West Virginia government credit unions are financial institutions that provide banking services to its membership. West Virginia federal employee 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.

Federal credit unions in WV 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.

There are three basic reasons why federal credit unions in West Virginia are tax-exempt:

1. Federally chartered credit unions in West Virginia 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. Federal credit unions in West Virginia provide service to members of modest means as part of their social mission. They 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 federal credit unions in WV by name

You can easily locate a WV federal 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: Cudata.com shows credit unions in West Virginia by name, along with the city, assets and number of members. Click on any credit union name to get contact information. Manta displays federally chartered credit unions in West Virginia alphabetically by name and allows the list to be further narrowed by city.

Find federally chartered credit unions in West Virginia 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. The National Credit Union Administration can locate a credit union by charter number and or by location.

Join one of the local government chartered credit unions in West Virginia

Examine the membership requirements of a particular West Virginia federal 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: Members Choice West Virginia Federal Credit Union provides memberships to residents and workers in Kanawha County. Fairmont Federal Credit Union serves Marion, Monongalia, Harrison, Taylor and Preston counties.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most West Virginia federal credit unions serve individuals and may also be called natural-person credit unions. However, corporate credit unions exist 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 WV 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.