Mountain America Pilots Spanish-Language Initiative
Mountain America Credit Union is enhancing the member experience for Spanish-speaking communities by launching a Spanish-language initiative. The program includes the recent roll-out of eight Spanish-language hub branches. These branches offer additional resources, marketing materials, and signage in Spanish, as well as fluent Spanish speakers on staff.
"Spanish speakers make up 25% of households in some of the communities we serve,” says Sterling Nielsen, president and chief executive officer at Mountain America. "We are committed to removing barriers to much-needed services for Spanish speakers and other underserved populations."
Erik Pineda Blas, a husband and father of four, was referred to Mountain America by a friend. When reviewing his finances, Mountain America team member Yennifer Mora found she was able to save Erik money with lower interest rates on both his personal and auto loans.
When asked about his experience, Erik said, “Working with Mountain America is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. To have the opportunity to save money and lower my payments is huge.”
His relationship with Mountain America has helped him along the path towards some big dreams. “I want to pay off my house and invest in more real estate. I want my 21-year-old daughter to be able to buy a house and if I am out of debt, I will be able to help her with that. When the rest of my children grow up, I want to be able to help them buy their own homes, too.”
Erik said working with Yennifer was easy, and he learned a lot about finances. “It's really helpful to work with someone who speaks your first language. It makes it a lot easier to do business. I will recommend Mountain America to anyone.”
It is important to make financial education more accessible not only to help people achieve their financial dreams, but also to safeguard their finances. A recent FTC Consumer Fraud Survey showed that Hispanics are at an increased risk of consumer fraud. Mountain America’s Financial Education team has been working to provide more resources in Spanish, including youth packets for public educational events and presentations.
The initiative is an important step on the journey to provide a consistent and exceptional experience for all Mountain America members through increased resources, bilingual team members, and unprecedented access to products and services. Mountain America is committed to serving members of underserved communities to define and achieve their financial dreams.
The following are the eight hub branches with expanded Spanish-language resources:
- Kearns Branch | 5471 S. 4015 W., Kearns, Utah
- Magna Branch | 8349 W. 3500 S., Magna, Utah
- 700 North Branch | 1715 W. 700 N., Salt Lake City, Utah
- Salt Lake Redwood Road Branch | 1225 S. Redwood Rd., Salt Lake City, Utah
- 3500 South Branch | 2850 W. 3500 S., West Valley, Utah
- West Valley Branch | 2958 S. 5600 W., West Valley, Utah
- Mesa Branch | 4325 E. Southern Ave., Mesa, Arizona
- Glendale Branch | 5910 W. Northern Ave., Glendale, Arizona
Eventually, Mountain America plans to increase availability of Spanish-language financial education resources, marketing materials and loan documents company-wide. Mountain America continues to assess additional language resources as needed.
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