Coffee with Chuck Ep.28: You Asked for It; Find Out Where We’re Building Next

Dear Members,

The new year seems to be flying by already. Perhaps it’s because the energy around our office is simply incredible. Our entire team has started off the year determined to make 2020 one of our best yet.  We’ve already kicked off several projects that will help better serve our members.

Debit Card Fraud Text Alerts  

Starting January 22, we’ll begin providing text and email fraud alerts for all debit cards. This is designed to help protect you by more quickly identifying fraudulent transactions, and reduces the inconvenience of having your card blocked for legitimate transaction that we couldn’t confirm.

Currently, if we suspect a fraudulent transaction, we call you at home to confirm the transaction. The new process will be to first text the mobile number on file, followed by an email, and then a home call, if we don’t get a response to the text.  

If the transaction is legitimate, simply respond with “yes”, and no further action is needed. If we receive a “no” response, or don’t get a response, the card will be blocked to prevent further fraud.

Members are automatically enrolled.  You simply need to make sure your contact info is up to date in online banking. Log in to online banking and visit the Account Services page, and then click the Change Address and Phone Number link under the User Profile menu. You can also update your Email address under the Change Email Address link.

It’s important to note, for your protection: 

• The text from Coastal will include our abbreviated name, the last 4 digits of the card in question, the amount of the transaction, and the merchant name. We will only ask you to respond Yes or No to the questions.
• The text will not request additional information, or ask you to click a link to log in or provide personal info. These are common tactics used by fraudsters, and if you ever get a text like that, please report it immediately.                

Real Estate Plans

Looking toward our future, we’ve been working to acquire properties where we’ll build future locations.

We’ve secured a great site in Knightdale, and are excited to announce that our next branch will be built there.  Knightdale is the fastest-growing town in our market, and is already home to nearly 3,000 Coastal members. It’s no surprise that a Knightdale location is one of the most frequent requests we get from members. We also have a lot of employees who live in the area, and know the community will be excited to hear we’re coming.

We anticipate construction starting this summer with completion by the end of this year or early 2021.

In December we purchased property in Fuquay-Varina and will close on another in Chapel Hill by the end of January. Coastal plans to hold these properties for future development.

Habitat Involvement 

As we talked about before, Coastal has had a strong partnership with Habitat for Humanity for many years. Concern for Community is one of our cooperative principles, and supporting affordable housing is part of our Foundation’s mission. Habitat of Wake County recently delivered an impact report, specifically showing how Coastal has helped in 2019. 

Among the highlights, while I was chairing the Blueprint Breakfast in early 2019, we announced $100,000 to build a Habitat home in Wake County, and an additional $100,000 to build a house in Durham County.  Both of those should be completed in the next few months.

There’s also our commitment to community lending that’s been in place since 2016. We committed $6 million to provide low coast loans to Habitat families. What that’s meant is, we’ve helped 62 families achieve the dream of homeownership. 202 people, including 108 adults and 94 children, now have a stable place to call home.

We’re looking forward to continuing our support, which is made possible by our members.

I hope your year is off to just as exciting of a start!

Sincerely,

Chuck Purvis
President & CEO

Our featured coffee is Explorer Blend from Raleigh Coffee Co.