By Karen Orie, CEO of Hampton Roads Educators Credit Union (HRECU), and Leigh King, VP Cox Business at Cox Communications
For credit unions that serve the community, trust is built one interaction at a time. Today, that trust depends not only on personal service but also on the ability to deliver fast, seamless digital experiences. As members increasingly manage their finances online, a delayed response, service disruption or frustrating digital experience can quickly erode confidence.
At Hampton Roads Educators Credit Union (HRECU), serving members has always been our top priority. As a credit union founded to support educators and their families, we focus on providing personalized service and helping members navigate important financial decisions. But like many community financial institutions, we must also ensure that the technology supporting those relationships is secure and prepared for unexpected disruptions.
For smaller institutions, technology is often viewed as a support function. In reality, it has become a core component of the member experience. Reliable connectivity affects everything from internal operations and employee productivity to member communications and business continuity. When systems are unavailable, even temporarily, the impact extends beyond technology. It can limit the ability to provide the level of service members expect.
From Paper Processes to Digital Access
Over the past three decades, HRECU has transformed how it serves members. What once required handwritten credit card applications and mailed paperwork now happens through digital banking tools that allow members to apply for loans online and access accounts through mobile banking. That evolution has been essential for serving members across eight different school systems, including some located as far as an hour and a half from the branch. For members who cannot visit in person, digital access now makes it possible to complete nearly every transaction from home.
That shift depends on reliable infrastructure. For a one-branch credit union, downtime is more than an inconvenience. It can quickly become a crisis, especially when there is no second branch to redirect members to if systems go down.
Building a Stronger Technology Foundation
Over the past 70 years, HRECU has expanded from a two-person operation to an institution serving more than 4,000 members with a team of just 15 employees.
As the organization grew, so did the need for a stronger operational foundation that could support daily banking activity, future growth and the digital tools members increasingly rely on to manage their finances. That need led HRECU to partner with Cox Business.
Reliable phone service plays a particularly important role in HRECU’s member experience because the credit union does not operate a call center. Instead, every employee answers phones, making effective call routing essential to helping members quickly connect with the right person. That responsiveness is especially important when members are reporting debit card fraud or addressing other time-sensitive account issues.
The importance of reliable connectivity becomes even more apparent during peak service periods. Many educators at Hampton City Schools work on 10-month contracts, making June through August a particularly busy season for members handling financial needs that they may not have had time to address during the school year. During the summer months, HRECU typically sees increased activity related to car loans, new accounts and other service requests, making it critical for members to reach the team without interruption.
For HRECU, the partnership with Cox Business has helped support both operational efficiency and member growth. Reliable internet and phone services enable members to open accounts and apply for loans online from anywhere in the region, often receiving decisions and funding within 24 hours. At the same time, dependable connectivity allows employees to focus on serving members and delivering the personalized experience that HRECU is known for, rather than troubleshooting technology issues.
Finding the Right Service Provider for your Credit Union
Many credit unions that serve the community face similar challenges. They are balancing limited resources with growing expectations for accessibility, responsiveness and operational resilience. As member interactions increasingly depend on digital services, connectivity has become a critical part of the overall member experience.
A practical starting point is to assess how internet and phone systems support both employees and members, particularly during peak usage periods. Credit unions should evaluate how many employees, members and devices need to be connected at the same time, the speeds required for daily operations and whether their technology infrastructure can securely support cloud-based tools, digital banking platforms and other essential systems.
Once those needs are understood, selecting the right internet service provider becomes about more than cost alone. The ideal partner should provide the delivery technology and reliability required for current operations while also offering the flexibility to support future growth. While some institutions may find standard business internet sufficient, others may require dedicated bandwidth or faster upload speeds to maintain critical services.
Support should be part of that evaluation as well. For community credit unions with lean teams, dependable uptime and responsive customer support can mean the difference between a minor inconvenience and a disruption that affects member service. Providers that understand an organization’s goals and can adapt as needs evolve are better positioned to serve as long-term technology partners.
Technology alone does not create trust. People do. However, technology increasingly determines how consistently organizations can deliver on the promises they make to members. By investing in resilient infrastructure and strong technology partnerships, community credit unions can better serve members today while preparing for future growth and changing expectations.
Technology That Strengthens Community
For HRECU, reliable technology strengthens the community focus at the heart of its identity. It allows the credit union to live its tagline, “large enough to serve you, small enough to know you,” by offering the full-service digital capabilities members need while preserving the personal relationships that make them feel known and supported.