Credit unions are not-for profit, financial cooperatives organized solely for the needs of their members. At a credit union, you're a member/owner, not a customer. When you join the credit union, you essentially purchase shares and pool your savings with other members in order to support low-cost loans and a variety of other financial services.

Since credit unions are owned and controlled by their members, all profits are returned directly to the membership in the form of higher dividend rates on savings and lower rates on loans.

Credit unions, banks, finance companies and other financial institutions offer many similar products, but credit unions stand apart from all the others. You can expect to pay less and earn more for the same types of products or services than at other financial institutions.