Construction Alert: Black Hills Energy will be performing a gas line upgrade at our 501 N 46th St. location in Lincoln on May 13. The work area will be located approximately 10 feet behind Lane 1 of our drive-thru. Lane 1 will remain open; however, vehicles will need to navigate around construction equipment in the area. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
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Common Questions
Credit Union FAQs
Answers to your questions
A credit union is a cooperative, not-for-profit financial institution organized to promote thrift and provide credit to members. It is member-owned and controlled through a board of directors elected by the membership. The board serves on a volunteer basis and may hire a management team to run the credit union. The board also establishes and revises policy, sets dividend and loan rates, and directs certain operations. The result: members are provided with a safe, convenient place to save and borrow at reasonable rates at an institution which exists to benefit them, not to make a profit.
Credit Union
Bank
Purpose
Not for profit, not for charity, but for service.
To make a Profit.
Definition
A financial cooperative owned and controlled by its members
Owned by shareholders who may or may not have accounts there
Structure
Democratic with every member having an equal voice with one vote.
Depositors are not allowed to vote. Only shareholders may vote.
Directors
Directors are elected by members and volunteer their time.
Board Members are elected by their shareholders and are paid.
Earnings
Earnings are returned to members in the form of dividends, higher savings rates, lower loan rates, and improved services
Earnings are returned to shareholders.
Most financial institutions are owned by stockholders, who own a part of the institution and intend on making money from their investment. A credit union doesn’t operate in that manner. Rather, each credit union member owns one “share” of the organization. The user of credit union services is also an owner, and is even entitled to vote on important issues, such as the election of member representatives to serve on the board of directors.
The first credit union cooperatives started in Germany over a century ago. Today, credit unions are found everywhere in the world. The credit union movement started in this country in Manchester, New Hampshire. There, the St. Mary’s Cooperative Credit Association, a church-affiliated credit union, opened its doors in 1909. Today, one in every three Americans is a credit union member.
The primary purpose in furthering their goal of service is to encourage members to save money. Another purpose is to offer loans to members. In fact, credit unions have traditionally made loans to people of ordinary means. Credit unions can charge lower rates for loans (as well as pay higher dividends on savings) because they are nonprofit cooperatives. Rather than paying profits to stockholders, credit unions return earnings to members in the form of dividends or improved services.
Yes. All savings accounts are insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA, the National Credit Union Administration, an agency of the federal government.
Anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in Lancaster or Seward County is eligible for membership. Those outside of Lancaster or Seward County are also welcome to join through a family member, participating employer or Select Employee Group
Liberty First’s routing number is 304982468.
There are two options for updating your address at Liberty First Credit Union.
1. Sign on to Online Banking and go to the “More” tab. You will be able to complete an address change here. This is a secure site that only you should know your login password to so a signature is not needed. Please make the change on the “Profile” tab. Be sure to press “Update Profile” at the bottom of the page.
2. All address changes made outside of Liberty First’s Online Access systems require a signature. This is done to help in the prevention of identity theft. An adult can sign for a minor child if the adult is on the account. Changes can be requested by the primary or joint owner of an account. However, changes on an individual account require the signature of the account holder. Please stop by any of our locations to complete an address change.
If your LFCU MasterCard Debit/Credit Card is missing, lost or stolen, please notify Liberty First immediately at (402) 465-1000. In the case of a stolen card, you will want to notify the police department as well. Call 1-800-472-3272 or 800-262-2024 to report your losses 24/7 if you are in the US. If your card is lost or stolen while outside of the US please call 973-682-2652.
With us you are not just a number, you are a member-owner.
We work hard for you, providing solutions to meet your financial goals and banking with your purpose in mind.
