Denton County Living Well Magazine May/June 2018 | Page 15

Maybe It Is Time…
To Join Your Local
Credit Union
By Glen McKenzie
P
erhaps, you have passed by
a branch location or viewed
advertisements and billboards
around town for DATCU, the lo-
cal credit union serving North
Texas since 1936. Have you ever
thought about whether you are eligible
to join the credit union or wondered
how a credit union is different from a
bank? If so, you might find the follow-
ing information interesting.
Years ago, you had to be a teacher
to join the local credit union. That is
no longer true. DATCU is a community
charter credit union with membership
open to anyone living or working in
Denton, Wise, Cooke, Clay, or Mon-
tague Counties. You can also join
DATCU if there is someone in your im-
mediate family who is a member. The
fact is that you are probably eligible to
join and may not know it.
What is the real difference between a
credit union and a bank? First, credit
unions are owned by their members,
so when you join, you are an owner;
they are also governed by a volunteer
board of directors. As a not-for-profit
financial cooperative, credit union
profits usually come back to members
in the form of lower loan rates, higher
deposit yields, lower fees and free
services––like free checking with no
minimum balance requirement. Credit
Unions exists to serve the best inter-
est of members. In good years, credit
unions may give year-end dividends
to their member owners. In fact, since
2009, DATCU has given back $11.3
million dollars to its members in year-
end bonus dividends. Stockholders
own and control banks with banks
having a paid board of directors. At
both credit unions and banks, your
money is safe because the federal gov-
ernment insures them––banks by the
FDIC and credit unions by the NCUA.
When asking members what they love
about credit unions, you hear: great
service, great rates, and giving back.
DATCU has been serving North Tex-
ans for almost 82 years with the pri-
mary philosophy of “people helping
people.” DATCU offers a full array of
financial options such as free check-
ing, savings, auto, home, and per-
sonal loans, plus rewards credit cards,
CDs, IRAs, home and auto insurance
and retirement planning. At DATCU,
everyone is treated exactly the same
regardless of how much money one
has with the credit union.
DATCU was born right here in North
Texas and is deeply committed to this
community. Serving both financially
and with staff volunteerism, they sup-
port area schools, nonprofits, and
civic organizations. A few of these
include the Children’s Advocacy Cen-
ter for Denton County, Communities in
Schools of North Texas, Health Ser-
vices of North Texas, PediPlace, Serve
Denton, and United Way of Denton
County.
Credit unions make a great financial
home and DATCU would be delight-
ed to welcome you to their family of
over 96,000 members. With all of the
latest features of today’s technology,
you can conveniently begin the mem-
bership process online at datcu.org.
Members will have access to 12 con-
venient branch locations, over 55,000
ATMs worldwide, and the ability to do
transactions from a mobile phone or
online. Simply put, DATCU can take
care of all your financial needs.
Glen McKenzie is the President/CEO of DATCU Credit Union and may be
reached at 866-387-8585.
DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | MAY/JUNE 2018
13