Satisfying share requirements in February 2024

As per the Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act in Manitoba, each member, regardless of age, must have at least one (1) membership share for a minimum of $5.00. Access Credit Union follows the person-centric membership model in which each account owner is allowed their own personal share.

Every member is an owner of one share, every member share will be equal, and every member share owner will have a right to vote.

Casera offered several different types of share products and the project to migrate to the Access share program began in 2023. See below for details.

To ensure full operational alignment with Access prior to technical integration in June 2024, we will be reviewing all membership shares and making adjustments to remaining share accounts beginning mid-February 2024.

What you need to know:

REGISTERED SHARES

Some members have a registered common share, but do not have a non-registered $5 common share on file. To satisfy share requirements and to allow members to participate in the Member Rewards program, the $5 non-registered common share must be funded for all members.

Letters were distributed in December 2023 to affected members advising them of their options.

SUBSCRIPTION SHARES

The Common Share Purchase program required regular monthly payments be transferred to a Subscription Share account and once specific balance thresholds were achieved, the funds were transferred to the Common Share account. The Common Share Purchase Program was discontinued in Q3 2023.

In February 2024, we will be transferring those funds into a demand account on file. If no demand account on file, the funds will be transferred to the Common Share account.

UNDER-FUNDED SHARES

Those with underfunded shares will be contacted via letter in January 2024 with instructions for how to fund the $5 share.

DUPLICATE OTHER SHARES

Those with duplicate shares will have their extra share refunded to their demand account.

COMMON SHARE TRANSFERS

Some members hold Common Share accounts with more than $5 funded. These members require a standard share account of only $5 on file to satisfy share requirements. Memberships identified as requiring funding into a standard Share account from current Common Share accounts will be contacted via letter in January 2024.

In these cases, starting mid-February 2024, we will transfer the balance less $5 of your Common Share account into the new Original Common Share account to accommodate the $5 requirement.

What does this mean for you?

• Transfers to/from your Common Share accounts will be detailed on your February 2024 monthly statement.
• Transfers to the new Original Common Share accounts will not be available on statements until Q3 of 2024 once the technical merge is completed.
  • In the interim, Original Common Share account balances can be viewed in online or mobile banking or by visiting your local branch.
• To ease the database integration and share program alignment with Access, all Casera Preference Surplus Shares will be transferred into the members’ Surplus Shares account, closing the Preference Surplus Shares account in the process. Where members don’t have an existing Surplus Share account, the name of their Preference Surplus Share will be changed to Surplus Share. This will make it so that all Surplus Shares are deposited to one account. Dividends will be earned in the same manner as previous years; this will not impact calculations or earnings.

What you need to do:

No action is required by members unless otherwise specified via letter or call from your local branch.

Questions?

Please visit your local Casera branch to discuss with a representative.