About Us

Credit Union of Dodge City is a not-for-profit financial cooperative providing the best service to our most important assets - our members.

The mission of a credit union is to provide and promote the use of a variety of financial services which feature particular benefits and advantages over those generally available from other banking sources, with the specific intent of helping members gain some particular measure of personal financial success.

History

Credit Union of Dodge City Founding History

  • In January 1939, a group of people who were associated with the Dodge City Cooperative Exchange, determined there was a need for a financial cooperative to serve the community in which they lived. They were the charter members who formed the Exchange Federal Credit Union. The first regular monthly meeting was called to order by our founder, Mr. Henry Peterson, on January 5, 1940. The original field of membership included: members, patrons, employees and family members of the Dodge City Coop.
  • In the beginning, the credit union was housed in the old cooperative building, moving to the second floor of the new cooperative building in 1957. The credit union experienced rapid growth and in 1964 moved into a building of its own at the present location on Trail Street.
  • In 1971, the credit union changed from a federal charter to a state charter. In 1974, the credit union opened its membership to those living or working within a 75 mile radius of Dodge City.
  • Recently the Credit Union has done renovations to both the Trail Street and Cimarron location and an expansion at the Frontview location.
  • On July 1, 2008 Credit Union of Dodge City expanded its field of membership to include anyone who lives or works in the following Kansas counties:

    Barber, Barton, Clark, Comanche, Edwards, Ellis, Ellsworth, Finney, Ford, Gove, Graham, Grant, Gray, Greeley, Hamilton, Harper, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearney, Kingman, Kiowa, Lane Logan, Meade, Morton, Ness, Osborne, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno, Rice, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Scott, Seward, Sheridan, Stafford, Stanton, Stevens, Thomas, Trego, Wallace, Wichita


     
  • On December 17, 2015 Credit Union of Dodge City expanded its field of membership to include individuals, employees, volunteers and patrons of the Dodge City Chapter of AMBUCS.
  • We can now boast over 12 thousand members and over $60 million in assets. Over the years, Credit Union of Dodge City has grown and been successful because of the hard work and dedication of hundreds of volunteers. Although we outgrew that original office, we will never outgrow our original motto: "Not for profit, not for charity, but for service."

History of Credit Unions in General

The credit union idea is a simple one: People should be able to pool their money and make loans to each other. It's an idea that evolved from cooperative activities in 19th century Europe. Since that time, the idea's guiding principles have remained the same: (1) Only people who are credit union members should borrow there; (2) loans are made for "prudent and productive" purposes; (3) a person's desire to repay (character) is considered more important than the ability (income) to repay. Members are, after all, borrowing their own money and that of their friends. These principles still govern most of the world's credit unions. As the 20th century began, the credit union idea surfaced in Canada. Canada's successful efforts profoundly influenced two Americans: Pierre Jay, the Massachusetts banking commissioner, and Edward A. Filene, a Boston merchant.

Mission

Your credit union is the best investment for your money! As a valued member/owner of Credit Union of Dodge City, we strive to provide members with a wide variety of savings and loan products as well as services to meet all your individual needs. Credit Union of Dodge City is committed to providing the best financial service and safety to its members. Whatever your goal is, we can help you get there!

Affiliations

Regulation and Supervision

Credit unions are chartered under either federal or state law. Federally chartered credit unions are regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), an independent agency of the U.S. Government. NCUA's three board members are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. State chartered credit unions are regulated by their state credit union department. NCUA administers the federal insurance fund (NCUSIF, which covers all federal credit unions and most state chartered credit unions. No taxpayer money is used for regulating and overseeing federal credit unions, as all activities of NCUA and the NCUSIF are funded by credit unions.

Philosophy and Structure

How does a Credit Union work?

Credit unions are democratically owned and controlled institutions based on "people helping people" principles. Members elect credit union boards of directors; each member has an equal vote, regardless of how much he or she has on deposit. Only members may serve as directors, and directors serve without compensation. Credit unions have no outside stockholders, so after reserves are set aside, earnings are returned to members in the form of higher dividends on savings, lower loan rates and lower cost services.