VyStar Credit Union

Last updated
VyStar Credit Union
Company type Credit union
Industry Financial services
Founded1952
Headquarters VyStar Tower,
Number of locations
80+ full-service branches 18 high school branches
Key people
Brian Wolfburg, President & CEO
P. Kem Siddons, Chairman, Board of Directors
Products Savings; checking; consumer loans; mortgages; credit cards; investment services; retirement planning; financial counseling; online banking; insurance; underwriting; money markets; certification of deposits;
Total assets $13.0B USD (Oct. 2021)
Number of employees
2,000
Website https://vystarcu.org

VyStar Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative that is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It offers a comprehensive selection of products, including deposit and loan services for consumers and businesses, as well as investments, insurance, retirement planning and financial counseling. Founded in 1952 as Jax Navy Federal Credit Union, VyStar is the largest mortgage lender and the fourth-largest financial institution in Northeast Florida. It is regulated by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation and federally insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance (NCUSIF) offered by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

Contents

History

Originally named Jax Navy Federal Credit Union, VyStar was chartered in April 1952 by 12 founding members with $60 at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The mission of the founding members was to provide civil service and military personnel and their families a safe place to save and borrow money. One year later, 1,100 members had joined, and by the end of the decade, membership had grown to 9,178. By September 1995, assets had reached $1 billion as membership and branch locations continued to be added.

In 2002, Jax Navy celebrated its 50th anniversary with a rebranding effort that included a name change to VyStar Credit Union and approval from the states of Florida and Georgia to expand its field of membership to all who lived or worked in Duval, Clay, Nassau, St. Johns or Baker counties in Florida, and Camden, Charlton, Glynn and Ware in Georgia. Its membership base was later expanded to much of northern Florida and southeast Georgia. The name came from a combination of "vying" (meaning contending with other local financial institutions) and "star" (to highlight the outstanding work of its employees). [1]

In 2015, VyStar surpassed 500,000 members.

In 2018, VyStar relocated its headquarters from the Cascone Building on Jacksonville's Westside to the newly-christened VyStar Tower, a 23-story high-rise on the Northbank of the St. Johns River which had been oft-renamed since its opening in 1989. At the time, the move was the largest corporate relocation to downtown Jacksonville since 2011. [2]

In 2022, VyStar Credit Union celebrated its 70th anniversary.

Online Banking

In February 2016, VyStar transitioned to a new Online banking platform. This change required every user of online banking to re-enroll. This caused extremely high traffic volume, which shut down the system and caused members to lose access to their online banking for approximately one week. [3]

A system change in May 2022 resulted in a longer outage which, again, left members without online access to their accounts and overwhelmed VyStar's call center with calls related to the online banking matter. [4]

Organization

VyStar is a not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members and governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. As of February 2020, VyStar has 59 full-service branches, 16 high-school branches and serves more than 700,000 members with approximately $9 billion in assets, making it the 16th-largest credit union by asset size among the more than 5,500 credit unions in the U.S. and the second-largest credit union headquartered in Florida.

VyStar also has more than 230 ATMs located in Northeast and Central Florida and access to more than 20,000 surcharge-free ATMs in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

VyStar has more than 1,900 employees, making it one of Northeast Florida's largest employers.

Membership

VyStar membership is extended to anyone who lives or works in the 49 contiguous counties of Central to North Florida, in addition to the Southeast Georgia counties of Camden, Charlton, Glynn and Ware.

In August 2019, VyStar announced its purchase of Citizens State Bank, a Florida state-chartered bank headquartered in Perry, Florida, with $280 million in assets. At the time, CSB had four locations—two in Gainesville and one each in Perry and Steinhatchee.

VyStar Academy of Business and Finance

In 2007, VyStar worked with the Business and Finance Academy at Bartram Trail High School to form the VyStar Academy of Business and Finance and open the first VyStar high school credit union branch. At VyStar's high-school branches, students are taught skills related to the financial services and business management industries. The programs are student-run, which provides experience with the inner workings of key financial services, such as loans, credit cards, budgets and investment accounts. [5] [6]

Since 2007, VyStar has opened 15 additional high school branches at Fleming Island High School, Pedro Menendez High School, Samuel W. Wolfson High School, Jean Ribault High School, Orange Park High School, Yulee High School, West Nassau High School, Middleburg High School, First Coast High School, Palatka High School, Matanzas High School, Fletcher High School, Mandarin High School, Fernandina Beach High School and Clay High School. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville, Florida</span> City in Florida, United States

Jacksonville is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonville consolidated in 1968. It is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Bank of Canada</span> Commercial bank

The National Bank of Canada is the sixth largest commercial bank in Canada. It is headquartered in Montreal, and has branches in most Canadian provinces and 2.4 million personal clients. National Bank is the largest bank in Quebec, and the second largest financial institution in the province, after Desjardins credit union. National Bank's Institution Number is 006 and its SWIFT code is BNDCCAMMINT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truist Financial</span> Banking company in the U.S.

Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was formed in December 2019 as the result of the merger of BB&T and SunTrust Banks. Its bank operates 2,781 branches in 15 states and Washington, D.C., offering consumer and commercial banking, securities brokerage, asset management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. It is on the list of largest banks in the United States by assets; as of August 2023, it is the 9th largest bank with $514 billion in assets. As of January 2021, Truist Insurance Holdings is the seventh largest insurance broker in the world, with $2.27 billion in annual revenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navy Federal Credit Union</span> Credit union in the United States

Navy Federal Credit Union is an American global credit union headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, chartered and regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Navy Federal is the largest natural member credit union in the United States, both in asset size and in membership. As of January 2024, Navy Federal has US $171 billion in assets and has 13.5 million members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UW Credit Union</span> Credit Union

The University of Wisconsin Credit Union is a credit union headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. As of 2021, UW Credit Union has more than 300,000 members with $4.8 billion in assets and is the third largest credit union in the state of Wisconsin. UW Credit Union currently operates 31 full-service branches throughout the Madison and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, as well as single locations at or near UW System campuses in Whitewater, Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, and Stevens Point. It also provides over 100 surcharge-free ATMs in Wisconsin. UW Credit Union provides an array of financial services including educational loans, mortgages, consumer loans, checking, savings and investment products, credit and debit cards. UW Credit Union also offers digital banking services such as Web Branch, Mobile App and Wallet, Zelle, mobile deposit, online bill payment, automated phone banking system, and money transfers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Security Service Federal Credit Union</span>

Security Service Federal Credit Union (SSFCU) is a credit union headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, federally chartered and federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). With more than $10.5 billion in assets, Security Service serves more than 800,000 members, and operates 66 locations throughout Texas, Colorado and Utah. Security Service is the largest credit union in San Antonio, Texas, and is among the largest credit unions in the United States. The credit union provides access to more than 5,000 credit union locations nationwide through the CU Service Centers shared branching network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co.</span> American financial services company

Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. (SWD) was one of the largest mortgage banking, real estate and insurance firms in the Southeast of the United States. It was founded in 1884 as the property management Telfair Stockton Company and operated until 1983 when it was broken up by its new owner Phillips Petroleum Company. The assets were sold to First National Bank of Boston and Gate Petroleum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Tech Federal Credit Union</span>

First Tech Federal Credit Union is a federally chartered credit union headquartered in Hillsboro, Oregon. It is regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). First Tech has over 650,000 members, and over 12 billion dollars in assets with 33 branches located mostly in high technology business centers of California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and four other states. It was the first financial institution to offer telephone interactive voice response access and online banking.

iTHINK Financial was formed in 1969 to serve the employees of IBM. iTHINK Financial is a state chartered, federally insured credit union with more than $1.5 billion in assets and more than 95,000 Members. iTHINK Financial has 22 branches located throughout Florida and Georgia and approximately 380 employees. iTHINK Financial’s headquarters are located in Delray Beach, Florida.

Delta Community Credit Union is a credit union headquartered in Georgia, a state in the United States. Delta Community Credit Union has $8.5B in assets and more than 430,000 members. USA Credit Unions has ranked Delta Community as among the top 25 largest credit unions in the U.S. Members include residents in 16 Atlanta metro area counties. The credit union serves the following companies: Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A, RaceTrac and UPS. As a not-for-profit credit union, their earnings must be returned to their members. According to Credit Unions Online, "the largest credit union in Georgia is Delta Community Credit Union...". Delta Community is a state-chartered credit union organized under the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance and federally insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. There are 30 branch offices. It is a member of CO-OP, formerly known as CU Service Centers, a nationwide cooperative that has 3,500 member credit unions with +5,000 branches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Community Bank</span> Bank holding company

United Community Banks, Inc. is an American bank. United is one of the largest full-service financial institutions in the Southeast, with $25.9 billion in assets, and 161 offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meridian Credit Union</span> Canadian credit union

Meridian Credit Union Ltd. is a Canadian credit union. It was formed on 1 April 2005 through the merger of Niagara Credit Union and HEPCOE Credit Union. It is insured by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical Financial Credit Union</span>

Tropical Financial Credit Union (TCFU) is a member-owned credit union that was chartered in 1935 and is headquartered in Miramar, Florida. TFCU is regulated under the authority of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright-Patt Credit Union</span>

Wright-Patt Credit Union (WPCU) is a US credit union or financial cooperative headquartered in Beavercreek, Ohio. The credit union was originally headquartered in Fairborn, Ohio; however, it relocated in early 2014. WPCU is registered as a state-chartered credit union, is the largest member-owned credit union in Ohio, and is one of the 50 largest credit unions in the United States. As of February 2022, WPCU has over $7.1 billion in assets, and over 446,000 members. WPCU is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which insures accounts in federal and most state-chartered credit unions in the United States. Deposits with Wright-Patt Credit Union are insured to $250,000.

Rally Credit Union is a credit union headquartered in Corpus Christi, Texas, chartered and regulated under the authority of the Texas Credit Union Department of the U.S. federal government. NavyArmy is the largest credit union in the coastal bend. As of September 2020, Rally has over $3.5 billion USD in assets, and over 196,000 members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Coast Credit Union</span> American credit union

Space Coast Credit Union (SCCU) is an American state-chartered credit union headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. It is insured and regulated by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). As of 2022, SCCU had over 560,000 members and $7.7 billion in assets, making it the third largest credit union in Florida.

Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation was an American publicly traded bank holding company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida and listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market, which wholly owned Atlantic Coast Bank. In 2018, Ameris Bancorp completed its acquisition of Atlantic Coast Bank. The banks services were focused primarily on personal banking and business banking in the Northeast Florida, Central Florida and Southeast Georgia regions. The company has been recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal as one of north Florida's "Best Places to Work" in both 2015 and 2016, and was also selected as one of Florida's "Best Companies" by Florida Trend Magazine in July 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VyStar Tower</span> Skyscraper in Jacksonville, Florida

VyStar Tower is a skyscraper in the downtown area of Jacksonville, Florida, at the northwest corner of Independent Drive and Laura Street. Standing 357 feet tall, it is the city's sixth tallest building. It was formerly known as the SunTrust Tower, Jacksonville Center and the Humana Building, among other names. Completed in 1989, the building was designed in the postmodern style by the Jacksonville firm KBJ Architects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telhio Credit Union</span>

Telhio Credit Union or Telhio is a US Credit union or financial cooperative headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Telhio is registered as a state-chartered type credit union and is the fifth largest credit union in Central Ohio. As of December 2020, Telhio has approximately $947Mil in assets, and 52,569 members. Telhio is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), which insures accounts in federal and most state-chartered credit unions in the United States up to $250,000. Additionally, Telhio carries ESI Insurance, which insures personal accounts an additional $250,000, for a total of $500,000 in deposit insurance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ameris Bancorp</span> Publicly traded banking company

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its bank subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company operates full-service branches in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina, and mortgage-only locations in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Tennessee.

References

  1. "Jax Navy to become VyStar Credit Union". Credit Union Times Magazine. 19 March 2002. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  2. "VyStar to move headquarters downtown with hundreds of employees".
  3. "VyStar Online Banking Troubles Resolved After Weekend Outage".
  4. "VyStar Credit Union says teams working 'around the clock' to fix online banking issues".
  5. "Bartram Trail High School VyStar Academy of Business and Finance: Academy Description". www.stjohns.k12.fl.us. Archived from the original on 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  6. Weeder, Roger (2007). "Students Run Bank at Bartram Trail". First Coast News . Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  7. "At Wolfson High's Academy of Finance, lessons come with extra credit". The Florida Times Union. Retrieved 2012-08-07.