Arkansas federally chartered credit unions are financial institutions that provide banking services to its membership. Arkansas federally chartered 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 Arkansas 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 AR federal credit unions are tax-exempt:

1. Federal credit unions in Arkansas must be non-profit, democratic corporations that the members own.

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

3. An Arkansas federal credit union 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 credit unions in Arkansas by name

You can easily locate Arkansas federal credit unions if you have some basic information about it such as its name or the location of one of its 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 Arkansas alphabetically by name. The Nation Credit Union Administration can locate a credit union by charter number and is able to find a credit union by using a word in the credit union's name.

Find Arkansas federally chartered credit unions by location

Resources are available to locate all of the federal credit unions in Arkansas 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 registered federally chartered credit unions in Arkansas. Credit Unions US has a credit union locator on its home page that allows you to specify your city and zip code.

Join a local federal credit union in Arkansas for which you are eligible

Examine the membership requirements of government credit unions in Arkansas 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: UARK Federal Credit Union in Little Rock serves employees of its partner employer groups. Arkansas Best Federal Credit Union in Fort Smith provides memberships to employees of its member companies.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most Arkansas federal credit unions serve individuals and are known as natural-person credit unions. However, there are 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 Arkansas 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.