NEW YORK–Generations United Federal Credit Union (GUFCU), which was granted its charter in 2023, is now open, looking to grow and offering an update.
Generations United was chartered by the United Church of Christ 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 credit union’s 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, where a resolution identified economic justice needs and lifted credit unions as important contributors in the quest for economic justice.
John Linzey is the first president and CEO of the new credit union. At mid-year, GUFCU showed $5.8-million in assets and 106 members.
“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 told a UCC publication. “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.”
No Physical Branches
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, CFO Randy Garrett told the UCC investments have been directed toward making the member 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 told the publication. “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…We never want to be distant. We want folks to know who’s behind this. 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.”
A Different Approach
Linzey said in the report 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 was quoted as saying.
