EDWARDSVILLE – In a move officials say will improve service for its members, Madco Credit Union is merging with 1st MidAmerica Credit Union.
According to Joe Dauderman, chairman of the Madco Credit Union board, the union will occur Aug. 31 and will increase opportunities available to Madco members, including online banking, debit and credit cards, home loans and money market.
“We are proud to come together with 1st MidAmerica in order to provide the best products and services to our members,” Dauderman said in a statement.
According to its website, Madco Credit Union has been open since 1982 and has assets totaling $1.66 million and provides banking services to about 700 members who are either current or retired county employees.
1st MidAmerica Credit Union is a full-service credit union offering a wide variety of financial services in Illinois and Missouri. It is open for membership to anyone who lives, works, or maintains an address in a number of Illinois counties, including Madison, Macoupin, Montgomery, Bond, Fayette, Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Pike, Morgan, Scott, Sangamon, Clinton, Monroe, St. Clair, Macon, Christian, Randolph, Marion, Jefferson and Washington.
1st MidAmerica also is open for membership to anyone who lives or works in Jackson County, Missouri, or is related to a current member, its website states.
It has 10 locations in the Riverbend - Edwardsville, Wood River, Bethalto, Alton, Godfrey, East Alton, Jerseyville or Granite City - and two locations outside the area - one in Decatur and one in Independence, Missouri. It has about 60,000 members.
As part of the merger, Madco Credit Union is shuttering its office in the basement of the County Administration building at 4 p.m. Aug. 31. Beginning on Sept. 5, Madco Credit Union members will be able to access accounts at any 1st MidAmerica Credit Union location.
Madco members who also are members of 1st MidAmerica will still have separate accounts, according to Dauderman.
Dauderman added that the Madco Credit Union board looked at several credit unions before considering the merger with 1st MidAmerica.
“We felt this was the best fit for our members,” he said in the statement.
Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler said in a statement that the merger “brings added convenience to members of the employees’ credit union.”
Prenzler, who learned last week about the merger of the two credit unions, sees it as “a great thing,” Prenzler said in the statment.
Over the last three years, 1st MidAmerica has grown through mergers, including pairings with Laclede Steel Credit Union and School District No. 9 in Granite City.
Today’s banking landscape has made such mergers a necessity for credit unions, according to Prenzler.
“We live in a different world where customers expect more services, especially online banking,” he said in the release. “That’s difficult for a small credit union to provide.”
Members of both credit unions will have national access to their accounts through 5,000 credit union locations on the Shared Branching Network and 30,000 surcharge-free CO-OP ATMs.