The Rio Grande Credit Union, a $166 million institution headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico announced that it has joined CO-OP Shared Branching through affiliating with the Credit Union Service Network.

The CU cited “account access at numerous locations” that it called “essential for today's mobile lifestyles” as one the primary reasons Rio Grande CU both offered its members shared branching and started accepting shared branch transactions.

“Shared Branching give us the flexibility to increase our transactional delivery channel to our membership without having the financial implications of adding more facilities,” stated Rio Grande CEO Chris Fitzgerald.

The CU reported the staff as “excited about the opportunities to expand out convenience, while serving a new group of credit union members.”

Fitzgerald emphasized the role staff, urging CUs thinking of launching shared branching to prepare well. “It's important to get your employees involved in the implementation. In the end, they are the assets that will make your program successful,” he added.