SAN DIMAS, Calif. — The Financial Service Centers Cooperative, the shared branching network headquartered on the West Coast, has implemented the Emergency Shared Branching program which allows credit unions which are not using shared branching to sign up to give their members access to their accounts during the emergency.

FSCC said the ESB program was developed during the floods in Louisiana two years ago. FSCC is waiving the set up charge for the program. As long as the credit unions agree to the terms of its use, FSCC is not requiring credit unions to sign on to full-blown shared branching.

“Our goal is to help credit unions get through this devastating disaster, not to sign on new customers,” says Sarah Canepa Bang, FSCC CEO. “With reports of between 500,000 and a million people displaced, we're trying to think of the members first. If we can help credit unions help them, then we're doing our job.

In addition to the ESB program, credit unions are utilizing FSCC's emergency hotline services to assist in communicating with credit union members and staff. The hotline is operated by Digital Dialogue a subsidiary of PSCU Financial Services, FSCC said.