Navy Federal Credit Union
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Navy Federal Credit Union (or Navy Federal) is an American global
credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...
headquartered in
Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...
, chartered and regulated under the authority of the
National Credit Union Administration The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is an American government-backed insurer of Credit unions in the United States, credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. deposi ...
(NCUA). Navy Federal is the largest natural member (or retail) credit union in the United States, both in asset size and in membership. As of December 2024, Navy Federal has US $180.8 billion in assets and has 14.5 million members.


History

Navy Federal was originally incorporated on 17 January 1933 as the Navy Department Employees' Credit Union of the
District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
(NDCU). Only Navy Department employees who were members of the federal employees' labor union and members of their families were eligible to join. The next year, President Roosevelt signed into law the
Federal Credit Union Act The Federal Credit Union Act is an Act of Congress enacted in 1934. The purpose of the law was to make credit available and promote thrift through a national system of nonprofit, cooperative credit unions. This Act established the federal Credit ...
, which would eventually become the basis of business for the credit union. On July 17, 1947, the credit union was granted a federal charter as a credit union, named Navy Department Employees Federal Credit Union (NDEFCU). It also expanded membership to include all Navy personnel in the Washington, D.C., area, both military and civilian. In 1954, the credit union changed its charter again to open membership to Navy and Marine Corps officers everywhere, regardless of geographic location, and changed its name to Navy Federal Credit Union. Eventually, membership was opened to enlisted personnel as well. By April 1962, the credit union reached a milestone, becoming the biggest credit union in the world, a distinction which it still holds today. In 1977, the credit union moved into its current headquarters in Vienna, Virginia, eventually undergoing several major expansions of its facility there. In 2003, the credit union opened its membership further, to include Navy contractors. There have also been several times in the credit union's history that the NCUA has asked Navy Federal to merge with or absorb other credit unions that were experiencing financial or other difficulties. Members of these prior credit unions remained members of Navy Federal after the merger (following the NCUA's policy of "once a member, always a member"). In September 2010, Navy Federal Credit Union announced plans to absorb/merge with USA Fed, stating that joint operations would begin 4 October 2010 under the Navy Federal banner. In May 2008, Navy Federal Credit Union widened its membership to include the entire
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
, which made eligible all active duty, retired, and reserve
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
,
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
, and
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
personnel, as well as contractor and civilian personnel within the Department of Defense. In March 2013, Navy Federal Credit Union further widened its membership to include all
Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...
members and employees as well. In 2020, Navy Federal Credit Union also expanded its membership to include
Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
members. In 2014, Navy Federal expanded its Vienna headquarters. As of March 2025, 5,200 employees worked at the Vienna location. An increase in membership also led to three expansions: one at the credit union's San Diego location in 2010, where Navy Federal has 185 employees; one at the credit union's Pensacola location in 2015, where Navy Federal has 8,800 employees; and one at the Winchester Operations location in 2019 where Navy Federal has 2,600 employees. As of 2025, Navy Federal is by far the largest credit union in the United States, with total assets nearly three times that of the second-largest US credit union.


Legal issues

In 2017, Navy Federal Credit Union settled a class action lawsuit over millions of unwanted phone calls, many of which had gone to individuals who were not credit union members and specifically asked not to be contacted. NFCU settled a similar class action lawsuit in 2020 over unwanted text messages, paying out $9.25 million. In 2021, Navy Federal Credit Union settled another class action lawsuit over a non-sufficient funds fee lawsuit over breached member agreements where over 700,000 members were charged multiple insufficient funds fees. In November 2024, “Navy Federal was ordered by the CFPB (
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, Payday lo ...
) to pay more than $95 million in redress and fines for charging illegal overdraft fees, the largest penalty ever charged to a credit union for illegal activity. Navy Federal charged surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases, even when customer accounts showed sufficient funds at the time of the transaction. It also showed that funds from peer-to-peer transfer services were available to spend when they were in fact still pending, and then charged overdraft fees when customers attempted to spend those funds.”


Membership

Navy Federal's field of membership is set by the
National Credit Union Administration The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is an American government-backed insurer of Credit unions in the United States, credit unions in the United States, one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. deposi ...
(NCUA). As with all federally-chartered credit unions, membership in Navy Federal is limited to individuals sharing the common bond defined in its credit union
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the ...
. Membership in Navy Federal is limited to: *All
Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...
(DoD) uniformed personnel —
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
,
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
,
Space Force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...
, and
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
retirees and annuitants *All DoD reservists —
Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
,
Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...
, and
Marine Corps Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included raiding ashore (often in supp ...
— regardless of drill status — retirees and annuitants *All
US Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, mi ...
uniformed personnel — regardless of drill status — civilian employees, auxiliarists, retirees, and annuitants *All
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG) is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
and
Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...
personnel — regardless of drill status — civilian employees, retirees, and annuitants *All DoD Officer Candidate programs: midshipmen and cadets at the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
,
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...
,
United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...
,
United States Coast Guard Academy The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is the United States service academies, U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education t ...
, and the
United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipman, midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serv ...
; personnel in Officer Candidate programs *All DoD current and retired civilian employees *U.S. government employees assigned to DoD installations *DoD contractors assigned to U.S. government installations *Employees of Navy Federal Credit Union *Family members, including grandparents, parents, spouses, siblings, grandchildren, cohabitants and children (including adopted, foster and stepchildren). *All Honorably Discharged Veterans


Organization

Navy Federal is chartered with NCUA as a single-sponsor credit union, with its sponsor being the Department of Defense. Like all credit unions, Navy Federal is governed by a board of volunteers, elected by and from its membership. Navy Federal also has a separate subsidiary, named Navy Federal Investment Services, which operates as a
credit union service organization Credit union service organizations (CUSOs) are United States corporate entities that are owned by federally insured credit unions and provide services to them. These are often used by credit unions to share common services between several credit ...
(CUSO). CUSOs were established by NCUA as a way for credit unions to pursue product offerings that would normally be outside of the purview of a credit union.


Employees

As of March 2025, the credit union had over 25,100 employees worldwide. Navy Federal, founded in 1933, has never had a
layoff A layoff or downsizing is the temporary suspension or permanent termination of employment of an employee or, more commonly, a group of employees (collective layoff) for business reasons, such as personnel management or downsizing an organization ...
, choosing instead to move employees to other departments to avoid layoffs. It was ranked number 74 on the 2025 '' Fortune's''
100 Best Companies to Work For The 100 Best Companies to Work For is an annual list published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks U.S. companies based on employee happiness and perks''.'' Like the ''Fortune'' 500, the list includes both public and private companies. The li ...
list, which is produced by the Great Place to Work Institute. They were 95th in 2012, rose to 56th in 2013, 96th in 2014, 72nd in 2015, 44th in 2016, 29th in 2019 19th in 2020, 59th 2021, 76th in 2022, 53rd in 2023, and 37th in 2024. On March 1, 2024, Dietrich Kuhlmann was appointed President and CEO of Navy Federal Credit Union, succeeding Mary McDuffie.


Services

Navy Federal operates branches in many U.S. metro areas as well as in some overseas locations, comprising a total of 367 branches worldwide as of March 2025. In addition, members can make transactions through the
CO-OP A cooperative (also known as co-operative, coöperative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democr ...
network of more than 30,000 ATMs in the U.S. and Canada without incurring surcharges or fees. Major banking competitors include Pentagon Federal Credit Union and
USAA The United Services Automobile Association (USAA) is an American financial services company providing insurance and banking products exclusively to members of the military, veterans and their families. It was founded in 1922 in San Antonio, Texas ...
.


Charitable contributions

Navy Federal Credit Union engages in multiple charitable partnerships, including a decades-long relationship with
Toys for Tots Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. It was founded in 1947 by reservist Major Bill Hendricks. The Marine T ...
, dedicated to helping families surrounding the
Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...
, headquarters, and a partnership with the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
's Stick Tap for Service Program. Navy Federal has also made multiple disaster relief donations, most recently a $100,000 donation t
United Way of West Florida
to assist communities near their Pensacola, Florida offices that were adversely affected by Hurricane Sally in October 2020. Navy Federal recently donated $100,000 through its Dollars for Doers program which, based on nominations from the credit union’s employees, awards 100 nonprofits with grants. Navy Federal donated to U.S. Vets in November 2021 in honor of Veteran’s Month. During Navy Federal’s annual drive for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation in the 2021 holiday season, members and employees donated over $20,000 and 20,000 toys to families in need. In 2022, Navy Federal’s members and employees donated over $33,000 and over 22,000 toys to families in need during the Toys for Tots campaigns. In 2023, the credit union donated more than one million meals to servicemembers, veterans, and their families as a part of its recent military food insecurity campaign, No Plate Left Behind.


Awards

Navy Federal Credit Union has received the following awards and honors: * Rated a TrustScore of 4.7 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot. *Top Military Financial Institution by The Military Wallet *Best Mortgage Refinance Company by Money *Ranked #1 for Customer Experience Among Multichannel Banks/Credit Unions in Forrester’s 2021 US Customer Experience (CX) survey *Ranked #1 for Customer Experience Among Credit Card Issuers in Forrester’s 2021 US Customer Experience (CX) survey *Ranked "Credit Union of the Year" by United States Navy for 15th consecutive year in a row *Ranked 7th in Computerworld’s Best Places to Work in IT for 2021 *Ranked 25th in “75 Best Large Workplaces for Women” list by FORTUNE in 2021 *Ranked #1 for Customer Experience Among Multichannel Banks/Credit Unions in Forrester’s 2021 US Customer Experience (CX) survey *Ranked #1 for Customer Experience Among Credit Card Issuers in Forrester’s 2021 US Customer Experience (CX) survey *Received the highest score in the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Consumer Financing Satisfaction Study *Ranked 59th in “100 Best Companies to Work For” list by FORTUNE in 2021 *One of America's Best Employers for Veterans, Best Employers for Diversity, and Best Employers for New Grads by ''Forbes'' *One of ''GOBankingRates'' Best Credit Unions of 2021 *Top Credit Union by ''Bankrate 2022'' *Best Mortgage Lender by ''Bankrate'' *Top 100 Best Banks by GOBankingRates *One of GOBankingRates Best Credit Unions of 2022 *Best Home Equity Loans of 2020: Best Customer Experience by ''Money.com'' *Best Mortgage Lender by ''U.S. News & World Report'' *4th in Customer Experience Excellence by KPMG in 2020, falling from 1st in 2019 *Best Overall Personal Loan of 2022 for Veterans & Military Members from Forbes *Ranked as the 4th Top Workplace in the Washington, D.C., area by The Washington Post *Ranked #1 for Customer Experience Among Multichannel Banks/Credit Unions in Forrester’s 2022 US Customer Experience (CX) survey *Best Auto Loans for New Car Purchase in 2022 by Bankrate *Ranked 35th in “100 Best Large Workplaces for Women” list by FORTUNE in 2022 *Ranked 53rd in "100 Best companies to Work for" by FORTUNE *One of GOBankingRates Best Credit Unions of 2023. *Ranked 84th in “America’s Best Employers For Women” list by Forbes in 2023 *Ranked 88th in “Best Workplaces for Millennials” list by FORTUNE in 2023 *Money’s Best Overall Credit Union for Military Members in 2023-2024 *U.S. Veterans Magazine’s Top Veteran-Friendly Company in 2023 *Ranked 3rd in “Best Employers in Virginia” by Forbes in 2023 *Ranked 8th in “Best Employers in Maryland” by Forbes in 2023 *Ranked 13th in “Best Workplaces in Financial Services & Insurance” list by FORTUNE in 2023 *Ranked 14th in “Best Places to Work in IT” list by Computerworld in 2023 *Ranked 33rd in “100 Best Large Workplaces for Women” list by FORTUNE in 2023 *Ranked 84th in “America's 100 Most Loved Workplaces” list by Newsweek in 2023 *Ranked 45th in “Best Workplaces for Parents” list by Great Place To Work® in 2023 *GoBankingRates’ Best Balance Transfer Credit Card for 2023 *Ranked 69th in “America’s Best Large Employers” list by Forbes in 2024 *The Motley Fool Ascent’s Best Bank for Veterans in 2024 * Latino Leaders Magazine’s Best Banking Company for Latinos to Work For in 2024 *RippleMatch’s Campus Forward Award for Large Early Career Programs in 2024 *The Balance’s Best Personal Loan for Military Members in 2024 *USA Today Customer Service Champion for 2024 *Ranked 87th in “America’s Best Employers for New Grads” list by Forbes in 2024 *Ranked 11th in “Largest Top Workplaces” list by The Washington Post in 2024 *Inman Best of Finance Award for 2024 *Business Group on Health Best Employers: Excellence in Health & Well-Being Award for 2024 *Ranked 12th in “America’s Best Employers For Tech Workers” list by Forbes in 2024 *Ranked 54th in “America’s Best Employers For Veterans” list by Forbes in 2024 *Ranked 77th in “100 Companies That Care” list by People in 2024 *Ranked 77th in “Best Employers for Vets” list by Military Times in 2024 *Ranked 87th in “100 Best Large Workplaces for Millennials” list by FORTUNE in 2024 *Ranked 94th in “America's 100 Most Loved Workplaces” list by Newsweek in 2024 *Ranked 99th in “100 Best Large Workplaces for Women” list by FORTUNE in 2024 *Money’s Top 100 Best Banks in 2025 *Computer World’s Best Places to Work in IT in 2025 *Named to "America's Most Trusted Brands" list by USA Today in 2025 *Named to "America's Best Customer Service" list by USA Today in 2025 *Ranked 170th in "America's Most Innovative Companies" list by FORTUNE in 2025 *Ranked 5th in "America's Best Large Employers" list by Forbes in 2025


References


External links

* {{Authority control Credit unions based in Virginia Companies based in Vienna, Virginia Mutual companies of the United States American companies established in 1933 Banks established in 1933 United States Navy