It will come as no surprise to readers of Allegro, who’ve received regular updates on our credit union’s deployment of new ATMs, that Actors Federal Credit Union now has more ATM locations than any other New York City credit union, and more retail locations than all other NYC credit unions combined. AFCU currently has more than 32 ATMs in place, and 15 more are on the way. For members of the entertainment community, that translates into a lot more fee-free ATM access.

AFCU placed its first ATMs based on the concentration of entertainment industry members in a given area. Now, “as members move throughout New York City, our ATMs give us the ability to move with them and continue to serve their financial needs,” said AFCU President Jeff Rodman. “Our rapid deployment of ATMs has been met with great appreciation and enthusiasm by our membership. We have received calls and letters saying ‘Thanks,’ and requesting ATMs at specific locations.” Building on member enthusiasm and requests, AFCU is working to set up ATM locations nationwide, including in Chicago and Los Angeles.

Roughly two-thirds of AFCU ATMs are located in McDonald’s restaurants. The remaining machines are located in other retail stores. AFCU is focusing on placing ATMs near subway stops – an effort highlighted by their newest slogan, “Our Buck Stops at Your Stop.”

“We want to make ourselves as accessible to our members as possible,” Rodman said. “What better way than to be located right at their subway stop?”

To bring surcharge-free ATM service to more of the city’s one million residents served by credit unions, AFCU has partnered with Lower East Side Peoples FCU and United Nations FCU. “As we grow and are able to serve more members, the true beauty of America’s credit unions becomes evident,” Rodman pointed out. “It’s very rare in the world of banks to see one competing bank partner with another to provide better and increased services to its customers. It’s this non-competitive environment and working together that makes credit unions unique – and that benefits members of the entertainment community.”

A listing of AFCU and CO-OP Network ATMs can be found at www.actorsfcu.com.