What’s a Credit Union? A credit union is a cooperative, not-for-profit financial institution organized to promote thrift and provide credit to members. It is member-owned and controlled through a board of directors elected by the membership. The board serves on a volunteer basis and may hire a management team to run the credit union. The board also establishes and revises policy, sets dividend and loan rates, and directs certain operations. The result: members are provided with a safe, convenient place to save and borrow at reasonable rates at an institution which exists to benefit them, not to make a profit. Back to Top
Who owns a credit union? Most financial institutions are owned by stockholders, who own a part of the institution and intend on making money from their investment. A credit union doesn't operate in that manner. Rather, each credit union member owns one "share" of the organization. The user of credit union services is also an owner, and is even entitled to vote on important issues, such as the election of member representatives to serve on the board of directors. Back to Top
How did credit unions start?
The first credit union cooperatives started in Germany over a century ago. Today, credit unions are found everywhere in the world. The credit union movement started in this country in Manchester, New Hampshire. There, the St. Mary's Cooperative Credit Association, a church-affiliated credit union, opened its doors in 1909. Today, one in every three Americans is a credit union member. Back to Top
What is the purpose of a credit union? The primary purpose in furthering their goal of service is to encourage members to save money. Another purpose is to offer loans to members. In fact, credit unions have traditionally made loans to people of ordinary means. Credit unions can charge lower rates for loans (as well as pay higher dividends on savings) because they are nonprofit cooperatives. Rather than paying profits to stockholders, credit unions return earnings to members in the form of dividends or improved services. Back to Top
Are savings deposits insured? Yes. All savings accounts are insured up to $100,000 by the NCUA, the National Credit Union Administration, an agency of the federal government. Back to Top
Who can join a credit union? A credit union exists to serve a specific group of people, such as a group of employees or the members of a professional or religious group. This is called a "field of membership." The field of membership may include where they live, where they work, or their membership in a social or economic group. Back to Top
What is Regulation D? Regulation D is a regulation created by the Federal Reserve Board to implement reserve requirements for depository institutions. To comply with Regulation D, limitations have been set regarding electronic and phone transfers from deposit accounts.
Electronic Withdraws
Each individual savings, side savings and Insured Money Market accounts is limited to a total of six (6) electronic and phone withdraws per calendar month. These withdraws include:
Transfers within E-Chief (online banking)
Transfers made by phone, including those using the Chief Info Line, and those made by a phone representative of CPFCU
Preauthorized electronic withdraws to other institutions and merchants
Automatic transfers to any account held at CPFCU
Overdraft transfers
Transactions initiated at an automated teller machine (ATM), made in person, or received by mail are not subject to limitation. Back to Top
What is MFA MFA stands for Multi-Factor Authentication. It’s a new security system that adds an extra level of protection to your online Home Banking account be letting you know you’re at our legitimate Home Banking Site, and letting us know it’s you accessing your account. MFA also helps guard against fraudulent online activities like Phishing scams and identity theft. Back to Top
