[Mainebiz] Town & Country FCU launches translation service for non-English speaking customers
Mainebiz, “Town & Country FCU launches translation service for non-English speaking customers”
By ALEXIS WELLS
Monday, February 27th, 2023
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Town & Country Federal Credit Union has partnered with a Portland company to offer translation services for 30 languages via on-demand phone and video as well as in-person appointments.
The new translation service is available at all six Town & Country branches in Portland, Scarborough, South Portland and Saco. There is also an in-person option for other services by appointment. The credit union anticipates expanding the House of Languages services and offerings into other departments in the future.
“This new partnership is a natural extension of our local focus on making a difference," said Jon Paradise, senior vice president of Communications, Marketing and Community Outreach at Town & County. "As our population in southern Maine continues to diversify, we are well-positioned to meet the financial needs new residents may have, including eliminating barriers in communicating those needs.”
“Language barriers can make it difficult for non-English speakers to access banking services,” said Dolgormaa Hersom, president and CEO of Portland-based House of Languages. ”Working together, we are helping make financial services more accessible for new Mainers with limited English skills.”
“The decision to partner with House of Languages was made, in part, because [it] is a local, Portland-based organization and aligns with the credit union’s ‘local helping local’ initiative that not only focuses on providing local financial services and options to consumers but also supports local businesses and organizations,” Paradise said.
In recognition of the new partnership, Town & Country made a $1,000 contribution on behalf of the House of Languages to the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center.
PHOTO / JIM NEUGER
Reza Jalali, executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center
Reza Jalali, executive director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, called the contribution “a wonderful surprise and an opportunity to discuss ways to connect and collaborate with Town & Country and House of Languages to provide access to financial services and resources to more people in our community.”
The House of Languages provides on-site and remote interpreting and document translation services for Lingala, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Swahili, Somali, Portuguese, and Arabic, among many others. It received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2022 Minority-Owned Small Business of the Year Award for Maine.
Town & Country is ranked No. 4 among the largest Maine-based credit unions in the 2023 Mainebiz Book of Lists, which was published in December. The rankings are based on total assets as of Sept. 30, 2022. For more about translation services, click here.