What if every time you swiped your debit card for groceries, gas, or that inevitable third coffee of the day, you were simultaneously padding your savings account and helping out your community?
Sounds like financial wizardry, right?
Well, Elevations Credit Union just made it happen. The Colorado-based credit union—which manages over $3 billion in assets for more than 180,000 members—just partnered with Spiral to bring this exact magic trick to their members’ fingertips.
The concept is beautifully simple. Through Spiral’s Roundup Center, which plugs directly into Elevations’ existing digital banking platform (powered by Alkami, for the tech-curious), members can automatically round up every debit card purchase to the nearest dollar. That spare change? It goes wherever you want it to go.
Savings on Autopilot
“Helping our members build savings in a simple, consistent way is a key priority for us,” explains Craig Draayer, VP of Digital Transformation at Elevations Credit Union. “With Roundup Center, our members can easily save more and help others every day.”
Think about it this way: buy a $3.50 latte, and 50 cents quietly slips into your savings. Those little roundups add up faster than you’d think—without you having to remember to transfer money or set up complicated automation rules.
Save, Give, or Split the Difference
Here’s where it gets even better. Members can choose to funnel all those roundups into their personal savings, or they can split them between saving and giving back. The charitable portion goes to the Local Change Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit connected to Elevations that tackles real community needs like affordable housing, education, and mental health support.
You get real-time tracking so you can watch your impact grow, plus tax-deductible donation receipts come tax season. It’s the kind of personalized experience that makes banking feel less like a chore and more like, well, something you might actually want to engage with.
Why This Matters
“Elevations is recognized for its deep commitment to members and the communities it serves,” says Shawn Melamed, CEO and founder of Spiral. “When saving and giving are part of everyday banking and feel personal, credit unions see stronger card usage, higher deposits, and deeper member relationships.”
Translation: When your bank actually helps you reach your goals without making you think too hard about it, you’re more likely to use their services. Everybody wins—you build wealth, your community gets support, and your credit union becomes more than just a place that holds your money.
It’s personal finance that actually feels personal. And in a world of faceless mega-banks, that’s refreshingly human.