Northern Credit Union has been helping our neighbors live their best financial lives for over 60 years (but our friends tell us we don’t look a day over 40).
Our History
We’ve come a long way since a group of forward-thinking New York Air Brake employees founded Northern in 1955, back when our name was New York Air Brake Federal Credit Union. They had a dream of a safe and secure place that put their best interests and happiness before profits—and now we’re flourishing in the reality of that dream.
As their dream grew, so did we, and we added more products and services to serve our family. In 1982, with steady growth in the tri-county region, we became NYAB/Tri-County Teachers Federal Credit Union, before becoming Northern Federal Credit Union in 1996.
In June 2022, Northern merged with Countryside Credit Union in Syracuse to serve over 41,000 members! Countryside Credit Union currently serves Onondaga County, New York, and operates with one branch location. Countryside FCU was chartered in 1941 as the GLF (Grange League Federation) Employee Federal Credit Union in Ithaca, NY. Later merging within the agricultural community, they began to serve Agway employees and in 2005 opened membership to persons in Onondaga County, New York.
Together, our members have taken us from Massena, Watertown, and Syracuse to China, England, and Washington. Near or far, they are still, and will always be, part of the Northern family. Our partnership with Countryside creates a synergy of the vision, people, experience, capabilities, and resources of two strong credit unions, benefiting members, communities, and employees for the long-term.
Our Vision:
As the recognized Standard of Excellence, we humbly embrace the higher expectations and responsibility to continuously improve for the betterment of those we serve.
Our Mission:
We are driven to improve the financial lives of those we serve through empowerment and personalized solutions.
Our Core Values lead how we operate, each and every day:
We are People First, Visionary Owners who model respect, fairness & compassion and are:
- Driven by a common passion to “WOW” others in consistently meeting or exceeding their expectations.
- Relentless in differentiating ourselves while fostering lasting relationships through our high-touch, high-tech culture.
- Focused on conducting all business, internally and externally, with the highest degree of honesty, integrity and humility.
- Dedicated to ensuring that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts” through effective communication and collaboration.
- Committed to challenging the boundaries of ourselves and others to maximize our growth and performance.
- Devoted to strengthening our communities through volunteerism and thoughtful financial investments.
…all while having fun!