NCUA official seal. (Source: NCUA)
MAUN Federal Credit Union in Kendall Park, N.J., hasn't officially opened its doors to members, but already has two distinguishable achievements in the credit union industry.
On Wednesday, the NCUA announced that MAUN FCU is the first federally-chartered credit union of the year and it's also the first accredited Muslim credit union in New Jersey officially approved by the NCUA.
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In a press release, the NCUA stated the charter became effective on April 26 and the credit union expects to open to members in June.
"The organizers of MAUN Federal Credit Union have worked hard to make this day possible," NCUA Chairman Todd M. Harper said. "Appropriately enough, 'Maun' means 'small kindness,' which is an apt way of describing a credit union's mission. The organizers recognized the unmet need for financial services in their community and set about to create a solution through the credit union cooperative business model, tailored specifically for their members. I am pleased we were able to help them fulfill their vision."
According to the NCUA, MAUN FCU will be an Islamic-faith-based, no-interest credit union whose not-for-profit, cooperative business model will fill a need for affordable, federally-insured financial services among members of its community. According to the credit union, it will serve and empower employees and members of the New Brunswick Islamic Center in New Brunswick, N.J., and employees and members of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in Monmouth Junction, the statement said.
Similarly in 2016, the Jafari No-Interest Credit Union in Houston became the first federally-chartered credit union of the year and was formed to provide financial services for those of the Muslim faith. In fact, Jafari No-Interest was critical to the formation of MAUN FCU as the new credit union has a mentoring agreement with Jafari No-Interest, and Jafari No-Interest provided assistance with the business plan and policy development during MAUN FCU's charter application process.
According to the NCUA, MAUN FCU will focus its first year of operations on non-interest-bearing consumer loans and offer the following products:
- Share savings accounts
- Direct deposit
- Wire transfer services
- ACH transfers
- Notary services
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Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
