Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — In response to hundreds of complaints from members, America First Credit Union announced Thursday night it will no longer automatically opt members into its premium checking account and will pause the release of the new product.
"We regret any frustration or inconvenience that the introduction of this new product may have caused and hope to correct this for our members," the credit union wrote on Facebook.
In the credit union's original plan, every adult's checking account that had money in it was to be converted to a new checking account and would incur a $6 premium fee. Minors' accounts would be automatically transitioned into its new classic, or free, option. Some members started to receive a notice of the change and would have 30 days to opt out before their account was converted, after which they would receive two months free with the system before they were charged the monthly fee.
After sending out the first wave of notices to its members, the credit union received backlash from some of its members who called upon America First to instead allow members to opt-in to the new account instead of automatically enrolling all members.
While the credit union said Thursday night it still "strongly" believed in the value of the new premium account, it would halt its release to "reevaluate the account benefits and build a process that better suits the desires of our membership."
In the statement, the credit union said further information would be made available on what exactly the new rollout plan and account benefits would be as soon as possible.
"America First Credit Union was founded over 80 years ago by people who came together to build a more secure future for one another," the credit union wrote. "That spirit is alive still today. We appreciate the feedback we've received, and we will continue to make every decision with our members in mind."
