Arizona federal credit unions are financial institutions that provide banking services to its membership. Arizona state federal credit union members control the credit union and membership must be based on well-defined criteria such as residency within a geographical area or membership in a non-profit group.

Federally chartered credit unions in Arizona also may serve specific employee groups, known as Select Employee Groups, such as teachers or employees of a specific company. These credit unions may be able to switch to a community charter, which allows them to serve anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school within a defined area.

There are three basic reasons why federal credit unions in Arizona are tax exempt:

1. An Arizona central federal credit union must be a non-profit, democratic corporation the members own.

2. Members must elect the board of directors for a credit union and the board must serve as unpaid volunteers.

3. A federal credit union in Arizona provides service to members of modest means as part of their social mission. It also must place limitations on its memberships with restrictions on the products and services it provides.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Locate specific government chartered credit unions in Arizona by name

You can easily locate federal credit unions in Arizona if you have some basic information about it such as the name or location of one of the branches. A credit union's name will normally give you an idea of the basis of its membership, although the requirements for membership are frequently broader than this.

I recommend: Credit Unions Online displays the credit unions in its network that are located in Arizona alphabetically by name. The Credit Union Service Center provides detailed information on all of its registered credit unions within Arizona.

Find an Arizona federal credit union by location

Resources are available to locate all of the government credit unions in Arizona based in your area, which you may wish to do because residency is a common membership requirement for many credit unions.

I recommend: Credit Union Access provides, by city, all of the registered federally chartered credit unions in Arizona. CU Village.com allows you to find credit unions within your zip code. If you don't find any, this locator will list the credit unions that are closest to you.

Join one of the local Arizona federal credit unions for which you are eligible

Examine the membership requirements of federal credit unions in AZ and the services that they provide to know if you are eligible to join and if they will provide the services you need.

I recommend: Residents of Maricopa and Pinal counties as well as the city of Tucson are eligible for membership in the Arizona Federal Credit Union. Arizona Central Credit Union is available to virtually anyone who lives, works or worships in Arizona.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most Arizona federal credit unions serve individuals and are known as natural-person credit unions. However, there are also corporate credit unions that serve natural-person credit unions. Corporate credit unions serve as a clearing house for natural-person credit unions and provide them with operational support, products and other services.
• •  An Arizona state federal credit union may actually have a more disparate membership base than the one implied by its name. This may be the result of a merger of several smaller credit unions. Additionally, individuals may generally remain a member of a credit union even when they would normally no longer qualify.