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ing some marketing targeting customers of those institutions.
Meanwhile, as noted earlier, the credit union will soon roll out its own credit card as well as a new debit-card product, its first ITM, and other products and services aimed at making banking easier and more convenient for members.
“We just keep automating things as we try to make it easier for our members to do business with us,” Welch explained. “A lot of things are being done online, and I think we have very com- petitive products for that; if people want to apply for loans or open accounts, they can do it on their own time, but certainly we have the branch system in place to support them when they need help.”
By All Accounts
Looking at the business plan for the next sev- eral years, Welch said Freedom is looking at a number of growth opportunities — in Massachu- setts, Connecticut, within the cannabis industry, in commercial lending, and with several new consumer products.
It is moving on several different fronts at once, with the goal of expanding its membership base, providing new and better products and services, and taking its mission in new directions.
These initiatives are new in some respects, but overall, they’re simply a continuation of what the institution now known as Freedom has been doing for a century. u
George O’Brien can be reached at [email protected]
The credit union’s headquarters have been located on Main Street in Springfield since 1978 — before it was called Freedom.
 Overall, growth in membership has been steady, at perhaps 1% a year on average, which
is typical of credit unions in this market, he said, adding that Freedom is trying to capitalize on the ongoing consolidation of the banking market and mergers like the one involving M&T and People’s
United, which, by most accounts, did not go smoothly.
“I think that’s our biggest opportunity, espe- cially in Connecticut, with M&T and People’s United being such big players in that market,” he said, adding that the credit union is conduct-
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