There have been reports of fraudsters calling our members from fake numbers claiming to be from “a parent company of VantageOne Credit Union”. The scammers leave a message with instructions to be called back.

We believe they were attempting to gather personal information.

We would like to remind our members that VantageOne will not call you and ask for your personal details. Please be cautious when dealing with phone calls that ask for personal information. VantageOne staff and our Hub Solutions Centre, do reach out to members on occasion via the telephone, but these calls do not require your personal information and you are always welcomed and encouraged to hang up and call VantageOne back via the main member phone number at 250-545-9251, if in doubt.

We have included some fraud tips below to help you protect yourself from telephone scammers.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Tips to protect yourself from scams:
• Never disclose personal information over phone, text or email, unless YOU initiated the need to do so or know who you are talking to.
• VantageOne will never call or send you emails or communications asking you to verify or provide your online banking details or account number.
• When in doubt, ask questions. When it comes to your finances, it is better to be suspicious and ask questions then to give information freely.
• If you feel pressured or threatened, never hesitate to hang up and end the call.

More Information
Canadian Anti-fraud Centre – https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/Little-Black-Book-Scams-e.pdf/$file/Little-Black-Book-Scams-e.pdf
Little Black Book of Scams
https://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/eic/site/cb-bc.nsf/vwapj/Little-Black-Book-Scams-e.pdf/$file/Little-Black-Book-Scams-e.pdf

The cold winter months combined with our homeless population have been a challenging part of our society and has proved to be a challenge for VantageOne. This year, we have seen an increased use of our ATM rooms for shelter. Out of concern for our members’ safety and damage to the equipment and facilities, the difficult decision was made to lock many of the walk-up ATM rooms after hours and on weekends, leaving only the drive-thru ATMs available. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

With warmer weather arriving, we have decided to return the Main Branch walk up ATM to 24/7 access for our members. Please see below for an updated ATM schedule:

 

Main Branch:

Walk Up – Open 24 Hours

Armstrong Branch:

Open 24 Hours – 7 days a week

Okanagan Landing Branch:

Walk Up – Open 8:00am to 5:00pm Monday to Friday – Closed Saturday & Sunday

Drive Thru – 24 Hours

North Vernon Branch:

Walk Up – Open 8:00am to 5:00pm Tuesday to Friday (Saturday 8:00am to 3:00pm) Closed Sunday & Monday

Drive Thru – 24 Hours

Peachland Branch:

Walk Up – Tuesday to Saturday 8:00am to 9:00pm – Closed Sunday & Monday

Drive Thru – Currently closed

Our long-term plan is to ensure we have an outdoor accessible ATM at all of our locations to serve our members 24/7. VantageOne will continue to work closely with our communities and community partners tofind ways to address homelessness.

We are excited to announce that today we launched two enhanced features for INTERAC® e-Transfer – Request Money and Autodeposit! These new and convenient features are designed to save you time and make receiving and depositing your money that much easier. Please see below for further details.

INTERAC Request Money
Allows you to request money from an email contact through online banking, mobile web and the mobile app. When the contact logs into their online banking and fulfills your request, the funds are withdrawn immediately from their account and deposited into yours.

Online Banking:

  1. Log in to your VantageOne online banking and select ‘Request Interac e-Transfer’.
  2. Select the recipient you want to request funds from. You can choose a pre-existing contact or add a new recipient. You will need to check the box confirming you have received consent from the recipient for the request.
  3. Add the amount and optional invoice number and due by date.
  4. You have the option to add a personalized message, an invoice number and/or a due date. This is useful for small business members.
  5. Choose which account you want the fund to be deposited to.

Mobile App:

  1. Press the Interac e-Transfer tile on the home screen of the app.
  2. Login, if prompted.
  3. Press Request from the menu at the top.
  4. Press the From field to select the recipient you wish to request funds from. You can choose a pre-existing contact or add a new recipient.
  5. Enter the specified amount you are requesting and select the account you would like the funds to be deposited into. You have the option to add a personalized message, an invoice number and/or a due date. This is useful for small business members. You will need to check the box confirming you have received consent from the recipient for the request.
  6. Once the recipient has fulfilled your request, funds will be deposited automatically into your bank account and you will be notified. At this time an INTERAC e-Transfer service fee will be applied to your account, if applicable.

INTERAC Autodeposit 
Make receiving money even simpler by registering an email address that associates with the account at your financial institution. When an Interac e-Transfer is sent to the email address, the funds are automatically deposited. There is no need to login to online banking and answer a security question to claim the funds!

Online Banking:

  1. Log in to your VantageOne online banking and select ‘Transfers’, ‘Send Interac eTransfer’ and then ‘Autodeposit’.
  2. Choose an email to register to your VantageOne Account.
  3. Pick which account you would like the fund to be deposited to each time. Any transfers to the registered email address will be automatically deposited into this account. You can register up to 5 different email addresses to direct funds into different VantageOne accounts.
  4. Register your account.
  5. An email will be sent to the address you set up that must be verified before the link is complete. Click “Complete Registration”

Mobile App:

  1. Open the VantageOne Mobile app.
  2. Select the INTERAC e-Transfer tile on the home screen of the app.
  3. Login if prompted.
  4. Select Settings (beside the gear icon near the top right).
  5. Enter your email address and link an account. Any transfers to the registered email address will be automatically deposited into this account.  You can register up to 5 different email addresses to direct funds into different VantageOne accounts.
  6. You will receive an email to confirm your registration. Check your inbox and click “Complete Registration”

Congratulations to Locality and the rest of the winners of the 2018 #EnterprizeChallenge!

This year’s Enterprize Winners:
#1: Locality
#2: The Think Tank
#3: STEAKHOLDER

VantageOne is proud to once again be a part of such an amazing community event put on by Community Futures North Okanagan.

Best of luck to everyone who participated in the 2018 Enterprize Challenge with your business ventures, and congratulations once again to all of the winners!

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If your MemberCard does not have the flash icon (circled in red in the picture), or the card graphic does not look like the card pictured, you will be receiving a new card in the mail before May 31, 2018. This new card will have the same PIN as your current card.

If you are planning to go away, or do not want to wait to receive it in the mail, then please feel free to come into any of our branches and we will replace it free of charge.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at 1.888.339.8328 or by email at info@vantageone.net

During the holiday season it’s all too easy to get caught up in the moment and go outside of our budget with expensive gifts and extra activities. In fact a recent financial poll has discovered that one third of Canadians rack up an additional $1,200 in credit card debt over the holidays. If you’ve recently gone over budget on credit card debt and Holiday Cheer don’t despair, we have a way out. Here are a few tips for you to use to get your debt back under control:

1) Separate your income and expenses
The first step to getting your debt back under control is to completely assess your financial situation. Budget your income and expenses, also called a money list. You can do this by using Microsoft Excel, Word, or even just a sheet of paper.

The first step is to list out and add up all of your sources of monthly income. Once you’ve completed this, try to list and add up all of your monthly expenses, and I mean EVERYTHING. Include all of your expenses from your bi-weekly or monthly mortgage to your morning cup of coffee out at Starbucks or Tim Hortons. Do your best to be accurate in the amounts you’re spending. It doesn’t have to be exact, but if you’re unsure then estimate on the high side.

Once you’ve totaled both, subtract your monthly expenses from your monthly income, what do you have left? If you’re monthly expenses are higher than your monthly income, look to see what you can eliminate from your expense category that isn’t essential until this number becomes positive again. If this isn’t possible, then you may require professional assistance to help you manage your debt, and we’re here to help. Book an appointment with us by clicking here:

2) Add up ALL of your debt
The next step is to total up all of your personal debt and list your minimum payments. You’ll see why we’re doing this later in the article. List your debt from highest to lowest balances and don’t be surprised if this totals a large number. If it does don’t fret, we’re just 5 steps away from getting it fully under control. Once you’ve listed the amounts add in the interest rates that you’re paying for each loan or credit card. This way you’ll know exactly where you stand and can identify which debt is the most beneficial to tackle first.

3) Create a budget & minimize your expenses
In order to use as much income as we can to help you pay down your debt, first we need to look at how we can comfortably free up some additional income by reducing expenses. Step one is to create a monthly budget that includes only essential expenses such as mortgage payments, rent, groceries, etc. If your budget allows add in a small amount for a personal or entertainment budget, but make an attempt to stick to this amount!

In order to make this budget work effectively avoid making non-necessity purchases such as coffee out every morning and make it at home instead. The $2.99 or more you’re spending every morning can be saved by making a $0.25 cup of coffee at home before you leave. This means you’ll save a whopping $60 a month alone that could be used to pay off lump sums of debt. Next, try to look where you can downgrade or cancel unnecessary subscription packages. Have multiple content streaming packages? Try picking just one or downgrading and even eliminating your cable package. This can save you up to $100 or more every month alone.

Another tip for staying on budget is when you’re shopping for groceries try to shop only once per week and take out cash equal to what you budgeted to spend. This limits the potential for over spending and can force you to bargain shop as much as possible. The main point here is to reduce or eliminate any expenses that are non-essential and use that money to work for you paying off your debt.

4) Transfer your credit card debt to a low rate or promotional rate card
If you’re paying a high interest rate on your current card/s, consider consolidating some of this onto a card that is offering a low rate for balance transfers. Some card companies offer low promotional rates for as long as 6 months or more. Use this extra money that you’ll be saving on interest to make extra payments towards this debt to reduce it as quickly as possible. In another upcoming article we’ll also discuss how to choose a credit card that will work for you in terms of perks and benefits.

5) Use unexpected income to pay off lump sums of debt
This is great way to make a huge dent into your personal debt. Unexpected income can be in form of a tax return or other financial windfall. Since this money wasn’t budgeted for initially, what better way to utilize it then to pay off lump sums of a single debt balance. This payment will be interest free as long as it’s above and beyond your regular monthly payment and will pay off your balance much quicker reducing the amount of time and interest you’ll pay over the term of the loan. Although it can be hard to part with, you’ll be much better off and benefit substantially in the long run if you choose to put it down in full on one of your debt items.

6) Implement the snowball method to pay off debt
This method has psychologically proven to be the most effective in terms of paying off debt and has the best long term results. So how does it work? Remember how we listed all of our debts from highest to lowest amounts in step 2? The snowball method starts by selecting your smallest owing debt amount and then paying over and above your minimum payment, such as the leftover income from your budget in step 3. This will apply this additional payment amount directly onto the balance of the debt, and will allow you to quickly pay off your smallest debt freeing up that debt’s minimum payment expense.

Once this debt is paid off keep paying the minimum payment amount, only take this amount and apply it to your second lowest debt amount. This way you’re now paying over and above your minimum payment on your second lowest debt amount. See where we’re going with this? This will allow you to “snowball” your payments over time and quickly pay off of all your debt without having to make major adjustments to your lifestyle.

 

Before you know it you’ll be paying large amounts every month on your largest debt item freeing you up completely from further interest payments. Pro tip: Once you’ve paid off your debt, keep paying yourself in the form of these minimum payments by putting these into a high interest savings account or investment.

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Business After Business
Date: Wednesday, January 17
Host: Vantage One Credit Union, Armstrong
Location: #1 3300 Smith Dr
Time: 5:30 pm – 7 pm
Cost: free

No charge for AS Chamber of Commerce members! Staff welcome. Refreshments and door prizes – don’t forget your business cards!

Our Okanagan Landing Account Manager, Kristine Lidstone, has been out and about doing presentations on Financial Literacy in schools and our community. Her presentation yesterday was to a grade 4 class at Harwood Elementary! The main part of the presentation is how to save, spend and share along with some simple budgeting.

 

 

 

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Our Okanagan Landing branch raised $1,000 with their BBQ for the The Salvation Army – Vernon, BC Food bank!

 

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