Become a Member at Jackson County 1st
Membership Benefits
Founded on the basic democratic premise of the cooperative movement, Credit Unions believe that access to low-cost financial services is critical to the health and stability of ordinary citizens.
In fact, nearly 100 million Americans trust their Credit Union to provide the services to improve their financial well being. Credit Union membership offers many benefits.
Services offered range from simple checking and savings to credit cards and vehicle loans. Study after study has revealed that, on average, Credit Unions provide the best financial offerings with fewer fees, lower rates on loans and higher rates on savings.
Credit Unions continually score higher than all other financial institutions in consumer satisfaction surveys. Credit Unions strive to deliver the best service possible to their most important assets — their members.
Membership Eligibility
We are now community chartered. This means if you live or work in Jackson County you can enjoy membership privileges with us!
Membership Notice
To help the government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, Federal law requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. What this means for you: When you open an account, we will ask for your name, address, date of birth and other information that will allow us to identify you. We may also ask to see your driver's license or other identifying documents.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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A Credit Union is a cooperative, not-for-profit financial institution organized to promote thrift and provide credit to members. It is member-owned and controlled through a board of directors elected by the membership. The board serves on a volunteer basis and may hire a management team to run the Credit Union. The board also establishes and revises policy, sets dividend and loan rates, and directs certain operations. The result: members are provided with a safe, convenient place to save and borrow at reasonable rates at an institution which exists to benefit them, not to make a profit.
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Most financial institutions are owned by stockholders, who own a part of the institution and intend on making money from their investment. A Credit Union doesn't operate in that manner. Rather, each Credit Union member owns one "share" of the organization. The user of Credit Union services is also an owner, and is even entitled to vote on important issues, such as the election of member representatives to serve on the board of directors.
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The first Credit Union cooperatives started in Germany over a century ago. Today, Credit Unions are found everywhere in the world. The Credit Union movement started in this country in Manchester, New Hampshire. There, the St. Mary's Cooperative Credit Association, a church-affiliated Credit Union, opened its doors in 1909. Today, one in every three Americans is a Credit Union member.
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The primary purpose in furthering their goal of service is to encourage members to save money. Another purpose is to offer loans to members. In fact, Credit Unions have traditionally made loans to people of ordinary means. Credit Unions can charge lower rates for loans (as well as pay higher dividends on savings) because they are nonprofit cooperatives. Rather than paying profits to stockholders, Credit Unions return earnings to members in the form of dividends or improved services.
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Yes. All savings accounts are insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA, the National Credit Union Administration, an agency of the federal government.
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A Credit Union exists to serve a specific group of people, such as a group of employees or the members of a professional or religious group. This is called a "field of membership." The field of membership may include where they live, where they work, or their membership in a social or economic group.