Olympia Federal Savings, or OlyFed, is a mutual bank established in 1906. The OlyFed team pride themselves on being accountable to their depositors and borrowers rather than shareholders. They also pride themselves on contributing a significant portion of their profits to community organizations. A large area of focus for OlyFed is educating local youth.
According to Ryan Betz, EVP Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at Olympia Federal Savings, “Last year we provided more than 35 financial education classes in our local high schools and community organizations.” Students learned how banks work, best practices for budgeting, how to manage credit and how to protect against fraud. “Our goal is to make sure every youth in our community gets started on solid financial footing because it’s the foundation for building a life that makes them and our community successful.”
At many local schools, OlyFed hosted account-opening events, making it easy for students to set up the checking and savings tools they need. OlyFed has a new LYFE Checking account that is designed for youth ages 12 to 18, providing them with a premium interest rate on the first $1,000 on deposit. Cleverly named LYFE because right in the middle of OlyFed is lyfe.
The LYFE account gives youth real-LYFE experience managing their money. Local youth can feel confident building good money habits, and their parents can feel good knowing they are working with trusted local service from a respected community bank.
The account comes with a debit card and students can choose from a host of customized cards for every high school and college in the area. Every time students use their debit card, OlyFed donates back to their school. In 2025, OlyFed donated over $50,000 to local schools through this program. With these debit cards, parents can set controls. They can turn the debit card on or off from their mobile phone as well as set parameters for spending limits. Parents can also set rules so that the cards can’t be used online or outside a given geographic area.
OlyFed is proud to serve their neighbors across the South Sound with nine convenient locations designed to make banking easy, welcoming and personal.
Olympia Federal Savings
olyfed.com
BY LYNN CASTLE