Our credit union was chartered on April 25, 1938, under the name O.C. Postal Federal Credit Union. This charter was signed by ten men dedicated to creating a financial institution for the postal workers in the Oklahoma City area. Little did these men know what kind of impact this credit union would make in the future.
At the time, the field of membership was limited to employees of the Oklahoma City Post Office and immediate members of their families. These family members had to live under the same roof as the employee in order to be eligible. Family members not living under the same roof were not eligible for membership until 1978. At this point a membership drive started and the credit union displayed a painting of a house with its roof being raised to allow more members to join.
The credit union started out with only seven people serving on the board. This number was later changed to eleven board members. The first financial report showed fifteen members with only $248.50 in assets and two employees serving members.
In 1945, the credit union's board of directors decided to include all government agencies in addition to the post office's field of membership. This amended charter included all federal employees not already served by Tinker Federal Credit Union, El Reno Reformatory Federal Credit Union, and FAA Employees Credit Union.
In 1950, a credit committee was formed by three board members to help members by counseling them financially during difficult times, and also to determine whether members were eligible for loans through the credit union. This committee successfully did this and met twice weekly until 1987. After this disbandment, employees were hired to do loans and were given the authority to determine whether members were eligible. This was a drastic change for the credit union, but it helped give faster and more efficient service to the membership.
By 1963, the credit union's 25th anniversary, it had reached $2 million in assets. It was also now open to Postal workers and government employees not only in Oklahoma County, but also in the five surrounding counties. The name officially changed that year to U.S. Employees O.C. Federal Credit Union and in 2008 adopted a new trade name USE Federal Credit Union.
We have grown from a credit union that had only two employees in 1938, to having around forty today, and from having only $248.50 in assets, to nearly $108 million.