Equipping members with financial well-being skills
The Financial Counseling Certification Program (FiCEP) equips coaches within credit unions to recognize crises, provide short-term support, and guide members into lasting skills. A recent America’s Credit Unions Blog post illustrates the real-life impact of this certification on members and communities.
Staff at Meritrust Credit Union (serving Kansas and Colorado) and Altra Federal Credit Union (headquartered in Wisconsin, serving members in six states) have built different operations around the FiCEP certification, but both have resulted in deeper member relationships
Altra launched its program in 2022, putting six or seven employees through per year, and already has a waiting list of employees for future opportunities.
We really wanted our staff to be certified, to provide them more support and resources to help our members,” said Lori Horstman, vice president of member experience and advocacy.
Meritrust has taken a deliberately broader approach. Since March 2024, Meritrust has certified just under 125 employees, with more than 30 currently in progress.
“We want everyone to have at least some kind of a knowledge base of helping these individuals,” said Jeri Hintz, Meritrust financial well-being specialist II.