Become a member
It costs $5 and takes 10 minutes
Open a savings account with $5 — that’s your share of the cooperative. From there, you’re a member-owner with access to every product, voting rights at the annual meeting, and your slice of any cooperative dividend.
Find the right account in 60 seconds
Five questions, then we’ll match you with the checking, savings, or loan that fits your situation. No hard sell — just a starting point.
Step 1 of 520%
We’re a member-owned credit union, not a bank. That means lower fees, better savings rates, and decisions made by humans who live in your community.
What are you most looking for?
Joining
The 4 steps
- 1Step 1Confirm eligibilityLive, work, worship, or attend school in NC, SC, or East TN. Or have an immediate family member who does. Most people qualify.
- 2Step 2Open your share account5 minutes online. We need: name, address, SSN, ID, $5 to fund the savings account that establishes membership.
- 3Step 3Open the products you actually wantOnce a member, you can open checking, savings, loans, cards — whatever fits. Add them now or later, on your timeline.
- 4Step 4Switch direct deposit + billsFree switch service: tell us where your direct deposit + recurring bills come from, we file the change forms with each. Most switches complete in 2 weeks.
Eligibility
Who can join
Live in our area
Any of 47 counties in NC, SC, or East TN. The full list is in our charter — most people in our service area automatically qualify.
Work in our area
If you commute in, you’re eligible — even if you live just outside the boundary.
Worship or attend school
Any place of worship or any K-12/college in our area qualifies.
Family of existing members
Spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild of any existing member — eligible nationwide.
Employer of a select-employee group
We have 240+ partner employers across the region. Check the eligibility tool to see if your employer is one of them.
Member of a partner association
AAA, alumni associations, professional societies — many are SEG partners. Tool will tell you.
What you get as a member-owner
Beyond just an account
Voting rights
Each member gets one vote on board elections + bylaw changes, regardless of account size. Annual meeting in March each year.
Cooperative dividend
When the credit union has a strong year, the board may declare a member dividend distributed pro-rata across savings + loan balances. Last paid in 2023 ($14M total).
Free financial advising
30-minute consult with a certified financial advisor for any member, free, once per year. Topics: debt, savings, retirement, college planning.
Member-rate processing
Business members get processing rates 0.5% below non-member rates — adds up fast.
Closing-cost grants
Income-qualified members get up to $5,000 in closing-cost grants on first home purchase. Funded by community reinvestment.
Education + workshops
Free in-branch and online financial workshops year-round. First-time homebuyer course, college planning, retirement basics, business credit.
Joining questions
What people ask
- 10 minutes if you have ID, SSN, and a debit card to fund the $5 share. We do live identity verification at the end (most people pass automatically).