Indiana’s credit unions are reinventing the way they think about traditional savings products and starting to offer members a new savings concept that offers multiple benefits. Crane Credit Union offers an innovative savings program called Save to Win. By making a $25 deposit, members at participating credit unions will be entered into drawings throughout the year and will get chances to win cash prizes – all while building their savings balances.
This prize-linked savings account gives Hoosier savers the chance to win monthly and quarterly prizes from two different prize pools. The state-level prize pool features monthly and quarterly prizes ranging from $50 to $1,000 and a national prize pool offering quarterly prizes from $25 to $5,000. Crane Credit Union also distributes $500 in prizes each month to its members. Credit union members just need to save their money to qualify. Savers earn entries for every $25 they save in a given month, with a maximum of ten entries per month. More information is available at www.cranecu.org/savetowin.
Crane has distributed over $15,000 in cash prizes to its members since it launched the program with members winning from $25 to $500 in individual cash prizes.
“Save to Win offers an option for developing good savings habits and improving people’s financial situations. A saver getting the maximum amount of entries will save more than $3,000 at their credit union over a year,” said Indiana Credit Union League President John McKenzie. “As member-owned cooperatives, credit unions are especially focused on member benefits, and this program is all about helping members get ahead.”
Indiana passed prize-linked savings into law in 2014. In 2015, Indiana’s credit unions partnered with the Indiana Credit Union League and Save to Win to begin making plans for the 2016 rollout. The program was first offered in Michigan in 2009 and has continued to grow and flourish in other states. Indiana is just one of nine states whose credit unions are offering Save to Win. Since 2009, Save to Win has helped credit union members save more than $100 million. In addition to savings, more than $1.7 million in prizes have been given away to participating members nationwide.