TNB Card Services, the card processing arm of credit union owned Town North Bank, saw an 11% increase in the numbers of credit card accounts and a $1.5 increase in retail sales with credit cards.
Even as U.S. credit card holders nationwide have been cutting back on their use of credit cards, credit union members have continued to take advantage of favorable rates and terms on credit union cards.
TNB's debit card program also experienced substantial growth in 2009, with a 25% increase in debit transaction volume, generating more than $2 billion in card volume, the card processor said.
An 8% growth in dollar volume over the previous year was another record-breaker for the company, the CUSO added.
The number of transactions per active debit card holder also exceeded an average of 20 per month in December for the first time, and the full-year average of 18.3 transactions per month was the highest TNB has ever recorded.
"Credit union electronic payments programs performed exceptionally well last year, especially considering the economy and impending new card regulations," said Mark Fenner, senior vice president of TNB Card Services. "The CARD Act brought national attention to the member-friendly card practices of credit unions and many of our credit unions capitalized on the good press."
Fenner added, "While national card issuers retreated and re-evaluated their card strategies last year, TNB's experts worked with a large number of credit unions to train their employees and develop in-branch strategies that enabled them to capture member attention and grow their card base."
