What happens when you need financial services away from home? While Leaders only has branches in West Tennessee, members can receive financial help at 5,600 branches across the United States through shared branching. Shared branching is handy when traveling or moving to a different state, so you can continue to access financial assistance no matter where you go.
"It's something really amazing, and it gives them the flexibility if they go on vacation somewhere or if they happen to move somewhere else, they can still be a member with us," said Ferreira. "They don't have to close their account with us, and they can go move to a different state and still enjoy our services."
While location can be a financial barrier, speaking a different language can also be challenging when establishing finances. Leaders has bilingual Financial Champions who can help potential and current Spanish-speaking members.
"Estoy muy feliz por poder ayudar a toda la gente que habla español y que necesita ayuda con todo lo que necesitan con Leaders Credit Union,"
dijo Ferreira. "Y es algo que ya estoy haciendo por seis meses y estoy muy feliz de ayudar a todo el mundo, no solo de Bartlett, pero también de todo el West Tennessee. Si tienen alguna pregunta, me pueden llamar o escribir por mi correo y siempre estoy disponible para ayudar."
To learn more about Leaders Credit Union and how to become a member, visit leaderscu.com.
Si está interesado en convertirse en miembro, visite leaderscu.com.
Shea:
Hey, this is Shea.
Carrie:
And this is Carrie.
Shea:
Welcome to the Pocket Change Podcast.
Carrie:
Where you'll learn better ways to spend, save, and invest, and take control of your financial journey.
Shea:
Carrie, hola, como estas?
Carrie:
Si. That's all I know.
Shea:
Almost there. We're going to be talking with someone who is multilingual and is going to give us some insights on how he's able to serve our members.
Carrie:
That's right. I'm really excited to speak to one of our very own today and talk him about what all he does to help our members who speak Spanish and other languages. We're excited to welcome our guest today, Bernardo Ferreira, AVP of Branch Operations in Bartlett. Welcome to Pocket Change, Bernardo.
Bernardo:
Thank you for having me. I'm very excited to be here.
Carrie:
We're happy to have you with us. Can you tell us a little bit about your journey to becoming a financial champion?
Bernardo:
Yeah, absolutely. I moved to Memphis in 2015 when I was 18 years old to study at Christian Brothers University in Memphis. What brought me to Memphis was a scholarship to play soccer there, and I ended up staying there for four years. I got my bachelor's in business there. Then after that, I got my master's at the University of Memphis. I graduated in 2022. While I was getting my master's, I was also working for a nonprofit. I was a program director there. I always like to serve people and make sure that everybody was making good decisions and also getting chances just like everybody else would. Then I joined Leaders in February of this year, and it's been a great journey so far.
Carrie:
That's wonderful. We're so happy that you joined us.
Bernardo:
I'm very happy to be here. What really stood out to me in Leaders is the way we serve our members and the way that we're dedicated to serve such a diverse population. I'm really excited to be able to do that in Bartlett.
Shea:
So, Bernardo, why did you decide to work in the financial services industry?
Bernardo:
Like I was saying before, because I like to help people make good decisions. I feel like at Leaders, I was able to really understand how to help everybody. We serve people in very different parts of their financial journey, so that's something that really captivated me. I have come from a nonprofit background, so Leaders as a credit union is also not-for-profit organization, so that's something that really stood out to me and that I'm really happy to be part of.
Carrie:
What are some common financial concerns that you see members come in for?
Bernardo:
In Bartlett, what I see a lot, first, we have a very diversified population that we serve, so people with different needs. But I see either young people that are starting their financial journey, they don't have credit yet, and they want to start their journey either by doing a secure credit card or they're doing their first auto loan. But then we also have members that are trying to do a debt consolidation loan or they're trying to rebuild what their credit looks like. We do a lot of HELOCs, too. That's something that we've seen a lot. Either people paying off debt that they have or they want to do home renovation. That's something really popular. We have members that I've never heard of a credit union. When I first moved to America when I was 18, and when I was coming from Portugal, my first experience opening a bank account, I didn't know much about credit unions. I opened my first bank account at a bank, just a regular savings and checking. It was important for me to have somebody leading me throughout that journey at the time. I think that I'm really happy to be able to do the same for somebody that is just starting.
That's something that really I'm passionate about.
Shea:
Yeah, it is important because there is a difference. A lot of people still don't know what is a credit union? Can I join a credit union? Being able to share that with people and new members is so important. Then also something we offer at our Bartlett location in Memphis is shared branching. Tell us a little bit about what shared branching is.
Bernardo:
Absolutely. Shared branching gives our members the access to 5,600 branches nationwide. They can go to any of the branches on our network and they can make a deposit, they can make a withdrawal, they can pay on their loan, they can make a transfer. It's something that really gives our members accessibility to more than just our branches. Other than that, in Bartlett, too, we receive members from other credit unions that they're stopping by and they want to withdraw, they want to make a payment, they want to make a deposit. It's great. We've seen members that they're originally from California, Florida, and they don't know that they can do that in our branch. It's something really amazing, and it gives them the flexibility if they go on vacation somewhere or if they happen to move somewhere else, they can still be a member with us. They don't have to close their account with us, and they can go move to a different state and still enjoy our services.
Shea:
Right. I think for me, I'm originally from Florida, so I have a credit union back home, and so I'm able to do transactions that way where if I'm traveling and I want to use Leaders or my other credit union, I can use both because of the share branching services. It really does give people nationwide and even worldwide access in some cases where you can take your credit union with you wherever you go. That's a really great service.
Bernardo:
That's right. That's something that I didn't know about until I joined Leaders, and it's really a really nice service and that people can do it anywhere. That's a big advantage to me.
Carrie:
Bernardo, we are so grateful that you are one of our Spanish-speaking champions here with us. Could you share with the Hispanic community what all services that Leaders offers?
Bernardo:
Yes, absolutely. Estoy muy feliz por poder ayudar a toda la gente que habla español y que necesita ayuda con todo lo que necesitan con Leaders Credit Union. Y es algo que ya estoy haciendo por seis meses y estoy muy feliz de ayudar a todo el mundo, no solo de Bartlett, pero también de todo el West Tennessee. Si tienen alguna pregunta, me pueden llamar o escribir por mi correo y siempre estoy disponible para ayudar.
Shea:
Gracias. ¿Cómo se dice Thank you for choosing Leaders?
Bernardo:
Muchas gracias por elegir a Leaders.
Shea:
That's what we say to our members. Thank you for choosing Leaders. Bernardo and our other financial champions can also say it in Spanish. There you go.
Carrie:
Okay. For those of us who don't know what you guys just said, can you re-explain that to me in English?
Bernardo:
Absolutely. I've assisted a lot of members that they're starting their financial journey with Leaders, and they either want to set up their payments or they want to understand more how Leaders' works and our app and how they can make payments, how they can deposit. So throughout my last six months here at Leaders, it's been really great to be able to help everybody that don't speak English speak Spanish to me and understand everything. So that's something that really has been great, and I'm super excited to help all the members, not just in Bartlett, but also all over West Tennessee that have needs, and they need to speak to somebody that speaks Spanish.
Shea:
All right, so, Bernardo, it's a financial-related podcast. You've talked about how you've helped some other...you know, helping our members each day, but what's some of the best financial advice you've ever been given?
Bernardo:
My family always told me to always save for a rainy day or for an emergency. That's something that I really brought with me when I came to the States. That's something that I really like to share with my members. Also, I feel like the way we evaluate our loan applications and the way we help our members save, it's something that really prepares them for a rainy day or for an emergency. That's something that I feel like leaders does a great job with.
Shea:
Life happens, so it's always going to be prepared for those things that come up. So that's a great piece of advice.
Bernardo:
Thank you.
Carrie:
Okay, so I've got one last question for you. If you were to find some extra change in your pocket, what would you spend it on?
Bernardo:
I would either put it on the Forward Plus High Yield Savings with Leaders, which is a great account. And I recommend to all of our members that are listening to this podcast. Or I don't have any kids yet, but I have a dog, so maybe I'll get a dog treat for my dog.
Carrie:
Well, we thank you so much, Bernardo, for joining us on the pocket change podcast today.
Bernardo:
Thank you. I'm hoping to see you guys in Bartlett and seeing all the members over there.