A message from Kendall Gross | President

Dear member,

“Be kind. Be calm. Be safe.” Dr. Bonnie Henry’s words in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic have become a simple yet powerful mantra for so many of us, including me. We’ve been striving hard to live by these words every day here at Island Savings and across First West Credit Union, in the way we serve you.

As the B.C. government and health authorities turn the conversation toward slowly easing COVID-19 restrictions and reopening the province, our credit union is going to take a very cautious, measured and gradual approach that prioritizes your safety and that of our employees. For now, our COVID-19 safety measures will remain in effect. We appreciate your patience as we work through this and want to thank you for the suggestions you’ve provided on how best we can meet your needs during this time.

In fact, I’ve heard from several of you that one of the ways we can serve you better is by letting you know which of our delivery channels are available to you for different types of transactions. For example, when must you visit a branch in-person? Which transactions are best done online? What should you call our Member Advice Centre for help with? To answer your questions, we’ve compiled a list of the most common transactions, organized according to the best delivery channel for each.

Call our Member Advice Centre at 1-888-597-1083 if you’d like to:

• Speak with a financial advisor
• Set up access to online banking
• Apply for a new personal loan, line of credit or mortgage
• Enable tap on your debit card
• Request a trace for a missing online bill payment
• Transfer money between your accounts in different divisions of First West Credit Union (Envision Financial, Valley First, Island Savings or Enderby & District Financial)
  
  

Use our online banking services if you’d like to:

• Pay your bills*†
• Send funds via Interac e-Transfer®*
• Apply for a term deposit†
• Set up direct deposit for CRA payments (CERB, tax returns)
• Request a mortgage payment deferral†
• Transfer money between your accounts*†
• Change your online password†
• Order personal cheques†

* You can also use our mobile app for these items.
​† You can also call our Member Advice Centre for assistance with these items.

Use our mobile app exclusively if you’d like to:

• Deposit a cheque
  
  

Visit a branch in-person if you need to:

• Change your debit/member card PIN
• Deposit or withdraw US dollars
• Conduct a wire transfer
• Conduct power of attorney transactions
• Order foreign exchange drafts
• Purchase office cheques
• Reactivate or close accounts
  
  

Call Collabria Mastercard® cardholder support at 1-855-341-4643 if you’d like to:

• Request to defer a Mastercard credit card payment
• Request a limit increase on your Island Savings Mastercard credit card

To apply for a Mastercard credit card, visit us online today.

Accessing cash

You can use any automated teller machine (ATM) on THE EXCHANGE® Network to withdraw cash and perform simple transactions, free of charge. THE EXCHANGE Network has thousands of ATM locations nationwide, including the ATMs of most credit unions and some banks like HSBC. Visit THE EXCHANGE Network or ding free to learn more or to locate your nearest ding-free ATM.

Signing mortgage documents

Finally, if you need to sign mortgage documents, we’ve now enabled digital e-signatures so you can sign from the comfort of your own home. Speak with your mortgage advisor for more information. Visit our COVID-19 Member Resource Centre for even more information about what services are impacted and ways to bank with us – it’s chock full of helpful information and an extensive list of frequently asked questions for members.

I continue to ask you to stay home unless it’s truly necessary to come to a branch. If you do visit a branch or call our Member Advice Centre, you may experience a longer than usual wait time. I promise you that our team is working as hard as they can to get things done as quickly as possible right now. On behalf of everyone at Island Savings and First West Credit Union, we appreciate your patience and understanding as we all do our best in these challenging circumstances.

If you have any additional questions or want to share your experiences with us, feel free to respond to this email. We’re all part of the same community and I really want to know how you are doing. Connecting with our members is always important to us, and no one should feel alone.

​Best wishes to you, and in the words of Dr. Bonnie Henry, be kind, be calm and be safe. 

Kendall Gross | President, Island Savings