Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
FNWCU
The park-like setting of the new FNWCU ATM message center in Colfax comes with bench, bike rack, garbage can and wifi. Below: FNWCU representatives meet with Colfax chamber members July 11 at the Perkins House.
Within a month, Freedom Northwest Credit Union will cut the ribbon to open its new park-like ATM message center in Colfax. The location includes wifi, drinking fountain, bench and a message reader board.
“Colfax will be the first place we have one of these ATM message centers,” said Scott Garrett, FNWCU CEO at Kamiah. He has been with FNWCU for 12 and a half years.
Originally founded in 1963 as Kamiah Community Credit Union, the institution re-branded in 2016 to Freedom Northwest Credit Union, broadening its field of membership requirement so it is no longer limited to residents of Lewis County, Idaho.
“Now anyone who wants to do business with us can join the (Kamiah) Chamber of Commerce,” Garrett said.
Membership in the the chamber is $20 annually. With that and a $5 membership to the credit union, a person can join. Once a membership has been set up, it is for life, so there is no requirement to continue Kamiah Chamber of Commerce membership.
The credit union has bank offices in Kamiah and Kooskia, Idaho, and a loan center in Lewiston. The idea for the ATM message centers came from the desire to expand while wanting to spend the human resources on lending offices.
Garrett noted there is a shift with traditional branch banking being replaced with on-line, yet people still need access to cash.
Colfax was selected to be the first location for one of these centers, because it is a major thoroughfare for current FNWCU members. Desirable locations would be where there is a central population, on a main thoroughfare but not so big it would get lost.
Garrett said he was returning from the Spokane airport when he drove through Colfax and saw the for sale sign on the former Mitz’s Cabinet location.
The Colfax location will let FNWCU’s nearly 6,000 members have access to their money while they are traveling and helps advertise the bank services to a new market. The new ATM center provides expanded service for current members and advertises for new members without the cost of opening a new branch.
“We want locals to know who we are,” Garrett said.
Garrett noted one of the big attractions for FNWCU is that they have more flexibility. Since they don’t sell their loans, they aren’t restricted to parameters others are.
“We feel like we serve an unmet need,” he said. FNWCU has a niche for irregular lending others struggle with.
“Some people describe it as old-fashioned or old school (lending),” Garrett noted.
“Our CD rates are higher across the board,” he added, stating that FNWCU deposit products have higher rates of return than any other credit union or bank in the region.
The date for the grand opening hasn’t been set yet as the ATM message center is still awaiting some work from sub-contractors. Garrett plans to have account and lending staff on hand for the grand opening. After the Colfax location is open, another is planned to open in the Lewis-Clark Valley within a month.
“We hope to put one in Colton,” Garrett reported.
Community involvement is also part of the FNWCU mission Garrett wants to continue emphasizing. The message board will be available for community messages and events. Already FNWCU has built a splash pad for kids in Kooskia. By requiring Kamiah Chamber membership, the bank helps support that organization as well.
Jana Mathia is a reporter at the Whitman County Gazette.
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