CU*Answers has announced the signing of newly formed The Finest Federal Credit Union to a CU*BASE^® agreement. The New York City credit union is taking advantage of the cooperative CUSO’s “Starting a Credit Union with CU*Answers” program, which provides free CU*BASE data processing services to new credit unions for an initial two-year period.

Credit union CEO Keith Stone said, “This is a very exciting initiative and our credit union is scheduled to open in May. Our field of membership will include nearly 75,000 employees of federal, state, county, and municipal agencies or departments engaged in police protection in New York City. While there have been hundreds of decisions made in our start-up process, choosing the right data processor was among the most important. It was pretty much a slam-dunk. CU*Answers shares a similar cooperative vision, unbelievable price model, and a deep level of member services desired. The value-add of this program will be enormous for our start-up initiative, and will allow us hit the ground running from day one.”

Scott Page, CU*Answers EVP added, “This program has been embraced by several start-up credit unions nationally. It’s uniquely designed to provide a very significant level of CU*Answers financial participation by providing nearly all CU*BASE processing services free for the first two years. This program is a direct reflection of CU*Answers’ cooperative commitment for doing all we can to financially assist every new credit union. We realize that data processing is a key component to every credit union’s ability to succeed. Accordingly, CU*Answers designed this program to provide every start-up credit union the best opportunity for attracting new members by providing a high level of service, including an array of self-service products as part of this offering.”

Others interested in starting their own credit union can contact CU*Answers for details regarding the start-up program.