FINANCIAL RELIEF RESOURCES

The Coronavirus spreads mostly through the virus entering your body through contact with your eyes, nose and mouth. To prevent the germ from getting to those areas, your hands become a key factor that needs to be cared for. Experts suggest that people regularly was their hands with soap and water, or use hand sanitizer if washing your hands is not possible at that time. We touch hundreds of things everyday with our hands that have germs on them. Some major areas of concern at financial institutions include:

• Cash used in transactions
• Debit and credit cards
• Transaction card readers and ATMs (anything with a pin pad)
• Door handles
• Public spaces with food and drinks

It is recommended that if you touch items other people interact with, wash and clean your hands often and avoid touching your face until you can do so. Disinfect items you regularly touch like your wallet, debit and credit cards, your smartphone, and your computer. We are taking steps internally to prevent the spread of germs and ask our members to do the same. If you are sick, it may be best to use a remote method to contact us. Our online banking, live chat, Support Center, and mobile app are all great ways to do your banking from a remote location.

Four reasons that may be a bad idea. Some people say you should withdraw cash to protect yourself during the coronavirus outbreak. We wonder, why? Here are four reasons withdrawing extra cash may actually be your worst possible move right now:

1. Cash is vulnerable. Credit union accounts are federally insured to $250,000, making them a gazillion times safer than keeping your money under the mattress or in your pocket. If you cash is stolen from your house, car, or wallet, you’re out of luck, whereas losses from a stolen debit or credit card often are reimbursed. Since 1957, no one has ever lost a dime in savings at MFCU or any other federally insured credit union.
2. Cash is not required. With so many secure ways to access your accounts and to pay your bills, there’s almost no reason you’ll need extra cash. The safest choice is to let your credit union keep your money safe in the vault, then pay with your convenient debit or credit card, or write a check, at the store. Plus, you can pay bills and loans online from your Bill Pay within online banking, or use our mobile app to deposit checks from home.
3. Cash is tempting. With restaurants, conventions, sports and entertainment centers, and other public places forces to close during the coronavirus outbreak, you may actually need less cash at this time. Unless, of course, you’ve got it stuffed in your wallet, tempting you to spend money you would not have spent if it were secure in the bank, earning dividends.
4. Cash is, well, kind of dirty. As regards your personal health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends always washing hands thoroughly after handling cash, because you never know where it’s been. It’s a good idea to keep a few dollars on hand for parking meters, yard sales, and so on. But carrying around your personal savings will not protect you from viruses or financial hardship.

Small business owners in all U.S. states and territories are currently eligible to apply for a low-interest loan due to Coronavirus (COVID-19). Click here to apply. Find more information on the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans at: SBA.gov/Disaster. The SBA will work directly with state Governors to provide targeted, low-interest loans to small businesses and non-profits that have been severely impacted by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program provides small businesses with working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to small businesses to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing.

On April 16, from 1-2 pm, three SBDC advisors are hosting a Zoom webinar for Spanish speaking business owners on COVID response programs. o Facebook version o Zoom Link