Archive: Opinions

Lansing Market reported this week that a CFCU ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is coming to their store.  I have been told it should be appearing within about a month.  I think that is going to be good for the market, good for the credit union, and good for Lansing.

The fact is that Lansing has seen an ATM upheaval in the past few years.  It was bad enough when the Tompkins trust Company ATM was finally replaced in the new Xtramart store but would only give out money without accepting deposits.  But when the Pit Stop closed the CFCU ATM disappeared with it.

If you just take me as an example, this is why these changes were bad: Tompkins Trust lost my business when they installed the withdrawal-only ATM.  CFCU had one nearby at that time, and I didn't want to have to cross Route 13 just to make deposits, which is what I use ATMs for the most.  As a small business owner taking 30 to 50 minutes round trip just to make a deposit is too much of my day.  And too much gas.

That left the CFCU ATM, which, of course, disappeared when the Pit Stop closed.  That put me back at square one.  On top of that CFCU rather abruptly changed their online banking system from one that was limited but worked well to something that I thought was not particularly usable (I still have issues with it).  They almost lost me right then.  If there had been a viable alternative at that point I'd have been gone.

So here are two of the three local banks, more or less disenfranchising me because I live in the Town of Lansing which doesn't have branch offices and now either has an ATM that does me no good or no ATM (the third doesn't have an ATM in Lansing to my knowledge, nor a nearby branch).  When Lansing Market opened an ATM was there, but for a non-local bank with the closest branch farther away than the closest Trust Company and CFCU branches.  I like to buy local when I can, including banking.

There has been a lot of behind the scenes activity by the credit union, its customers, and ultimately by Lansing Market management to bring an ATM here, but it has been a very long time.  I can't even begin to explain the magnitude of how much my life will be better because a CFCU ATM is in a place of business that is only two miles from where I live.

We can certainly hope that if the town center is successful a local bank will want to put a branch there.  That would be mighty convenient.  But acknowledging reality, there just isn't enough population in the town now to justify a branch office.  Most of us can do most of our banking in a machine, and putting one in a truly convenient location really does mean the difference between keeping and losing customers.  I liken this to the unfortunate people in Tompkins County who can't get high speed Internet because of where they happen to live.  Bank access is essential to just about everyone.  You miss it when you don't have it.

So I say kudos to Lansing Market for pursuing a local bank ATM.  I hope it brings a lot of people into the store who haven't shopped there before.  I hope it benefits CFCU in attracting Lansing customers.  It's going to save me a ton of time and gasoline.  So I already know it will benefit me.

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