Connecticut credit unions are financial institutions that provide banking services to the members of that credit union. CT credit union members control the credit union and membership is based on well-defined criteria such as residency within a geographical area or membership in a non-profit group.

Federally chartered credit unions in Connecticut 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 change to a community charter, which allows them to serve anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school within a defined area.

A bank may appear to be indistinguishable from a credit union. CT credit unions are tax exempt, however, while banks are not. There are three basic reasons why this is so:

1. A credit union in Connecticut must be a non-profit, democratic corporation the members own.

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

3. A CT federal credit union provides service to members of modest means as part of its 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 Connecticut credit unions by name

You can easily locate a credit union 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: The National Credit Union Administration can locate a credit union by charter number and also is able to find a credit union by using a word in the credit union’s name. The Credit Union Service Center provides detailed information on all of its registered credit unions within Connecticut.

Find a Connecticut credit union by location

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

I recommend: The Credit Union National Association has the ability to locate credit unions within a specified radius of a zip code or by city and state. Credit Union Access provides, by city, all of the registered federally chartered credit unions in Connecticut.

Select an individual CT federal credit union

Examine the membership requirements of a particular federally chartered credit union and the services that it provides to know if you are eligible to join and if it will provide the services you need.

I recommend: First Connecticut Credit Union is a full-service credit union that serves employee groups throughout Connecticut, in addition to residents of Ansonia, Derby, Seymour and Shelton. The Connecticut Federal Credit Union is based in North Haven and serves the employees of more than 90 companies.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most Connecticut federal credit unions serve individuals and also may be called 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.
• •  A Connecticut employee 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 generally may remain a member of a credit union even when they would normally no longer qualify.