In this week’s Show Me the Money many people are struggling financially during this coronavirus pandemic. It’s having a big impact on the banking industry, so what do you need to know to make sure your money is safe and what kind of help can they provide during these trying times?

“We began really deploying messaging encouraging all members to do online banking, to take a look at downloading mobile apps if they haven’t already to be able to do transactions on their own,” Amy Sgrignoli, CEO of Belco Community Credit Union said.

Belco Community Credit Union is one of many banks limiting direct contact with customers by closing lobbies and using drive-thrus.

“We also have remote deposit capture where you can deposit a check remotely without having to come into a branch, our ATM’s are fully deployed and being restocked regularly, so we made sure that there’s cash available for the public to be able to access it, so just really shifting the focus to any of the other means of doing transactions,” Sgrignoli said.

“Right now a lot of people have a lot of concerns about their money, many people may be unemployed now, can you tell us a little bit about the loan process and what people should know about getting financial assistance during this time? In terms of financial assistance we have created a hardship loan and that has very easy qualification criteria and is very much in place to be able to provide some short-term assistance to members and individuals who just need to be able to bridge that gap until they’re able to receive some of the government measures that have been put in place,” Sgrignoli said.

Also, beware of scams. Phony sites are popping up during this crisis so make sure you’re keeping your banking information safe.

“It’s much the same as the messaging consumers traditionally hear, you want to be sure you’re protecting passwords, user ID’s, you’re not sharing too much information in a public space where social media might be highly used right now,” Sgrignoli said.

Amy says the best advice during these times is to be proactive. If you’re having a problem, call your bank and explain your situation, they should be willing to work with you.