CHIP stands for ‘Co-op Housing Investment Program’. It is a banking program that enables housing co-ops to earn interest and receive additional benefits on their current operating accounts. Interest is paid into each co-op’s account according to the amount of the co-op’s own deposit – with a preferred interest rate. Each co-op has its own separate account, and only the co-op receives and sees its own account statements. Each co-op’s deposit is insured, just as it would be in any other bank or credit union account.
There is a CHIP program offered for co-ops in Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, and Brantford with Your Neighbourhood Credit Union, Meridian Credit Union. and/or Alterna Savings Credit Union. The co-op’s own operating account is held at any branch of one of the credit unions aforementioned that the co-op chooses.