After satisfying requirements for reserves, the Board of Directors may set aside a portion of earnings for credit union members. Members can benefit from three components of the Member Rewards program:

• patronage;
• dividends on common and surplus shares* (excluding membership shares) and
• surplus share dividends

*Surplus share dividends are currently an exception to the Patronage Policy and may not apply to all members. Visit your branch or call the Member Solutions Centre at 1.800.264.2926 to find out if share dividends apply to your membership.

Patronage is earned and calculated from:

• Interest earned on eligible non-registered deposit accounts
• Interest paid on eligible member loans, mortgages, and LOCs (interest paid within LOC limit)

Members are allocated a percentage of the interest they earned and the interest they paid during the calendar year. The allocation rate may vary from year to year as it depends on the earnings achieved. The Board of Directors approves the total amount of Member Rewards once the year-end financials are completed.

As part of our merger commitments, Access Credit Union will continue to focus on maximizing the ability to pay patronage to members as part of the cooperative values and belief that members should share in our profits. The objective of our Member Rewards program is to pay bonuses in cash to our members, subject to the financial results of the Credit Union.

Member Rewards (patronage) will be paid in cash via deposit to a chequing or savings account (if available) or if no account is available, it will be applied to the originating account. i.e. investment or principal payment on the loan.

All members paying or receiving interest to warrant an allocation of $1 or more, are eligible for participation in the program.

An allocation to individual Member Rewards plans based on interest earned on savings or term deposits is taxable as interest income in the year received, as is any share dividend paid on existing Member Rewards Plans. Both are included in the T5 income tax slip issued by Access Credit Union when total interest is over $50 (including patronage and dividends). Even if members don’t receive the T5 slip, it is still taxable and should be included when filing tax returns.

An allocation based on interest paid on a loan is taxable only if the loan interest was tax deductible, as in the case of a business loan. It is the responsibility of the member to determine if the allocation is taxable and to report it if necessary on their income tax return.

By increasing your use of credit union loan and deposit services, you increase your participation in the Member Rewards program!

Cash Rebates will be paid in cash via deposit to a chequing or savings account (if available).

If no account is available, the funds will remain in the Surplus Share account unless otherwise specified by the member. Members who wish to redeem their cash rebate in another format may contact their local branch or call the Member Solutions Centre at 1.800.264.2926. 

The objective of our Member Rewards program is to pay bonuses in cash to our members. In 2022, Access Credit Union began redeeming existing surplus shares as cash to our members. This cash payout is expected to take no more than five years to complete, subject to the financial results of the Credit Union.

Member Rewards payouts will show on the regular consolidated statement of accounts for all active members who receive paper statements and e-Statements.

Your statement will detail your payout as:

The same terms will be displayed in your account activity in online banking and on the mobile app.

For members who hold surplus shares, a dividend of 2.25% will be paid. For members who own purchased common shares, outside of membership shares, a dividend of 4.69% will be paid. Dividends will be paid in the form of surplus shares.

Yes, a $1 dividend is the minimum.

Dividends are reported as Interest Income on T5. As stated in The Credit Unions and Caisses Populaires Act of Manitoba, Part V.1 Applications of the Securities Act does not apply to the issue or sale of surplus shares by a credit union. Therefore, dividends paid in the form of surplus shares are not reported as dividend income to Canada Revenue Agency. Dividends are reported as interest income and included in the total interest income earned