Letter from the President, October 2023
If you have been a member with us for a few years, you have seen your share of big announcements from us — we’ve never been afraid of making big moves to serve our members. Well, now it’s time for another one of those big announcements.
As of November 1st, we will begin partnering with Intrepid Credit Union to increase the level of service and products we can offer to our members. Starting next month, we will officially change our name to Montana Health Credit Union, a division of Intrepid Credit Union in reflection of this new partnership. Before I discuss the implications of this change, I would like to take some time to introduce you to Intrepid and explain why we chose them as a partner.
Intrepid Credit Union has been serving Montanans since 1936. Like us, they serve members across the state, with locations in Bozeman and Helena. If you are familiar with Intrepid, you know a few things about them: they have a very strong commitment to the communities they serve, and they treat their employees well and their members even better. As an organization, they are financially solid and offer a wider range of products and services than Montana Health is currently capable of offering.
In the current economic environment, it was clear that finding a great partner would be key in allowing us to remain an exceptional credit union for you. Choosing the right partner was VERY important to us. We had two criteria that were paramount in our search: 1) They had to understand and honor our special commitment to the healthcare community, and 2) they had to be a Montana institution. Intrepid has been a Montana institution for almost 90 years and not only do they understand our commitment to the healthcare community, they are dedicated to finding even better ways to serve it.
So, what does this mean for you, a member of the credit union? On November 1st there will be some signage changes, but that will be about it. Your account number will stay the same, your cards will work exactly the way they do now, and you will see all the same faces at Shiloh and North 27th. Over time, we will introduce additional products and services that Intrepid offers that we do not – but we will take our time with any changes to ensure that there are no bumps along the way. We will provide more updates on this process on our website and social media in the coming days.
In closing, I just want to say that I am very excited for the opportunities this partnership will bring to our membership, our ability to give back even more to the healthcare community and for the learning opportunities for our staff. Change can be alarming, no doubt. But this change is all about Montana Health getting a supercharge that will enable us to do what we’ve always done — just even better.
Dennis R. Wizeman
President Montana Health
Frequently Asked Questions
→ Intrepid Credit Union is based out of Helena, Montana and has been in business since 1936. Currently they have offices in Helena and Bozeman, but they have members around the state of Montana, just like Montana Health.
→ Intrepid will bring resources and new products to Montana Health members, including better real estate, business lending and consumer products. We will introduce these products in phases, to ensure that the Montana Health staff is trained and ready to service them.
→ The partnership will allow Montana Health to serve healthcare members more effectively throughout the state, not just in Billings.
→ Intrepid has a long history of giving back to the communities they serve, which will enable Montana Health to continue giving back to the healthcare community in Billings and around the state.
→ As of November 1st, we will be known as Montana Health Credit Union, a division of Intrepid Credit Union to better reflect our partnership with Intrepid.
→ All of the same Montana Health staff will still be here to serve you. That staff will now have the support of Intrepid’s employees behind them to serve you better than ever.
→ Over time, we will roll out some of the excellent products that Intrepid currently offers to their members. But we will take our time in doing this, so for the time being nothing significant will change on your accounts. We want to make sure our staff has the expertise to service these products and that our members are well informed about their best options – so we plan to roll these things out slowly.
→Whenever you are scheduled to have your card reissued, it will come with the new name. In the meanwhile, you can continue to use your current card without a need for a change.
→Absolutely – there is no need to buy new checks. When you reorder checks, they will have the new name on them, but your old checks are still good.
→Your online banking logins will remain the same. Our webpage will change to montanahealthcu.org, but there will be a redirect from the current website if you forget to bookmark it.
→No – your account number will stay the same, as will the credit union’s routing number.
→No, the credit union will continue to remain NCUA insured and there will be no change to member deposit insurance coverage.