Welcome North Peace Savings members to the Interior Savings family!
Following the successful vote to merge our credit unions, we are thrilled to welcome you and your fellow North Peace Savings members as part of the Interior Savings family. Combining our teams and expertise, we will take all that is great about our two credit unions and make it even better.
What happens now
For the moment, you’ll notice little change to your banking or branch. You will continue to recognize our brand as North Peace Savings, we will simply be removing ‘credit union’ from our signage as the legal name will be Interior Savings Credit Union. Over time, we’ll integrate our operations, but the transition will be gradual, so that we can minimize disruption as much as possible, and we’ll keep you informed at every stage of the process.
What’s changing
Members will see some exciting changes including expanded age limits on the B. Junior and B. Golden accounts, no more monthly fees for our B. Golden members, and reduced fees on e-Transfers. All changes specific to each account are outlined below.
| Retail Product | Current Pricing | New Pricing (Effective July 1, 2023) |
| B. Junior | Free for members 0-18 years of age | Free for members 0-24 years of age |
| 2 free e-Transfers, then $1.50 each | Free, unlimited e-Transfers | |
| $3.50 in-branch bill payments | Free in-branch bill payments | |
| $1.25 online bill-payments/pre-authorized debits | Free online bill-payments/pre-authorized debits | |
| $3.50 paper statement fee | $3.00 paper statement fee | |
| B. Chequing & B. Chequing Plus | e-transfers counted as a transaction, overlimit are $1.50 each | e-transfers counted as a transaction, overlimit are $1.25 each |
| $3.50 paper statement fee | $3.00 paper statement fee | |
| $3.50 in-branch bill payments | In-branch bill payments counted as a transaction | |
| B. Chequing Flex | 10 free e-transfers, then $1.50 each | Unlimited free e-transfers |
| $3.50 paper statement fee | $3.00 paper statement fee | |
| $3.50 in-branch bill payments | Free in-branch bill payments | |
| B. Golden | $5.00 monthly fee | No monthly fee |
| Starts at age 65 | Starts at age 60 | |
| e-Transfers $1.50 each | Unlimited free e-Transfers |
| Business Product | Current Pricing | New Pricing (Effective July 1, 2023) |
| B. Smart Mini, B. Smart, B. Smart Plus, Organization Chequing | e-Transfers counted as a transaction, overlimit are $1.50 each | e-Transfers counted as a transaction, overlimit are $1.25 each |
| $5.00 paper statement fee | $3.00 paper statement fee | |
| $3.50 in-branch bill payments | In-branch bill payments counted as a transaction |
| Savings Product | Current Pricing | New Pricing (Effective July 1, 2023) |
| B. Saving Personal, B. Saving Business | e-Transfers $1.50 each | e-Transfers $1.25 each |
| $3.50 in-branch bill payments | In-Branch bill payments counted as a transaction |
What isn’t changing
- Accounts – You’ll still have access to your existing products, services, and accounts but you can expect better rates and over time, better fees, as well as a host of new options.
- Ways to Bank – For now, you’ll see very few changes to your banking experience but, as we integrate, new tools and an expanded branch network will become available to you.
- High Quality Service – After the merger, you’ll still be supported by the same smiling faces you know but, with our employee training programs, your experience will only be enhanced.
What to expect in the future
- Expanded service with branches across the Thompson Okanagan, Prince George, North Peace and Northern Rockies.
- Enhanced solutions with better product rates and fees.
- Greater access with our Member Service Centre available 6 days a week for extended hours.
- More innovation with the introduction of tools like Apple, Google and Samsung Pay.
- And so much more!
Guiding you every step of the way
If you have any questions or feedback to share, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by calling our Member Advice Centre at 1-877-787-0361 or emailing members@npscu.ca. Future updates and changes related to your banking and ways to bank will be shared via www.together-strong.ca and www.npscu.ca.
About Interior Savings
Interior Savings is a financial service cooperative spanning the BC interior from the Thompson Okanagan in the south and up through the Cariboo with branches from Oliver to Prince George. We provide a full range of personal and business banking, investment, and insurance solutions to approximately 80,000 members. With a passion for educating and empowering others to achieve their financial goals, we focus on providing advice tailored uniquely for each one of our members and have supported our collective membership and invested in our local communities for over 80 years. Learn more at interiorsavings.com or visit Interior Savings on Facebook or Do Some Good.
About North Peace Savings
North Peace Savings is a financial services cooperative that is owned by its membership. We continually strive to provide proactive service and creative financial solutions for our members – all while investing in and supporting our communities across the Peace and Northern Rockies regions with branches in Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, and Hudson’s Hope. We have been serving and helping our retail, business and wealth management members, and our community to reach their financial goals for more than 75 years. Learn more at www.npscu.ca, or visit North Peace Savings and Credit Union on Facebook.
To learn more
Visit www.together-strong.ca, email North Peace Savings at strongertogether@npscu.ca or reach Interior Savings at strongertogether@interiorsavings.com
Learn More About the Merger Transaction
In addition to the Members Guide to the Proposed Merger, we encourage you to review our Supplemental Information Package. Download it here or pick up a copy at your local North Peace Savings and Credit Union Branch. It includes a copy of the full Asset Transfer Agreement, the BCFSA letter of consent, alternatives considered, Interior Savings’ rules and profiles of the directors and CEO of the proposed combined credit union.
Attend a member information session
We welcome and encourage you to attend one of our upcoming member information sessions where you’ll have the opportunity to learn more from our leadership and board about the Proposed Merger and to ask questions.
We will host one virtual session as well as an open house in each of our branches.
Thank you for being a part of our credit union and for lending your voice to help guide our future direction. If you have any questions or feedback on the Proposed Merger, please contact us at strongertogether@npscu.ca
BENEFITS OF THE MERGER
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The proposed merger is about taking all that is great about our credit unions and making it even better. By combining our teams, our expertise and our assets, we expect we will be stronger, better able to respond to increasing member needs, innovation in technology, regulatory requirements and heightened competition, and we’ll have increased lending capacity to serve the growing needs of our economy and business community.
- As members, your financial needs and expectations of your financial institution are changing. We want to continue to be your trusted source of financial advice and be part of this community for many years to come, offering you the benefits of local, knowledgeable, and expert staff to help you reach your unique financial goals.
- The regulatory environment, as you would expect, financial institutions must comply with regulations of multiple regulatory bodies. Instances of money laundering, cybercrime and fraud on the rise and we foresee regulatory bodies requiring heightened oversight and therefore increased regulatory costs having to be borne by financial institutions as they continue to meet the regulators requirements as we all fight financial crime. These imposed expectations and rules create additional burden for a small credit union and will require skilled labour or technological resources that are difficult or costly to implement in smaller communities. The safety and security of our member assets and personal information is of utmost importance as we continue to strive to meet regulatory requirements.
- Innovation in technology is rapid and costly, and small credit unions like ours can find it difficult to keep up with competitors’ product and service offerings — we always feel like we are trying to play catch up with our Credit Union peers never mind the major Canadian banks who have made the transition to digital their priority and therefore setting the stage for all financial institutions as we compete to meet the needs of British Columbians.
- The economic and competitive landscape is changing for financial institutions. The competition is vast and consumer expectations are being redefined as digital giants such as Apple, Google and Amazon challenge the status quo with innovative digital offerings that consumers are readily being drawn to – this includes banking.
- Attracting and retaining skilled staff has become, and we expect will continue to be, very challenging. Many businesses are facing staffing shortages and are finding it challenging to find the more specialized skills that are needed to meet new and more complex demands. The Proposed Merger with Interior Savings brings with it greater scale and therefore we expect it will bring with it greater access to shared expert resources, and more opportunities for staff to expand their knowledge and develop their careers as part of a larger entity.
Should the North Peace Savings and Credit Union membership vote in favour of the Proposed Merger, the two Credit Unions would officially merge on July 1, 2023.
Our credit unions are committed to providing you with same high-quality, personal service that exists today. At the time of the initial merger, you will notice little change to your banking and you can continue to bank as you normally would.
Over time, we will integrate our systems and operations so that you will have more products and services available to you, as well as more ways and more places within BC’s Interior to connect with us, including an expanded network of 25 branches. Our goal is to minimize disruption as much as possible throughout this transition.