Credit union

Credit union

A not-for-profit institution that is operated as a cooperative and offers financial services such as low-interest loans to its members.

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credit union

A nonprofit cooperative financial institution that provides credit to its members. Credit unions often pay slightly higher rates of interest on passbook-type savings accounts and charge lower rates on consumer loans.

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Credit union. Credit unions are financial cooperatives set up by employee and community associations, labor unions, church groups, and other organizations. They provide affordable financial services to members of the sponsoring organization.

In some cases, they're created in rural or economically disadvantaged areas, where commercial banks may be scarce or prohibitively expensive.

Because they are not-for-profit, credit unions tend to charge lower fees and interest rates on loans than commercial banks while paying higher interest rates on savings and investment accounts.

The services offered at large credit unions can be as comprehensive as those at large banks. At smaller credit unions, however, services and hours may be more limited, and a few deposits may not be insured.

Assets in most credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund on the same terms that deposits in national and state banks are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).