Summerland Credit Union response to COVID-19

: News

Here at Summerland Credit Union, you, our customers and the communities we serve are our number one priority. We always look to deliver a safe and secure environment for you – providing the best customer experience whenever you engage with us.

Currently we are all facing uncertainty and challenges due to the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak and the rapid rate of changes being experienced. Our executive team meet daily to closely monitor the latest developments and update our approved pandemic response plan to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our staff, customers and the broader community.

We understand this is a worrying time for everyone, rest assured, Summerland Credit Union is here to support our community. A number of activities and processes have been implemented to ensure the continued delivery of our banking products and services for our customers.

Health and Safety

Our staff

There are several preventative hygiene measures we’ve adopted to minimise the spread of the virus, should a staff member display symptoms or be diagnosed with COVID-19. Some of these include:

A COVID-19 response team
Dedicated staff training on COVID-19
Regular communication to staff on information from the relevant bodies in relation to the virus
Posters reminding staff of the personal hygiene that are required undertaken.
We will implement any relevant health and safety measures based on the advice of the health authorities.

Our customers

If you are feeling unwell or exercising social distancing and you need to talk to someone, you can make contact with our eBranch on 1300 802 222. We will continue to trade within our branch network and provide all online services including but not limited to internet banking or the banking app. This includes discussing ways to access cash.

We are assisting our customers and staff with appropriate levels of social distancing in our branches with floor signage, indicating where customers should stand. We hope by doing this, we can provide a safer environment for everyone when they come in to the branch to do their banking.

To further support our social distancing measures in our branches, we will be moving to a more specific and controlled limit of customers who are in our branches at any one time. Please be aware that the number will vary depending on the size and staffing of each branch.

We request that you do not enter any of our branches if displaying flu like symptoms or have returned from abroad in the past 14 days.

Hardship assistance

Summerland understands that customers may face difficulty in meeting loan and other commitments due to any number of circumstances, including, no less, health and economic impacts relating to COVID-19.

Summerland has always offered support and assistance to customers during times of financial difficulty, and we remain committed to doing so. If you are experiencing conditions of financial difficulty we encourage and invite you to contact our financial hardship assistance team who will assist you.

Can anyone use this service?

All customers both personal and small business are able to use our financial hardship assistance service, this service is free of charge. Our team is experienced in handling situations involving financial difficulty and will take the time to understand and review your circumstances.

Solutions tailored to help you manage your commitments with us can be provided. The type of assistance that Summerland provides varies depending on individual needs and circumstances, but may include:

Tailored repayment arrangements
Deferred or reduced repayments - these are assessed on a case by case basis
Extending the term of a loan contract
Assisting you to suspend repayments should you be in advance of the regular repayment schedule
Waiving fees associated with restructuring of loans, as needed
Waiving or refunding fees incurred because of COVID-19 pandemic impacts
Early redemption on Term Deposits for customers impacted by the pandemic, without fees or penalties
We are opening free redraw on all loans including personal, home and commercial both fixed and variable.

We’re urging any customers financially impacted by COVID-19 to reach out so we can work quickly to assess their situation and advise how we can help.

For further information on financial hardship assistance, call our team on 1300 364 799, email mfs@ summerland.com.au. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate in contacting us.

More information on COVID-19

The situation around COVID-19 is continuing to change. We therefore encourage you to keep up to date with the response from the relevant organisations. Here are some tips that may help you:

Bookmark and visit the Australian Government Department of Health and World Health Organisation COVID-19 alert pages to keep up-to-date on how you can protect you and your family.
If you can’t get into a branch, you can manage your banking online through our app or internet banking.

Keeping you informed