Like any business, there's a lot of pressure on banks to provide a higher return to their investors. The way to do that is by creating efficiencies. Quite frankly, the biggest efficiencies come through having you do it yourself, without any personal interaction. At Luminus Financial, we have certainly created efficiencies in this way, to create a greater return for our owners - in other words, our members.

At Luminus Financial, though, there is a line that we will not cross. it's the line where money transactions become the whole business, with no face-to-face contact. To us, that's where the average person loses out over the long term, because there is real value in becoming a person who builds up a reputation with the place where they bank, who becomes someone who knows us, and who feels valued and understood by us. It's something you will never get, and should never expect, from a “virtual bank.” indeed, many who use a virtual bank can't identify the country where it originates, let alone the name of its people.

We didn't adopt “people first” as a new strategy or marketing ploy. it's at the very heart of our credit union tradition - a tradition that goes back over a century. To us, banks - virtual or otherwise - shouldn't be a place for money. They should be a place for people.

Take a look at our “Promise to our Members”.