Federal or Local Credit Union

[OniStringer]

Looked around on the forum, couldnt find much.

Any major difference in credit unions wether it be Federal (ie. Navy Federal) or Local (ie, state or county CU)? 

[PNWRambler]

One factor is that federal credit unions are regulated and supervised by the National Credit Union Association. State credit unions follow state-specific regulations instead, so they vary by state more. Some state credit unions may not have the typical $250k insurance on your money that's backed by the federal government. So depending on your state, local could be better or worse.  Personally I use two local/state credit unions, and they do both have federal NCUA insurance. 

Both types of Credit Union are going to have better rates and customer service than a traditional bank.  You can't go wrong with a Credit Union.

[OniStringer]

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@PNWRambler wrote:

One factor is that federal credit unions are regulated and supervised by the National Credit Union Association. State credit unions follow state-specific regulations instead, so they vary by state more. Some state credit unions may not have the typical $250k insurance on your money that's backed by the federal government. So depending on your state, local could be better or worse.  Personally I use two local/state credit unions, and they do both have federal NCUA insurance. 

Both types of Credit Union are going to have better rates and customer service than a traditional bank.  You can't go wrong with a Credit Union.

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Thanks for the input. I bank with chase for all my major needs and a credit card. But I think I am going to add navy federal to my wallet as a secondary. 

[coldfusion]

Well, you can go wrong if you pick a credit union that is a poor match for your needs.

Insofar as whether you should choose between a credit union with a federal vs. state charter, pick 'em.  Just choose one that is a NCUA member institution, not only does that insure the $250,000 in deposits, it means the CU has agreed to regularly demonstrate to federal regulators under audit their compliance with a number of regulatory and best practice requirements as outlined by the NCUA.

BECU is a good example of a state-chartered credit union that is a NCUA member.

[SouthJamaica]

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@OniStringer wrote:

Looked around on the forum, couldnt find much.

Any major difference in credit unions wether it be Federal (ie. Navy Federal) or Local (ie, state or county CU)? 

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1. There's no difference for any purposes of mine, between credit unions which are federally chartered and those which are state chartered.

2. I'm not aware of any credit unions that can be locally chartered.

3. Whether a credit union is "local" or national bears no relationship to whether it's state chartered or federally chartered. Some small, hyperlocal, credit unions are federally chartered. Some credit unions with nationwide scope are state chartered.

[OniStringer]

@SouthJamaica @coldfusion 

Thank you guys, I bank with Chase and most recently Charles Schwab but have been thinking of dropping chase, keeping schwab and then also using NFCU. This input has definitely helped me.