Northwest Resource Introduces Kasasa, a Striking Alternative to the Mega Bank Rollercoaster

Portland, OR, April 24, 2012 - Northwest Resource asks consumers, “Do you Kasasa?” as it becomes the first financial institution in Portland to launch the country’s most innovative financial products.

Kasasa® is a new brand of free checking and savings accounts that pays consumers to use their account with what interests them most—high interest or automatic savings. These accounts, combined with the personal service that only community financial institutions can deliver, are offering residents a better checking account option than the mega bank experience.

“Consumers deserve to wake up to happier days of banking and leave behind the nightmare of mega bank fees and mistreatment. We are pleased to be the first in Portland to offer these unique products,” said Kim Faucher, VP of Marketing at Northwest Resource. “Kasasa delivers what research shows people really want but believe they can’t have—great financial products with the personal service of a community based financial institution.”

Northwest Resource is offering two Kasasa financial products, including Kasasa Cash? and Kasasa Saver?. All Kasasa products are free, reward-based accounts, with no minimum balance to earn the rewards, no monthly service fee, free online banking and nationwide ATM fee refunds.

Kasasa Cash - A free checking account that rewards consumers with high interest for every month they qualify.

Kasasa Saver - A free, high interest saver account linked to a Kasasa Cash checking account. The interest and ATM fee refunds earned in the Kasasa Cash account are automatically deposited into the Kasasa Saver account when the account holders qualify. The balance in the Kasasa Saver account also earns a high rate of interest.

To receive the Kasasa account benefits, each monthly qualification cycle account holders are asked to do a few simple things like, receive an eStatement, use a debit card a minimum number of times, and have an electronic transaction (such as direct deposit) post and clear their account. If an account holder does not meet the qualifications in a given month, Northwest Resource will alert the individual, who will be eligible the following month for the benefits.

“Extensive research has shown us that consumers would prefer to do business with community financial institutions, but feel they would lose access to products,” continued Faucher.

“Kasasa is opening people’s eyes to a new banking model where no sacrifices are necessary. It’s a win-win because account holders get innovative products and personalized service.”

In 2009, Kasasa was piloted in six other markets across the U.S. In just the first two months of offering Kasasa, participating community financial institutions reported growth rates upwards of 150% on new account openings and 372% in deposits at institutions focused on deposit growth.

Kasasa is being introduced with an aggressive, highly engaging marketing campaign. It comes to life through a fresh mix of eye-popping advertising, the likes of which exceed the typical mega bank’s high-budget programs. The ads feature America’s top slam poets www.kasasa.com/news-and-media/advertising riffing lyrical threads around the theme of “Do you Kasasa?”

Kasasa is distributed to Northwest Resource from BancVue, the leading provider of innovative products, dynamic marketing, and data-driven consulting solutions to community financial institutions nationwide to help them win the war against the megabanks.

For more information on Kasasa accounts, consumers can visit www.nrfcu.org or www.kasasa.com/nwresource.

Do you Kasasa?
Kasasa® is the first national brand of the most innovative checking accounts available today. The accounts, offered exclusively by the finest community financial institutions, are designed to be the first and only accounts that actually take an interest in their account holders by paying them to use their account with what interests them most—high interest, cash back, automatic savings, money to donate to charity or iTunes® or Amazon.com downloads. Kasasa, developed and distributed by BancVue, marries innovative banking products with the personal touch of community financial institutions. For more information, visit www.kasasa.com.

About Northwest Resource:
Northwest Resource Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative established in 1935 as the credit union for NW Natural employees. Today, Northwest Resource has $91 million in assets and is federally chartered to serve people who live, work, worship, or attend school in Portland’s central city neighborhoods. For more information, visit www.nrfcu.org or call (503) 220-2592 or (800) 942-9408.