Is My Money Safe in a Credit Union?
“Not one penny of insured savings has ever been lost by a member of a federally insured credit union.”
—National Credit Union Administration
When things are uncertain, thinking more about the safety and security of your home, family, and finances is natural. Like most essential things in your life, the money you deposit at Credit Union of Richmond is protected by a type of insurance.
You may have heard that most banks are FDIC-insured. The FDIC is a federal institution that was created to ensure that customers don’t lose money if an FDIC member bank fails.
Similarly, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures deposits at participating credit unions up to at least $250,000 per individual depositor. To estimate how much your deposits are insured for, you can use the Share Insurance Estimator created by the NCUA.
The NCUA administers the fund is called the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Like the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund, the NCUSIF is a federal insurance fund backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. Since the fund was created, no one at an NCUA member credit union has ever lost a penny of insured savings. For complete details about Share Insurance, visit the NCUA website.
Which is Safer, a Bank or a Credit Union?
If you are banking at a federally insured institution, whether it is a credit union insured by the NCUA or a bank by the FDIC, your money is equally safe.
Credit unions are owned by the members—your savings account at a credit union is a share of ownership. So many choose to deposit with credit unions because they prefer to work with a financial institution that is focused on serving its members rather than increasing its stock price. Additionally, credit unions tend to have lower fees and better loan rates.
Before joining a financial institution, investigate the financial health of the institution to ensure it has a strong foundation. You can research credit unions on the NCUA website to verify their assets, number of members, and founding date.
Credit Union of Richmond is celebrating our 100-year anniversary and has been around since 1923!