Elan, Telhio Credit Union Lengthen Credit Card Collaboration

Elan Financial Services and Telhio Credit Union have lengthened their long-term collaboration to offer credit card products to the credit union’s (CU’s) 70,000 personal and commercial members, according to a Friday (April 30) announcement emailed to PYMNTS.

The CU’s card members receive choices that meet their lifestyles and financial requirements while Elan works on the promotion of cards to existing and potential members in addition to member services questions and matters, according to the announcement.

“Operationally, Elan has proven to be an extension of our internal team,” Telhio Credit Union Senior Vice President of Member Services and Chief Retail Officer Karen Daniels said in the announcement. “They handle member concerns or questions efficiently and effectively, they are constantly monitoring and responding to trends in the marketplace and they make it simple and easy for current and new members to apply. We are proud to partner with Elan.”

Telhio Credit Union has experienced a sizable expansion in its credit card program following the start of the partnership in 2006. It attributes the program’s success over the long haul to the “open and continual communication” with their set Elan representative, according to the announcement.

“Our partnership with Elan has been one of the key factors in helping our organization grow to a $1.2 billion credit union,” Telhio Credit Union President and CEO Leslie Bumgarner said in the announcement. “A high-quality credit card program is critical to ensuring our members — both consumer and commercial — have the credit services that they need to thrive. Elan has allowed us to offer this program to our members seamlessly.”

The news comes as the PYMNTS January 2021 Online Security And The Debit-Credit Divide, a collaboration with Elan, polled almost 2,500 U.S. consumers to find what they like (and don’t like) about credit card usage during the pandemic. The findings were good news for credit cards.

“Our research indicates that credit cards will remain an essential and growing component of the online payment mix,” according to the new study. Per the study, “41 percent of consumers prefer credit cards when paying online, making it the most commonly used payment method, and 28 percent have increased their online usage of the cards since the pandemic’s onset.”