DEARBORN, Mich.–Two credit unions have announced year-end bonus dividends for members.
In Michigan, DFCU Financial announced the distribution $18.7 million in cash back to eligible members, marking 20 years of its Cash Back program. Since the program launched in 2006, DFCU Financial said it has returned more than $510 million to its members, “reinforcing its long-standing commitment to sharing success with the people it serves.”
According to DFCU Financial, this year’s distribution reflects the strength of the credit union and the value of its member-owned structure. The Cash Back program rewards members based on the depth of their relationship with DFCU Financial, including checking and savings accounts, IRAs, and loans.
“This approach ensures that both savers and borrowers benefit, while encouraging strong financial relationships focused on member value,” the $6.8-billion credit union said.
‘Important Milestone’
“Celebrating 20 years of Cash Back is an important milestone for our organization,” President and CEO Ryan Goldberg said in a statement. “Distributing $18.7 million this year, and more than a half a billion dollars since the program began, reflects who we are as an organization. Sharing our success is not a one-time event. It is part of how we put members first.”
According to the 240,000-member DFCU Financial, for two decades its Cash Back program has played an important role in how it shares its success with members, delivering value year after year, while reinforcing the benefits of credit union membership.
DFCU said annual Cash Back payments are limited to an aggregate of $10,000 for each tax-reported owner.
West Virginia Central Pays Bonus
Separately, in Parkersburg, W.V., the $318,6-million West Virginia Central Credit Union said it has paid a bonus dividend of nearly $1 million to its membership.
“Taking a look at our capital ratios and realizing that, with our low risk, we could return some of those funds to our members,” President and CEO Michael Tucker said in a statement. “And since our members own the credit union, that was an easy decision for us to make.”
WVCCU said that unlike recent bonus dividends paid out, the owner dividend was distributed based on how long a member has banked with the credit union rather than account balances. For those who were members as of Dec. 31st, 2024, and prior received $48 and those who became members after received $12.50.
‘Each Member is Equal’
“It doesn’t make any difference how much money you have with us, each member is an equal member, so we used that to determine the $48 and the $12.50, only using a reasonable time period as the deciding factor,” Tucker said in the statement.
The credit union distributed just over $993,000 to about 22,000 members from its allocated one million dollars.
“One member said she was able to use that to pay for her daughter’s tumbling class this month. So just a lot of great comments, a lot of thank you’s, a lot of appreciation was shown. So, we’re very happy that it was noticed and that it was appreciated,” Tucker said.
