Introducing: Receipts on demand

Like many other businesses, American 1 is always looking to cut costs for our members, reduce waste, and leave less of an impact on the environment.

That’s why we’re excited to announce Receipts On Demand, a program that introduces both a new receipt and a new way of doing things.

For one, we’re no longer automatically printing receipts for our members for each transaction. If you come into a branch to manage your account, and you want a paper receipt, you will ask for one. Otherwise, we won’t print a receipt. Ask yourself: do you really need a printed receipt for your transaction? Sometimes you will, sometimes you won’t. We’ll assume, in most cases, that you won’t need a receipt.

Second, we’re launching new thermal receipts and printers at three of our branches – Home Office, Argyle, and Parnall – starting Monday. Those receipts you get when you pay for gas at the pump? They’re kind of like those. They’re smaller, lighter, and only one sheet – instead of the yellow-and-white sheets we used to have.

This new on-demand receipt system does many things, all of them good, including:

• Save money on paper costs and waste
• Reduce our environmental impact with smaller receipts AND less of them
• Make most transactions faster, saving time
• Reducing identity theft, since there’s less of a paper trail

While this on-demand receipt system is kicking off at three of our branches, we plan to install it credit-union-wide over the next few months.

So when you make a transaction at an American 1 branch, and we ask if you want a receipt, make sure you really think about it. For some members, a printed receipt helps them manage their money better.

But if it’s just going to end up in the trash, say “no thanks.”

Project: Zero Waste cleans up Jackson

American 1’s Project: Zero Waste day was a hit.

Over the course of five hours on Saturday, April 18, we collected 57 televisions, 50 computer monitors, 55 flourescent tubes, 490 tires, 34 LP tanks, 240 gallons of motor oil, 5,000 lbs. of scrap metal, 506 lbs. of clothing, eight pieces of furniture, 170 lbs. of household items, 12 yards of cardboard, 10 yards of grass and clippings, and tons of paper, plastic, and glass. About 140 people came through the Jackson County Fairgrounds to participate.

Not bad for the first time, eh?

American 1 partnered up with area waste haulers and recyclers to help clean up Jackson the weekend before Earth Day. Lots of people asked if we were doing it again, and all we can say now is that we need to hear from more people. Would you find another Zero Waste day useful? Did it help? Was it affordable?

Be sure to check out more pictures on our Flickr site from the day, and let us know in the comments below what you thought of the first ever Project: Zero Waste.

Our Parnall Branch is recycling

I got an e-mail from Michelle over at Parnall, asking for advice on how to start a recycling program in her branch.

Now we’re talking.

Michelle is getting her staff involved in the process, and they’re looking for ways to reuse dishware and silverware, reduce the amount of waste they produce, and recycle whatever they can: paper, plastic, and cardboard.




As you can see, their initial effort is going strong. This is their makeshift recycling room, with paper, cardboard, and even some styrofoam ready to be recycled.

Nice job Parnall!

Plastic recycling a hit at Home Office

In just under one week, our new plastic recycling bin in the Home Office break room filled up.

I think it’s officially a hit.

A few straggler items, like plastic bags and cutlery, had to be pulled out – but otherwise, it’s nothing but plastic bottles and yogurt containers and water jugs. All of those could’ve gone to the trash, and then on to some landfill or incinerator somewhere. But not at American 1.

Savings trees, one stack of papers at a time

According to the National Recycling Coalition’s “Conversionator” (check the bottom of the page), American 1 is saving four trees a year just by recycling our Sunday editions of the Jackson Citizen Patriot. The rest of the weeks’ paper that gets recycled? We can probably double or triple that.

Do you recycle your newspaper? Why the heck not?

Poll results: half use e-statements

The results of our “do you open your mailed statement each month” poll are in. In all, 30 people voted, and almost half of you – 47% – opt for e-statements instead of paper statements.

Another third of you told us you don’t open your mailed statements or only “sometimes” open them. For you, e-statements are perfect: they save paper, reduce waste, and are easily ignored. Below are the full results:




Twenty-three percent of you said you do open your mailed statements each month, which is a good idea. Reading through your statement can help prevent fraud and identity theft. See something fishy? Let us know.

The poll is closed, but feel free to offer your comments below. Do you use e-statements? Are you a fan? Or do you prefer to stick with the snail-mail method?

Scooter and moped financing? Yeah, we do that.

Nothing beats back the high price of gas than a vehicle that can get upwards of 70-100 miles per gallon.

Now that fuel prices are what they are, people are considering the moped/scooter (which do you say? I like scooters, just because mopeds are cycles with pedals) as a serious transportation option. A helmet, a few lessons, and you’re off – zipping around town.

Europeans take mopeds very seriously: the United Kingdom offers rural Englanders scooter options for work transportation, while some European brands are so famous and iconic they warrant movie appearances.

American credit unions are getting in on the act, offering special financing for scooters to promote their fuel-economy advantages. And why not? The great fuel mileage, the low cost of insurance, and the affordable price (even gangs!) make a moped an attractive choice. Just make sure you follow your state’s local scooter laws.

Locally, you have options. There are places in Jackson, Chelsea, and Battle Creek that sell motorscooters. I found them using a simple Google search, but there are some motorcycle shops that sell scooters. Financing? We do that, too.

Are you a moped owner? Are you thinking about getting one? Let us know in the comments!

$500 gas cards return for ‘GreenBack’ campaign

In 2007, we drove our membership campaign with $500 gas cards – one given out every month to members who referred friends and family.

Well it’s back. We’re giving away one $500 gas card per month, from August to December 2008, to one lucky member who made a referral.

We’re calling the campaign “GreenBack.” What does it involve?

For one, there’s the gas card drawing. Download a referral card or pick one up at any branch, and get a friend or family member to join, and you’re entered to win.

Second, for each new member that joins American 1, we’re going to donate $2 to a local non-profit or organization that works to spread the good word about recycling, natural resources, or the environment. A different “green” group will be selected each month, and the more members that join American 1, the more “greebacks” they get.

Along with our membership drive, we’re going to work hard to green up our act, including recycling at our branches, cut down on resource costs and usage, and educate members and employees on responsible waste and energy management. Why? Simple: to reduce our impact. To leave this place a bit better than we found it. And to help local organizations that are doing hard work in the areas of recycling and the environment.

We’re rolling out GreenBack, so be sure to check back here and on our GreenBack page (the link is on the tab above, next to “About Us”) for updates, information, and money- and energy-saving tips.

American 1 is giving a little green back, both in terms of money and effort. We’re excited about the project, and we hope you can help.

Shred your junk mail, win a $50 credit on your Visa

So we have this big “Operation: Your best interest” project running right now, where we’ve done all this research on big bank credit cards.

Part of the whole operation is our offer to shred your credit card solicitations (otherwise known as “junk mail”). When we do, we’ll enter you to win a $50 credit on your American 1 Visa for every solicitation you bring in. It’s limited to credit card mailings, though, so please don’t bring in your 1976 tax forms.

We’re doing this for a few reasons.

• It fights identity theft. The less paperwork with your name and address sitting in your trash can, the less likely a thief can steal it and grab a credit card in your name. By all means, get a shredder for your own household.
• Our shredders rock. I’m not bragging, but we have those industrial-strength cross-cut shredders that mince paperwork into hamster bedding. These things are cool.
• Junk mail is wasteful. Think about all the postage and paper and fuel wasted just to send you a bunch of credit offers. How many of those can you actually use? Think about all that waste.
• We want your story. We’d love to film you shredding a big stack of Visa or Discover Card offers and post it on our Top Secret Visa web site. Bonus points if you do a little dance while it’s shredding.

Our Shred Day back in January was such a hit we thought it would be cool to do this just for credit card solicitations. It helps protect your identity, and it’s a lot of fun to do. And hey – it could win you $50 on your Visa.

Greening our credit union.

A few years back we launched an energy/resource reduction program called “Operation: Reduce & Save.” We were looking to cut back on energy and supply costs, plus do a little something to help the environment – like recycle.

Since then, it’s mainly our Home Office that does the recycling. We bought a few paper bins and stuck them next to printers and copiers. Once a week, me and our ATM technician Jeff collect the paper, and he drops them off at the downtown Jackson recycling site on Louis Glick Hwy.

Since that program launched a few years ago, we’re again focusing on cutting down on supply costs and waste. We do a much better job of taking of lot of materials, like scrap paper, and either reusing them or recycling them. And we now take all of our used computer equipment and recycle the e-waste. But little things, like shutting off lights in unused rooms and printing out copies that aren’t needed, still creep up.

Something is better than nothing. I feel pretty good that the paper we recycle gets put to good use. But now we’re looking at relaunching that energy-saving initiative to focus on energy and waste, and how it affects our bottom line (and, consequently, our members’ money).

How do you reduce waste and energy costs in your home? Any tips for a financial institution looking to do better? Let us know in the comments.