system will process you, give a grade and say we should deny that person. We all look at [each case] and call that person and find out why they need the loan and how we can help them,” Linzey said. 

Putting your dollars to use in the UCC

One of the benefits to joining GUFCU is knowing that your dollars are being put to good use throughout the denomination, according to the core team. 

“We invest in the members. The money we receive in deposits, how does that money get put to work? We’re lending to other members,” Garrett said. 

“I came from Wall Street where you had to make a profit,” Linzey said. “This will be something fulfilling that we can leave for [the church] and will help down the road.”

To sign up for a GUFCU account or to learn more, visit their website: gufcu.org/

---

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.