credit union

noun

Definition of credit union

: a cooperative association that makes small loans to its members at low interest rates and offers other banking services (such as savings and checking accounts)

Examples of credit union in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The accounts’ availability is set to grow as 25 more banks and credit unions are working to get certified. — Yuka Hayashi, WSJ, "Bank Accounts Designed for Low-Income Customers Find Broader Audience," 3 Jan. 2019 Industry experts say the institutions that remain are mostly small credit unions or banks where branch managers negotiate side deals without telling their corporate bosses about the clients’ marijuana connection. — Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, "California marijuana purveyors go mainstream, except for the sacks of cash," 28 Jan. 2018 In these states, credit unions, community and regional banks are likely to be closed. — Marie Milano, Country Living, "Are Banks Open on Good Friday This Year?," 11 Mar. 2019 Many counselors and coaches work for the military, credit unions or other organizations and offer their services free or at reduced cost. — Liz Weston, latimes.com, "Procrastination can mean estate-planning disaster," 1 Apr. 2018 Several banks and credit unions have also offered no-interest loans and other help for federal workers—learn about that here. — Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, "How to Help Federal Workers During the Government Shutdown," 25 Jan. 2019 United Shore is in the wholesale mortgage-lending business, which is the underwriting of loans generally made by mortgage brokers, credit unions and small banks. — Detroit Free Press, "United Shore mortgage moves into new, amenity-filled Pontiac HQ," 23 June 2018 Rebecca Coder, 49, senior vice president of National Cooperative Bank in Washington, whose customers include grocery wholesale co-ops, purchasing co-ops, credit unions and housing co-op died May 1 at her home in Washington. — Washington Post, "Community deaths," 17 June 2018 Yet a handful of online and community banks, credit unions and money market mutual funds that are hungrier for deposits are paying as much as 2.5% on a one-year CD, up from 2.15% in March. — Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, "How a Fed rate hike could impact credit cards, mortgages, savings rates," 13 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'credit union.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

26 Apr 2019

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Time Traveler for credit union

The first known use of credit union was in 1843

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More Definitions for credit union

credit union

noun

Financial Definition of credit union

What It Is

A credit union is a financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members rather than shareholders. The members of the credit union pool their deposits and provide loans and other financial services to each other.

How It Works

The services offered by a credit union include a wide range of financial services, such as savings accounts, checking accounts, credit cards, certificates of deposit and online financial services.

A credit union’s fees, interest rates and levels of service are highly responsive to the needs of its members. Generally, they offer lower interest rates on loans and higher interest rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

Credit unions may be formed among any group of members who have a common interest -- usually community groups or employees of a particular organization. The board members of the credit unions are usually volunteers. Credit unions are generally not-for-profit, so often profits are shared by members.

Why It Matters

Credit unions offer most of the same services as banks, but differ in that individual members are owners and there are generally less assets under management. Because credit unions are usually considerably smaller than banks, they are able to offer more personalized advisory services to their members and they may offer lower cost banking service.

Federal and most state-chartered credit unions in the United States are able to insure their members’ savings accounts through the National Credit Union Administration, a federal organization with the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.

Source: Investing Answers

credit union

noun

English Language Learners Definition of credit union

: an organization that gives small loans to its members at low interest rates and that offers savings and checking accounts

See the full definition for credit union in the English Language Learners Dictionary

credit union

noun

Legal Definition of credit union

: a cooperative association that makes small loans to its members at low interest rates and offers other banking services (as savings and checking accounts)