PeoplesChoice Credit Union is a cooperative non-profit financial institution, organized as a corporation, and chartered by the State of Maine. Initially chartered in 1963, the credit union was founded by a group of parishioners from St. Joseph's Church in Biddeford, who served as volunteers to the credit union.
The credit union's offices were located in the church basement. By 1974, the offices were relocated to a new building behind the church property and with this move, the credit union became a full-fledged financial institution. Another milestone was reached in 1984, when the credit union purchased a former bank building in Biddeford to serve as the first branch office.
Up until September 2000, membership in the credit union was limited to the people and organizations sharing a common bond - parishioners of St. Joseph's and St. Ignatius, and select employee groups approved by its federal regulator, the National Credit Union Administration. Prior to this, PeoplesChoice Credit Union's growth was measured by additional members it acquired through relatives of the existing members, or through additional select employee groups.
PeoplesChoice Credit Union was granted a county charter from the State of Maine. Today, the field of membership now includes all people who live, work, and/or attend school in York and Cumberland County, Maine, immediate family members, organizations, and associations of all such persons.
On October 2, 2002, PeoplesChoice Credit Union opened the Wells Office location. With the addition of this new office, it allows us to bring the credit union philosophy to the southern part of the county.
In the fall of 2007, PeoplesChoice finished construction of our operations facility in Saco. The idea behind this facility is to support our future growth for many years to come and allow us to offer financial education classes for up to 100 students at a time. We have also donated the use of our building to local non-profits for meetings and events, which earned us the 2008 Biddeford-Saco Community Service Award for the generous use of our building.
Since our founding in 1963, we have faced many challenges. But through the dedication, commitment, and hard work of our credit union volunteers and employees, past and present, we can look back on an inspiring history of growth and service to our credit union members throughout southern Maine and beyond.
Our history is more than just financial numbers and events; it is a story of the individuals who have given unselfishly, countless hours of volunteer service to our credit union. As members, we offer a large debt of gratitude to those individuals who pioneered the credit union idea in the beginning, and the founding board of directors, and committee members who accepted unknown challenges, sharing a common dream regarding the future success of PeoplesChoice Credit Union.
We look forward to continuing our proud tradition of offering products and services to you with what we call unbanking.
