At a time when many other financial institutions, both banks andcome credit unions, have announced they are cutting back on theirdebit rewards programs or even eliminating them, the357,000-member, $4.8 billion Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Unionhas announced it will increase its debit rewards.

The Live Oak, Texas, credit union announced that from now Dec.31, it will give its members 15 cents back on every debit cardpurchase. This is five cents more than the 10 cents per transactionthat the CU already provides as part of its debit rewardsprogram.

“We've watched other financial institutions put new fees inplace and we know that's not what members need during a time whenthe economy is struggling,” said Sonya McDonald, senior vicepresident of market development at RBFCU.

“Instead of upping our fees, we chose to increase rewards. Since we've experienced record growth this year, we decided to usethe extra funds as a thank you to the members who have made thisgrowth possible,” she said.