Montana Credit Union

History

The early 1940s set the nation on a new path. Intent on creating new opportunities, twenty Montana men and women gathered on November 18, 1940. A charter from the Bureau of Federal Credit Union on hand, these residents of Great Falls, Ulm, Armington, Power, Portage and Carter held the seminal meeting of the Great Falls Cooperators Credit Union. United, the group set goals to provide low-interest loans and a favorable rate of return for investors. A ceiling for ownership was set that day at 20 shares of stock, or $100. The unsecured loan limit was $35, plus shares on deposit, and secured loans were capped at $100. In addition, borrowers were required to deposit savings while repaying loans. History was in the making.

By July 1959, the credit union's membership had reached 534, and assets were a record $160,434. The radical 1960s saw rapid growth, leaving the credit union with a membership double in size and assets totaling $810,000. At this point, the need for more office space to accommodate the credit union's growth became apparent. For years, the credit union's two employees had used two file cabinets to store the records of the growing membership. Subsequently, the Board of Directors voted to purchase property and construct a building at 901 8th Ave. S. A year later another milestone was reached, when assets topped $1 million in May 1971. From desk drawer beginnings and a second hand safe to offices of brick and glass, the credit union's future independence was assured.

In the 1980s, the credit union expanded services to include share draft checking accounts, automatic teller machine accessibility, credit cards, and other innovative services. The credit union's focus was simple: providing better services than competitors, with the friendly advantage of membership. In 2022, Montana Credit Union was granted an expansion to the field of membership we are able to serve, expanding our counties served from 3 to 44, covering most all the state of Montana. Montana is a state of epic proportions, and while we don't have physical branch locations within all 44 of those counties, we remain able to strongly serve members that live both near and far through our online channels. Despite this growth and metamorphosis into a major financial institution, Montana Credit Union has kept one goal in mind — to help improve the financial state of each of its members by encouraging regular savings and responsible borrowing at fair rates.