From the Co-op News: Am I Eligible to Join a Credit Union?
added 07/26/10
Thanks to the current economic climate, more and more people are putting their money in credit unions. Credit unions provide the same services as banks, but because they are member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperatives, they don’t charge the high fees and finance charges of traditional banks.
The Credit Union Difference
When you join a credit union, you combine your money with that of your fellow members to create a pool of funds from which members can borrow. The income earned on loans and investments is returned to you in the form of higher savings rates, lower loan rates, and additional products and services.
Satisfaction and Service
Study after study has revealed that on average, credit unions provide the best financial offerings with fewer fees, lower rates on loans, and higher rates on savings. And credit unions continually score higher than all other financial institutions in consumer satisfaction surveys.
Credit unions are established with a defined “field of membership,” meaning their members share a common bond. You are probably eligible to join one or more credit unions based on your employer, geographic area, place of worship, school, or membership in an organization. Many also allow you to join if you are a relative of a current member by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Upper Valley Area Credit Unions
Upper Valley Credit Union
199 Heater Road, Lebanon, NH
www.uvccu.org
This credit union was founded by the Hanover Consumer Cooperative Society in 1951 to provide a means of affordable credit for our employees. Today, membership is open to all individuals, businesses, and organizations that live, work, or are located within a 25-mile radius of the credit union’s Lebanon office. Its bylaws include the “once a member always a member” rule, which means if you move out of the area or change jobs, you can continue your UVCC membership no matter where you are.
Service Credit Union
255 Mechanic Street, Lebanon, NH
1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH
www.servicecu.org
Service Credit Union is open to civilian employees of the Department of Defense and stand-by, inactive, retired, or active military personnel or their family members who live or work in one of the following New Hampshire counties: Grafton, Sullivan, Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Hillsboro, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford.
They also accept employees of DHMC, WISE of the UV, King Arthur Flour, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and others.
Covered Bridge Credit Union
160 Main Street, Windsor, VT
www.coveredbridgecu.com
Membership is limited to residents, taxpayers, or persons employed in the Vermont towns of Hartland, Reading, Weathersfield, Windsor, and West Windsor; relatives of members; and the employees of the Covered Bridge Credit Union.
Members Advantage Community Credit Union
614 N. Hartland Rd., White River Junction, VT
www.maccu.org
A combination of three previously established credit unions, this one’s field of membership includes people who live, work, or worship in the Vermont counties of Orange, Windsor, Lamoille, Chittenden, or Washington, as well as the New Hampshire towns of Lebanon, Hanover, Lyme, Enfield, Canaan, Dorchester, Claremont, Newport, Plainfield, Cornish, Grantham, and Croyden. They accept students from the school districts, universities, and colleges in the areas they serve and the relatives of all members.
Vermont VA Federal Credit Union
1285 VA Cutoff Rd., White River Junction, VT
www.vtvafcu.com
Membership is limited to employees and volunteers of the White River Junction Veterans Affairs Medical Center and members of their immediate family or household; employees of Service Organizations (DAV/VFW/AL) who work in White River Junction; spouses of persons who died within the field of membership of this credit union; self-employed “fee for service” employees who work on a regular basis at the Medical Center in White River Junction; employees of the VT VA FCU and their immediate families; and persons retired as pensioners or annuitants from the White River Junction Veteran Affairs Medical Center.
