Inside. Message From the President. 5 Offices Closed 1/19/ Find Your Tax Information 4 Business Corner

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1 ROYAL CREDIT UNION JANUARY 2015 Inside 1 Message From the President 2 New Online Banking 3 Find Your Tax Information 4 Business Corner 5 Offices Closed 1/19/15 6 Depositing Simplified with RCU Deposit Message From the President We re just coming off of the holiday season, a time for connection, reflection and, usually, at least a little bit of chaos. While I certainly hope your holiday season had much more of the first two than the third, a little bit of chaos is sometimes hard to avoid. At Royal Credit Union, we recognize that as your financial services provider, we have the ability to help simplify your life and help you live happier. That s why, in 2015, we are rolling out some fantastic products, services and other changes to accomplish just that. More free. Less fee. We have made reducing Member fees a top priority at Royal. After all, we re in business to improve your financial life, and putting money back in your pocket is one of the fastest ways we can do that. In 2014, we reduced or eliminated over 25 fees, which translates into saving our Members over $2.5 million annually. We are planning to reduce or eliminate even more fees in 2015, so keep your eye out for more good news. A better online experience. It s just a given that you need to be able to access your accounts outside of the 8-5. With our new, enhanced Online Banking product, we ll be bringing more of the branch to you, wherever you might be. We have listened to your compliments and complaints about our current system, and, based on what you ve told us, we ve created an online solution that offers a number of new and exciting features. You ll be able to pay other people with Popmoney, even if they aren t a Member of Royal. The new Online Banking also offers FinanceWorks, a personal financial management tool that provides you a more complete picture of what you re spending where. And of course, it will still be easy to do the basics, like check your balances, pay bills and transfer money. More secure cards. Fraud is a top worry of many consumers and in light of recent national events, understandably so. In 2015, our cards will be upgraded with EMV. I m sure that acronym doesn t mean much to you, so here s a quick explanation: Every Member s card will have an embedded microchip. This microchip is harder to replicate than a magnetic-stripe card, making identity fraud much more difficult. Expect to hear more from us on this upgrade as it gets closer. Instant credit. Today, you can go open a checking account at one of our branches and walk out moments later with a Royal debit card in hand. In 2015, we will expand that convenience to include credit cards as well: you ll be able to apply for a card and receive it right away. Royal Credit Union is committed to making a positive impact in the lives of our Members and the people in the communities we serve. If you have any thoughts you d like to share, please call me at or ext Sincerely, Rudy Pereira, CEO rcu.org

2 Celebrate our Past. Experience our Future Royal Credit Union celebrates it s 50th anniversary Royal Credit Union has grown significantly over the past 50 years. We ve expanded our team, we ve expanded our services and we ve certainly expanded our locations. But the roots of Royal Credit Union are much more meager. They lie in a small, twoperson office in the former Uniroyal plant in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Leatrice Solberg was the second RCU employee. Hired to do administrative work for the Members at Uniroyal, she recounts a friendly atmosphere based on the simple philosophy of people helping people. It was an office where the furniture was second-hand and all of her work was done by hand with a paper and pencil. New Online Banking Coming March 17 We have been hard at work for many months designing and building our new Online Banking. We are taking Member feedback we have received as well as the latest techniques and technologies to bring you a better online banking experience. The new online banking will work equally well on desktop/laptop computers, tablets and mobile devices. During her 22-year tenure at Royal Credit Union, Leatrice saw the operation grow from pencils and paper to high-tech computers. She also saw it grow from a single office at Uniroyal to a series of offices sprayed throughout western Wisconsin and Minnesota. To learn more about Leatrice s life at RCU from the days when women would never wear slacks, to the release of the first TYME machines, to her retirement in 1987, log on to rcu.org and view our 50th Anniversary online video book. No matter how you choose to access online banking, the features and functionality will be provided to you in the best way for your device. The new online banking navigation is simplified and we have reduced the clutter to bring the information you need front and center. We are extremely excited about the new online banking experience. It will be a positive change and a platform for us to build on for years to come. Have You Seen the Blog? Now available on rcu.org We are excited to announce that we have a new blog on our website! Simply visit rcu.org to view the blog. It s located right on the home page. We ll cover lots of different topics within the blog including smart spending tips, events, community involvement, philanthropy, and much more. Check back often to see what we have to share!

3 Find Your RCU Tax Information for 2014 Looking for your tax information? Here s how! Log onto RCU ebranch Visit rcu.org and log onto RCU ebranch with your Sign-On information. On the Accounts Summary page, click Detail next to the account that you want to work with. Look at Dividend Paid Last Year You can also find your tax forms on RCU ebranch Log on with your Sign-On information Click on Communications & Statements Select Tax Statements from the menu on the left Select the tax form you want to view or print Check Your Statement/eStatement On your December statement you will find the yearto-date dividend that you earned for 2014 below the transaction detail for each account. However; the year-to-date dividend on closed deposit accounts (savings, checking, money market, certificates, IRAs) for the tax year of 2014 can only be found on the INT tax reporting form. For complete tax reporting information, please refer to the INT that is mailed or ed in mid-january. Call CompuTeller Call or Press 1 to navigate using Touch Tones or say Voice to navigate using your voice. Press or say 1 to access your account. Enter or say your Member ID and PIN. Choose the account that you want to work with. Press or say 1 for more information after getting basic information about the account. Press or say 4 for last year s dividend and YTD dividend. For any other questions please contact RCU Member Service at Traveling for the Winter? Make preparations for access to your cards Are you planning a trip over the winter? Or perhaps you have a second home that you travel to for the winter months? If so, be sure to let RCU know. In addition to updating your mailing address if necessary, we will want to update your credit or check card to be used in the area you are traveling to. For your protection, we monitor card activity. If your card is used in an area far away from where we know you live, we may not allow the transaction. Help us to keep your credit and ATM cards working properly. Just let us know where you ll be and when you re leaving. We ll do the rest, so you can sit back and enjoy!

4 Do you have an IRA in your Financial Tool Kit? The IRA is one of the most versatile retirement savings tools available. It provides the opportunity to save for retirement and offers the potential for special tax advantages, depending upon your financial situation and the type of IRA you choose. Here is a quick run-down of types of IRAs to consider: Traditional IRA may afford taxpayers a reduction in taxable income since contributions are tax-deductible until you begin to withdraw IRA funds at retirement or beginning at age 59½ Roth IRA contributions do not reduce taxable income, but the Roth IRA offers tax-free withdrawal of funds starting at age 59½ or retirement, as long as certain requirements are met SIMPLE IRA the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (or SIMPLE IRA) is an option for selfemployed workers and small businesses with fewer than 100 employees, with features similar to a 401(k) profit-sharing plan SEP IRA the Simplified Employee Pension IRA (or SEP IRA) is ideal for self-employed individuals and small businesses, and is most similar to a traditional IRA LifeChanges A B The RCU Investment & Insurance Team is here to help. Would it be beneficial to add an IRA to your Financial Tool Kit? Life Changes. If you may be facing a greater tax liability in 2015, opening an IRA or increasing your contribution could reduce what you owe on tax day. The RCU Investment & Insurance Team can help. Call today to schedule a complimentary review to determine which IRA option may be best for you. Registered representatives of INVEST Financial Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. INVEST and its affiliated insurance agencies offer securities, advisory services and certain insurance products and are not affiliated with RCU or RCU Investment & Insurance Team. INVEST does not offer tax advice. Products offered are: Not NCUA insured Not credit union guaranteed May lose value including loss of principal amount invested. Business Corner Online Banking with Business ebranch Manage your business online from account access and bill pay, to special reports and payroll services. If your business is structured as a corporation, LLC, LLP, organization or public entity, Business ebranch gives you secure online access to manage your accounts, reporting, payments, and more. From transferring funds between RCU accounts, to generating year-end reports, to simplified payroll processes, Business ebranch can help you manage and grow your business. Account Management Transfer funds electronically between RCU accounts Access 18 months of past statements and three months of past checks Make payments to your RCU Commercial Rewards Visa Payment Management Use epay for greater efficiency, increased security, and reduced paper usage Utilize instant live chat for assistance with bill payments Pay vendors electronically using payments Transfer funds between your RCU accounts and your accounts at other financials Simplify payroll processes and pay employees electronically into the account of their choice Administrator Management Manage users by setting up entitlements and giving employees only the authorities they need Organize and filter accounts by company subsidiary or entity You can sample Business ebranch through our online demo. Start at RCU.ORG, select the ebranch Current Users button on the top right, then ONLINE DEMO from the top tool bar. Then visit rcu.org/ business to see other benefits of Business ebranch and get started. Choose RCU. We re in business to help you succeed.

5 FREE Income Tax Return Assistance RCU and VITA can Help! Do you need help filing your income tax return? Royal Credit Union and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) may be able to help! VITA provides free tax assistance for low-to moderateincome individuals with an adjusted gross annual income of $53,000 or less. Tax preparers are University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire accounting students certified by the IRS. Free tax return preparation and electronic filing is provided. Service will be provided on a firstcome, first-served basis. What to bring The VITA volunteer cannot prepare your return if you don t bring all of the following information to your meeting: Photo ID Social Security Cards for taxpayers and all dependents Earnings statements Copy of last year s tax return Forms 1095-A, B or C, Affordable Health Care Statements Child care provider information Rent certificates from landlord or property tax statement Routing and account numbers from your financial institution for direct deposit WHEN: February 2-April 8, 2015 (No service March 23-27) MONDAYS: 10:00am-1:30pm RCU Shopko Office 1049 W. Clairemont Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 3:00-6:30pm Western Dairyland 418 Wisconsin Street, Eau Claire, WI WEDNESDAYS: 10:00am-1:30pm RCU Shopko Office 1049 W. Clairemont Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 3:00-6:30pm City of Altoona Community Room 1303 Lynn Avenue, Altoona, WI NOTICE: We will prepare: Basic individual income tax forms We will not prepare: Married filing separately tax returns Business returns Taxpayers with complicated returns or questions will be referred to the IRS or advised to seek private professional assistance. Eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis by the VITA volunteer. RCU Offices Closed January 19 Team Members attend training day On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 19, all RCU offices and Member Service will be closed. RCU team members will be engaged in training and taking the opportunity to begin work on our 2015 initiatives. We encourage Members to use RCU ebranch, Computeller and ATMs. We look forward to serving you throughout 2015! 51st Annual Business Meeting Tuesday, April 28, :30 pm RCU Corporate Center 200 Riverfront Terrace Eau Claire RSVP to Julie at , ext. 5252, or julianne.kalpinski@rcu.org

6 Depositing Simplified with RCU Deposit Here. There. Everywhere Depositing to your RCU accounts has never been easier. With RCU Deposit you can deposit a check from just about anywhere using an iphone, ipad, ipod Touch, or Android phone or tablet. In a few simple steps you can deposit a check, without ever visiting an office or ATM. Simply access the application through your device, enter the deposit amount, capture the front and back images, and submit. It s convenient, easy, and secure. Of course you can still walk in, drive up, or choose an ATM. But now we ve added RCU Deposit. Learn more at rcu.org. iphone, ipad, and ipod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc.To qualify for RCU Deposit, you must be over 13 years old, have at least one active checking or savings account that you can access through RCU ebranch, and be a Member in good standing. This service is not available to Business ebranch users. s: Efficient and Effective Get the scoop with s from Royal Credit Union! We are all about efficiency at Royal Credit Union! And to that end, we are embarking on the use of s to send relevant product and educational information to you our Members! Perhaps you have already received an from us and we hope you found it valuable. Our goal is to educate and help you in all the ways you desire. We want to know what you want to know, so the s include an opportunity for you to share your preference of frequency and information. And for the s to be effective, we re using a system that is pretty smart, so you shouldn t get information that is not appropriate for you. To ensure that you don t miss out on any of the information that we ll be sending, please verify that we have your correct address. You can do this by signing onto RCU ebranch and clicking on Self Service in the top/middle of your accounts page. You can change your mailing address, telephone number, and/or address. If you do update your address and want to also change the address in your Security Options, you will need to click on Options at the top right of the page on ebranch and enter your new address there too. If you have any questions, please contact member_services@rcu.org or call us at Your savings federally insured to $250,000 National Credit Union Administration, a U.S. Government Agency rcu.org