By paNOW

St. Louis soon to lose credit union

Jun 13, 2017 | 6:00 PM

Financial changes are coming for a few small towns in Saskatchewan.

The town of St. Louis may have replaced its ATM after the previous one was stolen in August of last year, but the money access woes continue.

At the end of June, Affinity Credit Union will no longer be offering services in the rural community.

“It’s making it hard for all of us here in St. Louis,” Mayor Marc Caron said.

The mayor said he understands the move to be about feasibility rather than providing services.

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“The mandate of a credit union is to go where other banks don’t want to go, like a CIBC or TD or Bank of Montreal, they’re huge,” Caron said. “It’s not about the money all the time, it’s about the convenience and helping people all around.”

He said residents will get used to the change, which he called unwelcome.

Caron said businesses will be impacted negatively because owners now have to commute to Prince Albert to handle their finances. Such a trip would take at least an hour factoring in the drive and standing in lines for service, on top of gas costs.

The village offices of St. Louis also rely on Affinity to handle their money. Caron said the village council is working on finding options to make things easier for everyone.

“[The current branch] was only open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but still, at least we can schedule [appointments],” Caron said.

He also expressed concerns on behalf of the elders and seniors of the community. He said people are willing to teach those with smartphones or computers how to use Internet banking, but not everyone has access to such technology.  

“Most of them don’t have phones, most of them don’t have computers so what are they gonna do?” Caron asked. “They’re going to have to find a ride to P.A. to do their work, all that stuff.”

Residents had an opportunity to voice their frustrations with the move during an open house meeting between Affinity representatives and community members but the change is moving ahead as planned.

Affinity’s Chief Operating Officer Tim Schroh said he personally attended meetings with the community at the beginning of March. A letter was also issued to the community on March 1 to make the council aware of the changes.

“It’s not an easy decision, it’s a very difficult decision to close a location because of the impact to the community,” Schroh said.

The COO said he was proud of his company’s efforts in not just consulting the community, but also how Affinity has reached out in return. He said Affinity is committed to listening to those affected by the closure and providing them with education about the other ways they can still use Affinity services.

Overall, 11 branches will be closing across Saskatchewan on June 30. Shroh said the branches are being shut down because Affinity is adapting to changing member behaviours.

He said over 70 per cent of membership activities are done online, on a mobile phone or through ATM’s.

Other branches around Prince Albert which will also be closing are Gronlid, Marcelin and Bellevue according to Schroh.

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @BryanEneas