This past August, Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Unit (PSECU) opened their 22nd Education Center right here on West Chester University’s Campus. PSECU is a credit union that was founded by H. Andrew Hanemann in 1933 during the Great Depression. When it opened for business, they only had 22 members and $90 in assets. Those numbers quickly increased and continue to rise today.
PSECU is all about making the best financial decisions to help as many members as possible, and to educate on how to make those financial decisions best suited for you. But how could a credit union possibly want or know how to do that?
The first thing people think when they hear of a credit union is credit cards, which scares and intimidates many people, myself included. However, a credit union is not a place that only provides lines of credit. PSECU is a not-for-profit institution that is member-owned, and here to serve their members in the best way possible.
They do this by offering free checking/savings accounts for students, faculty, staff, alumni and family members and they do not charge any fees to do so. There are no annual fees, ATM fees and when you use a non-PSECU ATM, they refund you up to $20 of those annoying surcharges if you have direct deposit and up to eight dollars if you do not have direct deposit every month!
There are many aspects of PSECU that help members in their financial situations that will benefit them overall.
Along with all of the amazing services PSECU has to offer, they also want people to become financially literate. What does that even mean? Have you ever heard a group of adults talking about their credit score, credit report, debt, budgeting, etc. and wanted to know what they all meant? Well, there are places on campus for you to be able to learn all about the financial world.
There is a Financial Literacy center in 25 University Ave with a team to answer any questions that you may have, along with the team in the PSECU Education Center. The FinLit center also helps students fill out their FAFSAs because that can be an extremely stressful and difficult process for many of us.
They also hold events where you can win prizes and learn all about how to manage your finances. There are many resources available to students on campus, and they are all here to help you not worry about finances while in school.
If you ever have any questions about who PSECU is, what they do or you want to sit down and create a budget plan that best works for you, please stop by the education center that is in the Sykes Student Union inside the bookstore.
Community Manager Amanda Altice has created a Crystal Ball activity that puts the financial aspects of your life into perspective. Amanda and her team of interns are a great outlet for financial education, along with the Financial Literacy center and their team. Don’t be in the dark about your finances and visit your resources right here on campus.
Shannon McCabe is a third-year student majoring in accounting and finance with a minor in Spanish. She can be reached at SM842838@wcupa.edu.