The Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union Branch Opens!
The Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union opens its door on Intervale Avenue in the Bronx! Photo by @paganimages
Get ready Bronxites! The Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union Branch is open for business at its new brick-and-mortar location. It has been two years since the Bronx Financial Access Coalition launched an effort in partnership with UNHP and three other effective Bronx nonprofits; Banana Kelly, Nos Quedamos, and Whedco, to expand financial access for Bronx residents. Two other key partners have been Webster Bank generously supporting the effort as a premier Sponsor and the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union (LESPFCU) which expanded its reach to open a satellite credit union. Officially opened on December 9th, the Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union welcomed partner groups, members, and Bronx residents to use the branch services. Read about our 2022 credit union launch party here.
It’s a proud day for the groups working together to bring this community development credit union to the Bronx. Members and staff of the Bronx Financial Access Coalition, Webster Bank, LES People’s Federal Credit Union, and NYPD Officer Felix gather in front of the Bronx People’s Credit Union branch on December 9th, 2024 to celebrate its opening.
Located at 941 Intervale Avenue, the modern self-service branch is designed to make banking easy and affordable. State-of-the-art technology at the ATMs will assist members with cash transactions, check deposits, and other services. Member service representatives and a branch manager can help members and answer inquiries on how to make the most of their accounts, apply for loans, transfer money, obtain money orders, and utilize the full-service ATMs inside the branch. The Bronx People’s Credit Union membership is open to all Bronx residents residing in low-income neighborhoods, employees, clients, and volunteers at the select partner groups, any NYC resident who lives in a qualifying CDFI Investment Area Census Tract (map), individuals affiliated with one of the credit union’s Select Partner Groups in NYC or a resident of New York City who earns less than $48,500 annually, anyone, who lives in an HDFC Co-op building; or a family member of an existing member. The Credit Union is seeking additional partners whose employees, members, and volunteers can benefit from the Credit Union’s services. Like a traditional bank, the Bronx People’s Credit Union offers a wide range of financial products, and Federal Insurance fully backs deposits. Uniquely, the Bronx People’s Credit Union is a community development financial institution seeking to help Bronx residents stabilize their finances and build wealth with low-cost products, free budgeting tools with Money Desktop, personal and business loans, credit builder loans, accounts for ITIN holders, and referrals for free financial counseling. The branch is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm. Stop by!
It takes lots of work to open a new credit union branch – from selecting a location, gaining financial support, renovating the space, and hiring staff. The Credit Union is located in the retail space at 941 Intervale Avenue, an affordable housing building overseen by the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association. Kara Pacheco and Karina Saltman from Webster Bank attended the soft opening. Webster Bank is the premier sponsor and provided the support to staff the outreach and effort. Bottom right Jose, the new branch manager meets with a member.
The Bronx People Federal Credit Union is a satellite branch of the LES People’s Federal Credit Union. With 38 years of experience, the LES People FCU is a strong financial partner. Like the LESPFCU, the Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union offers
- Free checking accounts, debit cards, credit builder loans, personal loans, holiday loans and low-cost auto loans
- accounts for members with ITINs who may have trouble opening accounts at a traditional bank.
- A large Surchase-Free ATM network with nearly 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide. You can withdraw cash, transfer funds between Share Draft (Checking) and Share (Savings) Accounts, and check your account balances at any ATM. Many ATMs are inside McDonald’s and 7-Eleven stores.
- 5,600 shared branches nationwide
- Virtual services, online banking, mobile banking, and mobile check deposits
- Free budgeting tools via Money Desktop
- Direct Deposit
- Bill Pay, money orders, and FICO credit score offerings
While waiting to open a physical branch, the Credit Union took its services on the road with a Mobile Credit Union branch. UNHP hosted the branch in a van twice a month at its West Tremont location and worked with neighborhood partners to bring the van to local events. The Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union gained 266 new members working with the Mobile Branch and through its partners. UNHP’s effort attracted 106 new members since 2021.
Although the physical branch just opened on December 9th, 2024, The Bronx Financial Access Coalition (BxFAC) in partnership with the Lower East Side (LES) People’s Federal Credit Union began offering financial services to Bronx neighborhoods through the Bronx People’s Mobile Branch Van in 2022. At the mobile branch new members could utilize many of the services of a branch; open accounts, apply for loans, and make deposits. The Credit Union Mobile Branch was hosted by each of the partner organizations multiple days each month. The UNHP Northwest Bronx Resource Center hosted the mobile branch regularly at our West Tremont Avenue site office and in collaboration with local neighborhood partners, including Part of the Solution (POTS), the Davidson Community Center, Concourse House, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, Fordham Bedford Community Services, and Fordham University. As a result of BxFac and its partners working on this effort since 2021, the Credit Union gained 266 new members. UNHP Mobile Branch days, collaboration with partners, attendance at community events, and outreach efforts produced 106 of the new members!
Webster Bank provided support to the Bronx Financial Access Coalition as the premier sponsor of this effort to open a Credit Union branch in the Bronx. Webster Bank led two well-attended community financial empowerment workshops on banking basics and the role of credit. Banana Kelly hosted the banking workshop in June and UNHP hosted the Spanish language credit workshop in July.
Webster Bank is the premier sponsor of this effort by BxFAC. In addition to ongoing engagement, and financial support, Webster Bank offered free financial empowerment workshops in the Bronx at Banana Kelly and UNHP. The workshops were well-attended and one was held in English on Banking Basics and the other in Spanish on the role of Credit. Webster Bank staff engaged community residents around banking needs, financial goal setting, the role of credit, and budgeting benefits. Attendees were able to make on-the-spot appointments with financial counselors at the partner organizations. UNHP works with Ariva’s Ready to Rent program to offer financial counseling once a week at the Northwest Bronx Resource Center. A 2025 workshop led by Webster Bank will be coordinated by Whedco with a focus on small businesses.
Teamwork makes the dream work! UNHP worked closely with neighborhood partners to spread the word about the new credit union. Tabling at local events like Fordham in the Community’s back-to-school fair and coordinating off-site mobile branch days like the ones pictured here at West Farms Square, POTS, and Concourse House enabled UNHP to attract over 100 new members.
BXFAC was formed in 2021 in response to a spate of bank branch closings in the Bronx, the Coalition partnered with the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union to move towards bringing a Credit Union branch to the Bronx. The collective work of BXFac and its partners led to a strong partnership and a premier sponsorship with Webster Bank to expand access to affordable, convenient, and quality financial services for Bronx residents. 17 bank branches closed in the Bronx between 2018 and 2021. BXFac drew attention to the issue with a “closed bank tour” covered by Bronxnet. Lack of financial access is not new to the Bronx. The effects of widespread and well-documented redlining by banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions in the 1970s are still felt today in the Bronx. In the vacuum created by the loss of traditional banks, the Bronx has become populated by check cashers, pawn shops, and costly and predatory financial services. UNHP has worked with many un and under-banked families and individuals and found a lack of trust in financial institutions, especially among low-income and immigrant families. There are many reasons for the mistrust including the lack of branches in the community and unexpected overdraft or other fees. Read more in the Banks for the People article.
The Bronx Financial Access Coalition organized a “closed bank” tour to highlight the loss of 17 Bronx banks between 2018 and 2021. The loss of financial services in a borough with the least amount of branches sparked the creation of BXFac. Assemblymembers Chantel Jackson, Yudelka Tapia, Council member Pierina Sanchez, members of the Jerome Avenue Revitalization Coalition, and NYC Comptroller staff joined BxFAC on Burnside Ave, where Amalgamated Bank closed in 2020.
The opening of the new physical location of the Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union is a significant step toward bringing affordable and wealth-building financial services to our community. UNHP, the BxFAC, and the Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union are dedicated to expanding and solidifying the financial opportunities for the residents of the Bronx. The hope is that the Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union with its access to essential banking tools and opportunities for financial counseling through its community partners will be a hub of financial empowerment that will help individuals and families on their path to economic stability and growth.
Together we are working to create a more equitable future for the Bronx, where financial security and opportunity are within reach for its residents. If you are interested in becoming a community partner or member, reach out to Jumelia Abrahamson at resourcecenter@unhp.org.
Jumelia Abrahamson, UNHP Director of Programs, accepts the well-deserved Volunteer of the Year award from the Lower East Side People’s Credit Union. Jumelia worked tirelessly as a staff member to make a new credit union in the Bronx a reality! She also serves as a volunteer Board member for LES People’s Credit Union.
Press links https://www.noemamag.com/banks-for-the-people/
– How a CU is Literally Rolling Out Financial Services to the Underserved
The family that banks together stays together. Clara and Robinson, brother and sister new members are flanked by Bronx People’s Credit Union staff member and UNHP’s Yadhira Marte