Postal Federal Community Credit Union has held the same name for more than 80 years. Yesterday, it became BluCurrent Credit Union.
Credit union officials
announced the impending name change earlier this year, citing customer confusion.
"We’re excited to announce the new name to our members and our community,” BluCurrent Credit Union CEO Steve Pierson said in a news release. “We’ve always struggled with the misconception that you had to be a postal or federal employee to use our credit union.
"By creating a more inclusive name, this will greatly help us spread the message.”
BluCurrent hired Seattle-based firm Weber Marketing Group to help craft the name. Though the credit union began researching the name change in September 2010, the project did not begin until January.
In 1929, Springfield postal workers started Postal Federal Community Credit Union. It later expanded membership to include federal employees, and in 1994, it allowed anyone within a 10-county radius to join, including people in Greene, Jasper and Newton counties.
Staff, hours, products and services are unchanged by the new name, according to the release.
"By making the decision to change our name, we are in no way changing our philosophy or turning away from our postal- and federal-based heritage," said David Phelps, chairman of the BluCurrent board of directors, in the release. "We aren't being sold or merged. Account holders are going to see the same great people working here, and receive the same great service they're used to."
BluCurrent has five locations and assets of more than $130 million. In Springfield Business Journal's list of the area's largest credit unions - published in the Dec. 6, 2010, issue - Postal Federal was listed at No. 1 with roughly 19,500 local members.[[In-content Ad]]
