Lifting Up a Credit Score Amid the Pandemic 

I first heard about UW Credit Union from my son, who had a student account through UW-Madison. When I bought a car in 2017 and saw the loan was with UW Credit Union, I was happy. I decided to open up a checking account so I could have all my personal accounts in one spot.

When the pandemic hit, I was super worried about my finances. I have a full-time job, but I also own a photography business, which was supplementing my rent, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to work.

I reached out to the staff at UW Credit Union, and they helped me take a look at everything. We refinanced my car loan to give me a couple months without the payment. I refinanced my credit card debt, which was helpful. I didn't even think that was something I could do! I opened a credit card account to have a line of credit if I needed it, and I opened up overdraft protection.

I had all of these protections in place to make sure I was going to be okay, no matter what happened. Having UW Credit Union on my team made me feel really good. It's like having a friend that's there for you, somebody who's got your back.

Everybody at UW Credit Union looks out for me. I was really happy to have overdraft protection. I thought it was great when they lowered fees. I haven’t been at risk of being charged fees, but it’s good to know I’ll be taken care of if my situation changes.

Web Branch helps me keep track of my finances. I can see what I’m spending and check on my credit score. I’ve paid off a lot of debt and improved my credit, which has helped me get better rates. You'll know it really quick if an expense comes through that you didn't spend yourself. My money is protected. Anything that you can think of, you can go online and get it done and it's not a hassle — UW Credit Union has the best online banking.

I’m out in the community a lot for my photography business. Whenever there's an important event, I always see UW Credit Union there and that means a lot to me.

When I hear CEO Paul Kundert talk about the work they do, from fee-free ATMs to the money they give to community organizations — I’m glad to know my money is going to support that kind of good, local stuff. I see the work that's being done around DEI and I really appreciate that UW Credit Union goes to great lengths to invest in the community. I’m proud to say, “that’s my credit union!”

I’ve had plenty of banking experiences and not all of them were bad, but with UW Credit Union, it's been very good all the time.

If you're looking for a bank that's in your corner, it definitely would be UW Credit Union — they are just as invested in my finances and community as I am.

Hedi’s refinancing was possible because of UW Credit Union’s strong financial foundation. Since 1931, we’ve been acting in our members’ best interest by living the credit union philosophy of people helping people.