Arizona Federal Credit Union

History

Arizona Federal was established in 1936 as the Phoenix City Employees Federal Credit Union and has grown significantly through the years as a result of merging with the credit unions of other local municipalities, through a conversion to a community charter, and by benefiting from the boom in population throughout the metro-Phoenix area.

In February 2009, Arizona Federal announced a loss of $64 million for the fourth quarter of 2008, and a total loss of over $115 million for 2008, the second largest annual loss ever for a credit union. In December 2009, Arizona Federal announced plans to close eight branches.

In 2012, Arizona Federal reported net income of over $44 million for the year, with a net worth ratio of 9.71%, earning the credit union "well capitalized" status with the National Credit Union Administration. On December 31, 2012, Arizona Federal returned $3 million in excess earnings to actively participating members through a program called PLUs (Payback for Loyalty to Us), which coincided with the credit union reintroducing itself with a renewed emphasis on the cooperative model (Experience the Power of Us). On January 1, 2013, Arizona Federal introduced a monthly membership fee of $3 per month. Since PLUs began in 2012, the cooperative has paid more than $24 million back to its members.

In 2015, Arizona Federal introduced personal finance web series: My Comeback. Through this reality show, Arizona Federal partnered contestants with Arizona Federal financial coaches, who would assist the contestants in turning around their financial lives. In August 2015, the series announced Thalia as the winner - giving all contestants $5000 for participating and the winning contestant $20,000.

Arizona Federal maintains a unique pricing strategy. Its member/owners contribute monthly membership dues of $3 to the cooperative, which provides them with access to all of the credit union's services including: identity protection and credit monitoring services, personal financial management software, mobile apps and mobile deposit services, complimentary credit report review and consultation, transaction services, car buying services, complimentary insurance consultation, investment services, discounts at national retailers, and more. Participating members also share in the proceeds of the credit union through the PLUs program - indicative of a true cooperative business model.

The credit union was also among the first to introduce CardPower, a tool for controlling your Arizona Federal debit and credit cards, EyePrint ID, for logging into your mobile account with your eyes, and fingerprint log-in for Android devices - when supported by the device.

Community Services

Arizona Federal Credit Union in Phoenix is active in local philanthropic and financial education activities through its Community Services department. Some of the activities include: pairing with local city governments to provide financial education workshops for their employees, donating scholarship monies for local higher education schools to distribute, providing assistance to the Phoenix 100 Club through employee giving, organizing holiday celebration including gifts, needed basics and lunch for a local school in need, and more.