How do credit unions shape access to financial services?

April is National Financial Literacy Month, and we’re celebrating by taking a closer look at the credit union data now available on PolicyMap. Credit unions provide many of the same services as banks, including checking accounts and loans. But unlike banks, credit unions are non-profit organizations owned by and accountable to their members.

Find the locations of credit union branches on PolicyMap by visiting Banking > Credit Union Branches in the Add Sites sidebar. This data is reported by credit unions to the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the regulatory agency for all credit unions in the United States.

Credit unions play a pivotal role in providing financial services to marginalized communities. Low-income credit unions are those that primarily serve low-income membership, and are able to offer less restrictive deposit and loan conditions than regular credit unions and banks. The map below shows the locations of low-income credit unions in the Louisville area and median household income.

Each credit union point shows the contact information for the branch, as well as detailed information about the credit union itself. If a credit union has multiple branches, the contents of the Financial/Lending Info and Credit Union Info tabs will be the same for all branch locations.

Clicking the Financial/Lending tab shows a snapshot of the number, dollar amount, and type of loans a credit union has outstanding. Additionally, the Credit Union Info tab shows which credit unions offer financial counseling and/or education services to their members.

To navigate how credit unions serve the surrounding community, use the filters for Charter Type to select credit unions based on their field of membership criteria. Credit union membership is typically restricted to a “common bond,” as set forth in the credit union charter. A single common bond credit union may serve the employees and family members of one corporation, a multiple common bond credit union may serve two or three related occupations or industries, and a community credit union may serve all residents of a certain county. Field of membership information is not available for non-federal credit unions, which can be filtered separately.

Read more about the role of credit unions at http://www.mycreditunion.gov/