Credit Union 1 (CU1) is Alaska’s second-largest credit union, with twelve branches, thirty live-agent interactive teller machines (ITMs), and nine ATMs throughout Alaska. As the only state-chartered credit union in Alaska, members must live or work in Alaska, so CU1 does not have ATMs in other states. However, CU1 joined Co-op Solutions’ ATM network about ten years ago, allowing its roughly 95,000 members to access money nationwide without paying surcharge fees. Being part of the network gives CU1 members who travel or move the perk of having access to their money beyond its Alaska-based locations, says COO Erika Smith.

In Southeast, Tongass Federal Credit Union (FCU) has eight branches in Ketchikan, Sitka, Metlakatla, Klawock, Petersburg, Wrangell, Haines, and Juneau. It also operates five community microsites in Thorne Bay, Hydaburg, Kake, Hoonah, and Yakutat. Last year, Tongass FCU merged with its long-time Southeast ally, ALPS FCU, making it the fifth-largest credit union in Alaska.

But Tongass FCU has no physical locations outside of the state. Even so, it offers member benefits nationwide because, since 2018, Tongass FCU has participated in the Co-op’s Shared Branch network.

“Currently, there are over 5,000 locations, including branches and express self-service locations,” says President and CEO Helen Mickel. “So members from Tongass FCU can go into any of those branches across the country and access their accounts, make withdrawals, make loan payments, transfer money, and more.”

In Fairbanks, the largest locally owned and operated credit union is Spirit of Alaska. Established in 1960, it has three branches with ATMs as well as one kiosk with an ITM. While Spirit of Alaska has no physical branch locations or kiosks outside the greater Fairbanks area, it serves approximately 9,000 members throughout all fifty states as well as many countries across the globe. As part of the Co-op Shared Branch network, Spirit of Alaska’s members can conduct financial transactions at thousands of participating branches in the United States and five foreign countries, including 24/7 access at more than 2,000 7-Eleven stores.

“Having that expanded reach through shared branching or other digital channels allows for our members to be nimble rather than be tied to a physical branch location to perform their financial transactions and business,” says Spirit of Alaska President and CEO Anthony Rizk.

While a number of these networks exist, more than one-third of the country’s 4,600 federally insured credit unions participate in the nationwide system of branches and ATMs operated by California-based Co-op Solutions. Earlier this year, the company joined forces with fintech solutions provider PSCU and is rebranding as PSCU/Co-op Solutions.

Approximately 1,700 credit unions participate in the network, serving 62 million credit union members.

Here’s how it works: If someone is a member of a credit union that’s part of the shared branch network, they can visit another participating credit union as a “guest member” and complete teller transactions as if they were at their home branch.

For credit unions, shared branching helps justify brick-and-mortar locations in an increasingly digital world. When a guest member completes a transaction in a participating credit union, the branch generates revenue through the network’s interchange.

Members use a variety of methods to find nearby Co-op shared branches and ATMs, such as the online Co-op Credit Union Branch Locator or their own credit union’s website and mobile apps. Services may vary by location and credit union, but shared branch guest members can complete a range of transactions, such as get a copy of their account history, make loan payments, withdraw money, transfer funds between accounts, make deposits, and cash checks.

Co-op shared branching locations have some limitations, though. For instance, credit union members who are not banking at their home branch cannot open or close accounts, apply for loans or credit cards, or change account information and resolve complex account issues. There may be fees for certain transactions, but typically Co-op Shared Branch network institutions provide services to guest members with no or nominal surcharges.

For Tongass FCU, shared branching aligns with its goal of meeting the banking needs of its 13,000 members. “We’re here to serve our members and our communities locally throughout Southeast,” Mickel says. “We also know that many Alaskans travel throughout Alaska and the Lower 48 regularly. Our expanded nationwide reach allows our members to get the benefits of their local credit union with the advantages of a nationwide financial institution.”

Rizk says, “It is common knowledge that the majority of younger generation consumers prefer to use a financial institution’s digital services rather than visit a brick-and-mortar branch. As we continue to monitor our shifting age demographic to a younger one, it is critical to be able to offer reliable digital services members need and have come to expect.”

CU1’s motivation for participating in Co-op’s network is simple, according to Smith: “We think you shouldn’t have to spend your money to access it, and this massive network gives our members the ability to use more surcharge-free ATMs than most traditional bank customers can,” she says. “Credit unions originated to serve the underserved. As a not-for-profit, it is our job to support members’ financial well-being, and providing them access to surcharge-free ATMs beyond our own is just one of the many ways we do that.”

The network also adds new uses for CU1’s branch locations within the state. “In Alaska, we have a unique and expansive landscape to consider,” Smith says. “And across the industry, we are seeing changes in how people want to interact with their financial institutions through technology.”

While technology is expanding access to financial resources in Alaska, Smith says, many areas of the state are underserved and underrepresented by financial institutions—and CU1 is committed to offering local solutions to that problem. For example, CU1 is planning to build two additional branches—one in Wasilla and one in Kotzebue—and is working to deploy an ITM inside UAA’s student union. In addition, CU1 is the only credit union in Alaska with a fully equipped, tractor-trailer-sized mobile branch on wheels, according to Smith. “We can take it anywhere on the road system to help members open accounts, apply for loans, or even park at an event and open the built-in ATM for use,” she says.

Other financial institutions in Alaska are capitalizing on the Co-op Solutions Shared Branch network to increase their geographic reach—even though they already operate out-of-state locations. Global Credit Union—formerly Alaska USA Federal Credit Union—has seventy-seven branches across Alaska, Washington, Idaho, California, and Arizona, as well as branches on three US military installations in Italy. Nuvision Credit Union, headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, has twenty-six branches in five states: Alaska, California, Washington, Arizona, and Wyoming.

Beyond bolstering revenue and services, shared branching exemplifies the cooperative framework that fuels credit unions’ existence. Credit unions are “unique, inclusive, and member-focused” financial institutions with an inherently communal structure, says Mickel. Members own and govern the institution where they keep their money, and the shared branching network is a natural extension of that cooperative spirit.

“You don’t often think of the financial services industry as being cooperative, but ‘cooperation among cooperatives’ is actually a shared core principle among credit unions,” Mickel says. “This means that, if by working together we can better serve our members and communities, we will.”

Mickel adds that credit unions are set up to offer products, services, and other resources that enhance the well-being of their members. “It’s not something that people think of when they think of their local credit union—that we have that kind of reach to serve them wherever they are, but we do. The access that the network provides allows us to focus on serving locally but also gives us resources across the country, rivaling big banks,” she says.

Co-op’s network is a great example of the principle of cooperation among cooperatives, according to Smith. “Alaskans want a financial institution that is a reflection of our lifestyle and character, and we want access to be seamless when life takes us Outside,” she explains. “Being part of this cooperative gives members that confidence.”