Credit unions were born on June 26, 1934, with the signing of the National Credit Union Act by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. After 90 years, however, education about credit unions, how they’re structured and the services they offer is lacking.

Justin Branstetter, president and CEO of Meridian Mutual Federal Credit Union, said credit unions are very similar to banks in the services they offer but are structured differently.

“It’s confusing because of the membership part of it compared to a customer, but it’s basically the same thing,” he said. “Open up a savings account, checking account, we do loans, CD’s, money market. We do basically everything a bank does. We just do it cheaper usually and without the fees.”

According to the National Credit Union Administration, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in March was 6.9% through credit unions and 7.02% through banks. Interest rates for credit cards through the institutions were 12.86% for credit unions and 15.29% for banks in the same period.

Part of the reason credit unions are able to offer better rates, Branstetter said, is that they are nonprofits. Meridian Mutual, he said, is governed by a board of directors elected by credit union members. Those directors volunteer their time and help make decisions that are in the best interest of the overall membership.

Similar to rural electric cooperatives, credit unions are member owned, Branstetter said, and there is no pressure from investors or Wall Street to drive profits up.

Of course, turning a profit is preferable, he said, and that money is used to modernize and expand Meridian Mutual’s services to meet its members’ needs.

“There’s plenty of things that I can do or we can do to make profit, but there’s only certain things that can put money back in our members’ pockets,” he said. “So that’s what we focus on, and, you know, making it where they can enjoy the financial tools everyone else enjoys.”

While credit unions are localized and don’t have a national footprint of branches, Samantha Blackwell, vice president at Meridian Mutual, said credit unions are able to compensate for that through a network called the “co-op.” At last count, she said, between 5,000 and 6,000 credit unions have joined the co-op and can help members at other participating credit unions with their financial business.

“You can go in and do deposits, withdrawals, loan payments, things like that through those shared branching sites,” she said.

Branstetter said he has seen credit union members from Georgia come into Meridian Mutual to take care of their banking needs. They take care of their transactions like normal, he said, and funds flow in and out of their account back home.

“I wouldn’t say it’s full service, but it’s pretty close,” he said.

Greg Lane, who has a been a Meridian Mutual member for more than 14 years, said he appreciates the relationship members are able to build with the credit union staff. Those relationships came in handy, he said, after his account was hacked and his money stolen.

“I came here, talked to my manager, and they froze everything,” he said. “Before the day was over, all my money had been recovered and I walked out of here smiling. With a bank, I feel like I would’ve gone through a lot more than I did.”

Each credit union has different requirements to become a member, Branstetter said, but it isn’t complicated. Meridian Mutual, he said, requires members to live, work or worship in Meridian or Lauderdale County.

However, the membership does seem to be an area where education about credit unions needs some work, he said.

“I think the member really throws a lot of people, I don’t want to say off, but it makes them think that they have to be a member of a certain organization,” he said. “That’s the only thing I can think.”

Residents aren’t the only ones needing more information about credit unions, Branstetter said, and even people in the financial industry and those working at banks often don’t fully understand what a credit union does or how it does it.

“I worked at banks for 20 something years, and I really didn’t think much about what a credit union did until I started working here,” he said. “And I’ve got some banking friends who have asked, ‘what exactly is a credit union.’’’

Credit unions operate differently from banks, and they don’t look at situations in the same way, Branstetter said. Educating the public about credit unions will help residents understand their options and choose the structure that is right for their financial needs.

More information about credit unions can be found online at ncua.gov.