The President's Perspective

​A successful day in Pierre last week! Plus, interchange video features Black Hills FCU and Rapid City small business; and “Try a Credit Union” initiative launch webinar today! 

Greetings! It was great to see many of you at the South Dakota Credit Union Legislative Day in Pierre last week. Outside of the dense fog that we had to carve through on our way to the capital city, the day was a great success.
The DakCU advocacy team of Chesney Garnos and John Alexander kicked off the day with donuts and coffee for legislators outside the Leaders office at the Capitol. A special shoutout to Jaymason Bramblee from Oahe FCU, and Joey Rotert from Black Hills FCU, for helping greet the lawmakers with coffee and their smiles. 
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I also want to give a heartfelt thank you to all our credit union advocates that came to Pierre to advocate on behalf of our South Dakota credit unions, and to specially acknowledge and thank CU Mortgage Direct, Alloya Corporate, Oahe FCU, and Black Hills FCU, for their support and sponsorship of our event. You are all greatly appreciated!  

Marty Willms

Interchange Works!
During the North Dakota Legislative Session last January, we made it clear to lawmakers that interchange fees charged during a credit or debit card transaction is a cost of doing business.

Credit unions here in the Dakotas and across the nation remain strongly opposed to the Big Box Bailout bill, S. 1838, the Credit Card Competition Act. With Congress again in session, it’s critical that our voices are heard on this legislation, which will enrich big box retailers while harming consumers, small businesses, and community institutions like credit unions by creating a back-door price control on interchange fees and disrupting a well-functioning credit card market.

The reality here is that it’s not just credit unions and financial institutions that would be harmed by this legislation. America’s small businesses, Main Streets – and consumers who rely on them – stand to lose a lot of ground to the larger retailers should this legislation move forward. In fact, if this legislation passes, small businesses won’t benefit because they won’t be making decisions about how their transactions are being routed.

Interchange is the cost of accepting credit cards and the benefits that come with them. Many small business owners depend on a safe, secure well-functioning credit card network to build their business and grow. This interchange legislation threatens their livelihood.

More importantly, interchange fees cover the cost of fraud detection, credit monitoring, and fraudulent purchases. We know this as the cost of credit card fraud doubled over the last decade. Taking this into account, the average cost that credit unions assume to protect members from a data breach is $.85 per transaction.

The key sponsor of the Credit Card Competition Act is co-sponsor Senator Dick Durbin (IL), who also was the key sponsor of the Durbin 1.0 debit card interchange bill that passed in 2010. Studies have since shown that major retailers realized significant gains, but these savings were not passed on to the consumers. The truth is that 20 percent of the large box stores increased their prices. Further, a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study ranked Durbin 1.0 Debit Amendment “among the top five laws most cited as having significantly affected the cost and availability of basic banking services.”

Last week, America’s Credit Unions put out a video so everyone can hear directly from small business owners, the financial institutions that serve them, and people involved in the interchange process. I was very pleased to see Marie Darling, business lender from Black Hills FCU (Rapid City, SD) speaking out on this topic – she appears at 3:24 in the video, which you can find here. There is also a small business owner from Rapid City (Cindy’s K9 Treats) in the video, explaining how the changes would affect her livelihood, and not in a positive way.

America’s Credit Unions Holds Virtual Awards Celebration
Last week, America’s Credit Unions held a virtual celebration to recognize the 2023 national award winners. Two Dakota credit unions earned top honors: East River FCU (Madison, SD) received second place in the Dora Maxwell social responsibility category, while Railway CU received an honorable mention in the same category. East River also received second place in both the Louise Herring and Desjardins Youth Award categories. The entire group of winners was celebrated with a virtual audience of more than 100 attendees! Congratulations to our Dakota winners, who will also be celebrated during the awards banquet at this year’s Summit.
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Marty Willms Announces Retirement
It is with mixed emotions that Northern Hills FCU (Sturgis, SD) is announcing the retirement of Marty Willms, CUCE/Vice President Administrations/Operations. Marty has been a credit union advocate for more than 24 years; for the past 9 years she has been a vital member of the Northern Hills team. I have known Marty on a personal level for approximately 15 years, ever since I first began working at the association.
​I wish her much joy as she begins this new chapter of her life. Congratulations, Marty! 

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​Town & Country Recognized as Best in Minot
One more positive note to share! Readers of the Minot Daily News in Minot, North Dakota, have voted Town & Country Credit Union as the Best Credit Union, Best Mortgage Lender, and Best Customer Service for 2023. In addition, two employees were also recognized: Val Bohlig, voted Best Teller; and Lisa Thuner, voted Best Loan Officer. Congratulations to Brad Houle, CEO, and his entire crew on this achievement!

Awareness update and “Try a Credit Union” launch webinar scheduled for today.
Finally, I hope that you will join us today at 3:00 p.m. (CT) as we introduce our 2024 “Try a Credit Union” SWAP awareness initiative. This campaign is designed to reach a younger member demographic and speaks directly to future members with a Gen Z targeted approach, with the added benefit of helping your credit union find prospective employees. The best part is that our 2024 content and creative messages cover financial education and advice, as well as overdraft protection, cybersecurity, and fraud.  Please reach out to me at [email protected] or Lindsey Hefta, at [email protected] if you need the link to tune in to the rollout webinar.
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Have a great week! 

DakCU President/CEO