Safe 1 turns mobile service into a membership pitch.
The Bakersfield credit union is using a mobile-phone partnership to cut members’ bills while creating a new digital path for attracting customers across California.
Safe 1 Credit Union is betting that a service most people use every day — their cellphone — can become something more: a reason to join a credit union.
The Bakersfield-based credit union has launched a partnership with Members Mobile, a nationwide 4G/5G mobile service provider built specifically around credit unions. The arrangement will allow Safe 1 to offer mobile service to its existing members while using discounted phone plans and digital account opening as a way to attract new members.
The strategy comes as Safe 1 looks to expand its reach across California. The credit union has more than $1.1 billion in assets and more than 90,000 members across Kern, Tulare, Kings and Fresno counties. A year earlier, it had 84,853 members.
Safe 1 earned $5 million in the first quarter of 2026, up from $4.2 million in the same period a year earlier, according to National Credit Union Administration call report data.
The partnership gives Safe 1 another way to compete for consumers who increasingly expect financial services to be delivered digitally — and who may be more receptive to a credit union if the initial pitch is about something other than a checking account or loan.
For eligible new members, the offer includes up to a year of free Members Mobile service when they open and connect a qualifying Safe 1 checking account through the Members Mobile app.
Story continued below…
FREE PAMPHLET
Youth banking: Growing the next generation of account holders.
Financial habits are formed early, but most financial tools are designed for adults. As a result, families often rely on cash, shared cards, or disconnected apps to teach money management, making it difficult to balance independence with oversight.
At the same time, younger generations expect intuitive digital experiences, creating a gap between how they interact with money and how financial services are delivered. Financial institutions need age-appropriate solutions that engage younger account holders while supporting parents and caregivers.
That connection is central to the arrangement. Members Mobile’s VIMplicity platform integrates mobile-service activation with a digital account-opening process powered by MeridianLink. Eligible customers can open a Safe 1 checking account inside the Members Mobile app, connect it to their mobile service and receive benefits associated with the new credit union relationship.
MeridianLink provides digital account-opening technology to more than 1,700 credit unions, according to Members Mobile, potentially making a similar approach available to other institutions using the platform.
David King, president and CEO of Safe, said the arrangement would allow the credit union to connect mobile service, member savings and digital account opening while helping consumers reduce a recurring household expense.
The appeal for Safe 1 is twofold. Existing members can use Members Mobile for phone service and receive benefits such as Cash ShareBacks paid into their Safe 1 accounts. At the same time, prospective members can encounter the credit union through a mobile-service offer and become members without first visiting a branch.
Members Mobile also offers features including Data SafetyNet, which allows customers to carry unused data forward up to their plan amount, as well as the ability to keep an existing phone number and use a compatible smartphone.
Gary Brandt, co-founder and chairman of Members Mobile, said Safe 1 is using the service as more than a traditional member perk.
“Credit unions are competing for attention in a digital-first world,” Brandt said. “They are connecting mobile phone service to account growth, everyday savings, and a stronger Credit Union relationship.”
The Safe 1 rollout is the second credit union launch for Members Mobile and its first with a California-based credit union.
The partnership reflects a broader effort by credit unions to find new ways to reach consumers outside traditional financial products. Rather than waiting for a potential member to seek out a checking account, loan or savings product, the companies are building the initial relationship around an everyday service and then linking that relationship to banking.
For Safe 1, the goal is to make that connection particularly easy for consumers who prefer to handle financial business from their phones. If a cellphone plan can save members money while also bringing new customers through the digital door, the phone itself becomes another avenue for building a financial relationship.
“Safe 1 has a proud, long-standing tradition of providing quality financial products and services designed to make consumers’ lives a little easier and a lot better.”
– David King
President & CEO
Safe 1 Credit Union
Ken McCarthy is manager of marketing communications at Tyfone, where he monitors the credit union industry and contributes to conversations shaping its future. He previously covered credit unions and community banking for American Banker and S&P Global Market Intelligence. He holds a journalism degree from Point Park University and has more than 15 years of experience covering financial services. He is also the author of three literary fiction novels.
