Business as usual for credit union customers

The big sign on the west side of the Keystone Centre on 18th Street in Brandon can be seen from blocks away, advertising the new name of the hockey arena.

Giant letters spell out “Assiniboine Credit Union Place” — formerly known as Westoba Place.

The renaming reflects the merger of Assiniboine Credit Union with Westoba Credit Union and Caisse Financial Group that was voted on by members last year and made official Jan. 1.

With changes come questions from Westoba and Assiniboine customers who may be wondering if they’ll still be able to access their bank accounts with their debit and credit cards.

“For now, it’s business as usual for our members,” said Sylvie Laurencelle-Vermette, vice-president of communications and French-language services for Assiniboine Credit Union, Caisse Assiniboine.

“So, for example, even if your local branch is the Swan Lake branch, you can still bank at any of the Westoba branches, and it’s the same with Assiniboine and Caisse customers. Debit, credit and collaborative cards are all still going to work,” she said.

“As soon as we are able to merge our online banking systems, then we’ll be able to bank at each other’s locations.”

The technical merger of the three financial institutions’ online banking systems is expected to happen in the spring of 2026.

And by the fall of next year, all customers will be able to bank at all locations, Laurencelle-Vermette said.

In a few months, she added, customers will start to receive communication about the banking system merger, which she called “a match made in heaven.”

“We’ve taken the best of all three coming together. We all brought something different to the table, and it’s led to a uniquely Manitoban credit union,” she said.

Westoba brought community and rural experience, while Assiniboine is known for their values-based banking, Laurencelle-Vermette said.

Caisse Financial Group also has rural roots, with a French community connection. It was established in the community of St. Malo, about 70 kilometres south of Winnipeg.

In May, Assiniboine Credit Union/Caisse Assiniboine offered free conversational French courses to about 150 staff members for their francophone customers.

“From the beginning, what we all understood was (that) we were coming together as three but had distinctive values, and we wanted to keep those,” Laurencelle-Vermette said.

In June 2024, members of the financial institutions voted by a large margin to support the proposed merger of the three organizations.

Members participated in online voting from June 6 to June 19, with 89 per cent of Assiniboine members, 84 per cent of Caisse members and 88 per cent of Westoba members endorsing the merger.

The new credit union will have 50 branches, 216,000 members and $9.6 billion in assets.

In Brandon, Westoba had been a naming rights partner for eight years at the Keystone Centre for both the hockey arena and the ag centre.

What was once known as the Westoba Agricultural Centre of Excellence is now the Assiniboine Credit Union Agricultural Centre.

Laurencelle-Vermette said she has seen the new signage and is excited, proud and looking forward to 2026, the year of change.

“We’re in testing phases right now, making sure that everything’s all aligned,” she said.

“We’re working hard for the members so when the banking merger does happen, it’ll be as seamless as possible.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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