“It’s not easy, being green…” lamented Kermit the Frog, in the Muppet movie.  Well, it’s not easy being a banker these days either.   A 24 hour news cycle does its best to hype up the changes in the banking industry so that by the time a customer comes into a bank, they are already annoyed.

You hear it from everywhere; Banks are charging for everything now!  Next they will charge you to breathe inside the branch!  OK, maybe this is an exaggeration, but it’s the feeling consumers have.  It’s not easy being me!

Well, it is easy to be a customer at MutualBank.  Mutual’s new changes to checking accounts give you the opportunity to keep your checking account free by doing what most people do anyway.  For instance you can avoid a monthly fee on one of our customizable checking accounts by simply using your debit card 8 times a month and getting eStatements.  I don’t know about you, but I use my debit card way more than 8 times a month.  And eStatements?  Not wasting all that paper is great for the planet as well as your filing cabinet!  Simple right?  Not only that, but we also reward you for using that debit card!  With our Uchoose Loyalty Rewards you get points for using your debit card that you can exchange for almost anything from a gift card all the way to airline miles. 

Yes, there have been some major changes in banking lately.  But even Kermit would agree that its not so bad to be green when your green is with MutualBank.

Written by Debra Jones-Price, Manager at MutualBank's Bethel Financial Center in Muncie, Indiana.

I was visiting with a colleague after a networking meeting last week.  After conversing for a few minutes, I asked her, “What do you want from your bank?” She replied, “I want to get money every time I swipe my debit card.”

She went on to explain how she pretty much only uses her debit card and it would be great if she could get something in return for doing so.

In March of this year, CBS News posted a video and news article about how banks are cutting back on their debit card reward programs.  The reasons for the cut back include both a downward economy and the interchange regulation changes.

The conversation with my colleague jogged my memory of this article and got me thinking about MutualBank’s debit card reward program. Here is my colleague, living in a community where MutualBank resides and she’s banking with another institution that doesn’t give her what she wants. Am I the only one who thinks there is something wrong with this picture?

I proceeded to tell her about MutualBank’s debit card reward program. MutualBank has offered a debit card reward program for over three years.  They've always appreciated their customers. But over the last year, MutualBank evaluated how they could express that appreciation in a way that would positively impact their customers.  They wanted to physically thank their customers for their loyalty to MutualBank. So what did they do? They expanded the debit card reward program to be a full scale reward program, solely based on loyalty. 

I shared with my colleague that not only does she get points for using her debit card, she also would get points for the balance in her accounts, balances on mortgages, auto loans and investments.  My colleague is a younger professional who does not yet have a mortgage.  The great thing about MutualBank's loyalty reward program is that they're here to grow with her. As she obtains new accounts at MutualBank, she gets bonus points.  And after she earns all of these points for all the different relationships she has with MutualBank, she can redeem the points for just about anything she wants.  She can redeem her points for gift cards, plane tickets, hotel stays, a new laptop, really, almost anything!

So…are debit card reward programs extinct? Nope. Not at MutualBank, at least. In fact, MutualBank’s debit card reward program is not only alive, but it’s an advance loyalty program designed to say one thing…

2011 marks Muncie's Habitat for Humanity 25th anniversary of serving families in our community with 'a place to call home'. 

In October of this year Muncie Habitat will build a home for its 100th family! Muncie Habitat is inviting the entire community to ‘Make a $10 Dollar Difference’ and support the funding of this house. In just one week (This week - September 12-17), Muncie Habitat and local media outlets are campaigning to raise $50,000 through $10 donations from 5,000 people in our community.

On Monday, September 12th, the 'traveling wall' made it's appearance at the Downtown Muncie office! 

MutualBank and Habitat for Humanity have been longtime partners. In fact, for their entire existence in this community, MutualBank has supported Habitat for Humanity. MutualBank has worked with many of Habitat’s partner families.  MutualBankers have donated both work time and personal time to help on worksites. Additionally, MutualBank has helped Habitat for Humanity secure grants for funding. 

So the question is...why? Why are we so involved? It's simple. 

"Homeownership makes a difference in the lives of families. A decent place to live is the foundation for a better life."

Habitat for Humanity has this statement on their website and it is the exact reason why we support Habitat for Humanity. We support home ownership and want to help people live better lives. So we'll do our part, it's your turn to do yours. If you'd like to support Habitat's efforts to build their 100th home, you can donate in three ways:

1. Habitat for Humanity's website
2. Any MutualBank location -in Delaware County
3. Any of the locations of the traveling wall
   1. Wednesday 9/14 - 3p-6p Dillman's Furniture
   2. Thursday 9/15 - 4p-7p Texas Roadhouse
   3. Friday 9/16 - 3p-6p Victory Honda
   4. Saturday 9/17 - 3p-5p Glass & More Factory