Members 1st launches multi-channel service options ahead of market expansion, HQ consolidation

Members 1^st Federal Credit Union unveiled technology officials say will give customers more ways to do business as it gears up to expand in Berks and Lehigh counties and open a new headquarters office in Cumberland County.

The credit union’s re-imagination of the Members 1st brand image and multi-platform digital experience reflects an ongoing commitment to meet members at their evolving preferences in service channels, said Mike Wilson, Members 1^st Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Relationship Officer.

Wilson said newly implemented digital infrastructure comes on the heels of three years of market research on what different generations expect from financial services. The result is a brand-building strategy that holds Members 1^st’s marketing and IT teams in close alignment as the credit union works to meet members in their preferred service channel, he said.

“There are five generations of members in the market and all five generations do business in five different ways,” Wilson said. “What we’re trying to say is if you want to go all-digital, we’ve got you. If you want to come into the branch, we’ve got you. If you want to go mobile, that’s fine. We want to provide that omni-channel experience no matter where you go.”

Fintech services installed at recently opened Members 1^st branch locations in Dauphin and Lancaster counties will serve as “prototypes” for branch expansions in Berks and Lehigh counties in the near future, said President and CEO George Nahodil.

Tuesday’s announcement comes two months into site work for the credit union’s consolidated 185,000-square-foot headquarters at the Hampden Marketplace. Wilson said the company will begin moving employees to the new location in 15-18 months, barring any unexpected delays.

Members 1^st purchased the Marketplace Way location for $7.5 million on Sept. 9, 2019, county property records show.

New headquarters will replace Members’ Rossmoyne Business Center locations, where employees are divided between two corporate buildings. Nahodil said the transition into Hampden Marketplace will be “expense-neutral,” as the new corporate offices are slated to streamline operations and cut down on inefficiencies.

“We are currently spread across multiple buildings, which is neither efficient nor collaborative,” Nahodil said. “We believe selling our current buildings and consolidating into one facility is the most fiscally responsible option, with an expense-neutral end result. It was also important for us to remain in our roots of Cumberland County.”

After announcing plans to move into new headquarters in February of 2019, Members sold two of its four administrative offices — 5053 Ritter Rd. for $2.5 million, and 4999 Louise Drive for $7.75 million, according to Cumberland County property records. The credit union’s two administrative offices in buildings 5000 and 5020 Louise Drive in Mechanicsburg are currently for sale, Wilson said.

Nahodil said the construction of new headquarters was pushed back roughly 60 days due to the pandemic and the commonwealth’s phased approach to reopening commerce.

Members officials said they wanted to keep the economic benefits of expansion local by hiring and partnering with midstate architecture and construction firms to complete construction of the new corporate building. Greenfield Architects of East Lampeter Township is tasked with designing the building and Mowery Construction of Silver Spring Township is overseeing construction.

“We were so excited when we had the opportunity to purchase this land,” Nahodil said, citing the Hampden Marketplace location’s visibility to I-81 traffic and a business corridor that includes UPMC Pinnacle West Shore Hospital and the soon-to-come Penn State Health Hampden Medical Center. “In the Rossmoyne Business Center, we didn’t have the visibility that we’re going to have here.”