These members, who are united by a common bond of association, democratically operate the credit union under state and federal regulation. There are more than 12,300 credit unions in the United States, serving more than 69 million members.
Credit unions exist solely for the purpose of meeting the financial needs of their member-owners.
To that end, credit union not only provide outstanding personal service, but members often earn higher returns on their savings while paying lower rates for loans. This structure is vastly different from the for-profit sector where stockholders vote according to the number of shares of stock they own. For instance, credit unions usually charge lower interest on credit cards than most other providers, and many credit unions charge no annual card fee. The biggest difference between credit unions and other financial institutions is that the members are the owners. Credit unions exist solely to serve their member-owners, who are the only depositors.