From partial to full value: How P1FCU boosted direct deposit adoption by 60% above goal

Overview

P1FCU, founded in 1938 by employees of Potlatch Forest, Inc., has grown to serve more than 100,000 members across the Pacific Northwest, including Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. The credit union offers dividend checking accounts with 3.5% APY, but noticed that many members weren’t taking advantage of the account’s full benefits.

Challenge

To qualify for 3.5% APY, members must be enrolled in eStatements, complete 20 debit card transactions each month, and set up a direct deposit of at least $250. Many members had debit card activity but were missing other qualifiers, leaving significant value on the table and reducing engagement. Hence, P1FCU aimed to encourage more members to set up direct deposits and adopt missing services.

Increasing direct deposits is vital to our strategy, but there can be a lot of friction with the setup process.”

Jenifer Piper, CUCE, VP of Member Engagement

Solution

P1FCU used the Digital Onboarding engagement platform to run two segmented campaigns targeting its “Debit Card Deb” persona — members with dividend checking accounts who regularly used their debit cards:

• One campaign focused on members who already had eStatements but not direct deposit
  
• Another campaign focused on members who lacked both eStatements and direct deposit

Each campaign consisted of three emails and one SMS message sent over a three-week period. Messages were linked to personalized microsites with clear instructions and Digital Onboarding widgets to simplify enrollment.

Results

The campaign outperformed expectations, driving strong engagement and motivating members to take key actions that enhanced their account value:

• 8% of targeted members set up direct deposit, beating the goal by 60%
  
• 6.5% enrolled in eStatements
  
• Members who completed these actions were able to earn higher interest and maximize the benefits of their accounts
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Impact

The campaign deepened engagement by ensuring more members qualified for dividend checking benefits. By reducing friction and making enrollment fast and easy, P1FCU strengthened loyalty and increased deposits flowing into member accounts.

The Digital Onboarding platform makes setting up direct deposit fast and easy for members. We are thrilled with the results!”

‍Jenifer Piper, CUCE, VP of Member Engagement

Conclusion

P1FCU successfully motivated members to adopt direct deposit and eStatements, driving greater engagement with dividend checking accounts. By partnering with Digital Onboarding, the credit union exceeded its goals, reduced friction, and ensured more members realized the full value of their accounts.