Instead of expecting their members to come to them, Excite Credit Union is now able to take their services to members directly.

Last month, the credit union took possession of a new mobile unit, which staffers will take to a variety of locations and events, similar to the way a bookmobile provides outreach access to media materials.
 
Sarah Stone, Excite’s director of retail experience in the Wilmington market, had hoped the mobile unit would be ready for operation this past summer, but supply chain issues delayed production.

Once the unit arrived in Wilmington, work was needed to install its technology systems and connect them to Excite’s network. Now it’s a fully functional credit union branch on wheels.
 
People can do just about everything in the mobile unit they can do at Excite’s two bricks-and-mortar locations in Wilmington, Stone said.
 
“They can open checking and savings accounts, make regular deposits and use the ATM,” she added. “We’ll have someone staffing the unit who can help with loan applications and accept payments.”
 
The mobile unit is designed to help the credit union reach new communities and provide access to potential members who don’t have ready access to financial institutions.
 
“We’re building out the schedule right now,” Stone said in late October. “We’ll have regular business hours and a calendar of where the unit will be.”
 
Her team is looking for locations in underserved communities and neighborhoods where the mobile unit can make regular stops. They welcome inquiries from businesses or nonprofits interested in having the unit stop by.
 
“We’re going to be on the road,” she said. “Our community charter allows us to serve anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties. More and more bank branches have been closing, and this accelerated during the pandemic. Some of those closed branches are in communities that are already underserved by financial institutions.”
 
This month Excite’s new unit will be open for business at Wilmington’s Riverfront Farmers Market, held each Saturday through Nov. 20 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Dock Street between Second and Water streets. Additional information about the mobile unit will appear soon on Excite’s website excitecu.org.