Ask your employer's Human Resources Director, your association's membership secretary, or your neighborhood association if they are affiliated with a credit union. Family affiliation is another way to qualify for credit union membership. If a member of your family qualifies for membership, you may also be eligible to join. Although credit unions throughout the country offer different services, most offer loans, checking accounts, ATM access, CDs, home mortgages, IRAs, and credit cards. Credit unions traditionally pay higher savings rates and offer lower loan rates than other financial institutions.
Credit unions offer employee benefits such as payroll deduction and direct deposit.
The earliest financial cooperative dates back to the mid-1800's in Germany, which is the home of the first credit union. These unique depository institutions were created to serve members as credit cooperatives.