Teachers Credit Union to be renamed later this month

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - TCU is on its way O-U-T.

Indiana’s largest credit union announced on Tuesday that a name change is in the works. Starting June 26, Teachers Credit Union will legally become Everwise Credit Union.

“No merger, we’re not for sale, not been bought, not sold,” said Angie Dvorak with TCU/Everwise. “We are remaining 100% member-owned and headquartered here in South Bend.”

While its commitment to education is stronger than ever, its reliance on educators as members is not.

“More than 90% of our members coming from professions outside of education, we just need to have a name that is more inclusive and, you know, reflects everyone we serve,” Dvorak explained.

That new name is Everwise Credit Union. The new logo is whatever you want it to be. Some see a tree branching out, others see a fountain. Some see corporate messaging that is simply more “on the money,” according to Dvorak.

“We did market research and found that two-thirds of people felt that they could not join the credit union unless they were a teacher. So, that was a big barrier that we knew that we would need to overcome.”

Bill Denolf is a TCU member who is not a teacher. When asked how that works, he replied, “I don’t know, but it’s okay with me.”

Steve Olinger is also a longtime TCU member who appears ready to roll with the changes. “If they’re going to do what they say they ‘re going to do, which is to just change some of the logos and that sort of thing, I’m okay with it.”

Members can expect new debit and credit cards to come to them automatically. TCU checks will be honored throughout the transition.

The process of swapping out old logos for the new in branches will likely continue through mid-August. Meanwhile, TCU has about a dozen naming rights deals in effect, from football stadiums to basketball and tennis courts, to academic labs.

“We certainly still love teachers and when we picked our new name, we picked Everwise because the wisdom that comes from experience and from educators, we felt that should be part of our new name, so carrying that forward to the future,” Dvorak said.

It was in 1988 when TCU became a community charter, open to those other than teachers. The only requirement for membership now is to live in designated northern Indiana or southwest Michigan counties.

Copyright 2023 WNDU. All rights reserved.