A federal credit union in Maryland is a financial institution that provides banking services to members of that federal credit union. MD credit union members control the credit union and the credit union bases membership on well-defined criteria such as residency within a geographical area or membership in a non-profit group.

Federal credit unions in Maryland also may serve specific employee groups, known as Select Employee Groups, such as teachers or employees of a specific company. A Maryland federal credit union may be able to switch to a community charter, which allows it to serve anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school within a defined area.

Maryland federal credit unions are tax exempt, while banks are not. There are three basic reasons why this is so:

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

2. Members must elect the board of directors for Maryland federal credit unions and they must serve as unpaid volunteers.

3. An MD government 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 a specific Maryland federal credit union 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 normally will give you an idea of the basis of its membership, although the requirements for membership are frequently broader than this.

I recommend: The Credit Union Service Center provides detailed information on all of its registered credit unions within Maryland. The National 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 federal credit unions in Maryland 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: Credit Union Access provides, by city, all registered Maryland federal credit unions. The Credit Union National Association has the ability to locate credit unions within a specified radius of a zip code or by city and streets.

Investigate the services of a local MD federal credit union before you join

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: AACE Federal Credit Union is open to government and Board of Education employees of Anne Arundel County. First Eagle Federal Credit Union membership is available to employees of qualifying companies and their relatives.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most federally chartered credit unions in Maryland serve individuals and may also be called a natural-person federal credit union. MD corporate credit unions serve as a clearing house for natural-person credit unions and provide them with operational support, products and other services.
• •  Federally chartered credit unions in Maryland 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 Maryland government credit unions even when they would normally no longer qualify.