CU*Answers, the core data processor proving CU*BASE to 165+ credit unions nationally, has announced the beginnings of its Debit Card “Round Up” program. Similar to the KeepTheChange© program from Bank of America, and other similar programs, helping members save by automatically “rounding up” each purchase made via a debit card and depositing the extra money into a designated savings account.
The CUSO points out that the most important element of this product is one that might not e obvious at first glance when reading through marketing materials from other financial institutions: The round up process is not posted immediately, on a per transaction basis. Instead, a daily process will calculate the round up amount for all debit card transactions posted that day and post a single transfer from the checking account to the savings account.
Down the road, the CUSO will evaluate enhancements like adding credit union matching funds, doing special promo periods, tying it to Tiered Services for eligibility, etc. But for now, this first phase will only include the basic round up transfers and will not include an automated mechanism for matching funds.