Truliant Federal Credit Union

In 1946, Western Electric opened massive facilities in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and the Piedmont Triad to produce electronics equipment. Thousands were hired, creating a need to establish credit and savings.[1]

Truliant Federal Credit Union was chartered in 1952 to serve the employees of Western Electric and was known as the Radio Shops Credit Union. It began serving about 2,000 members and offered credit union services in the Winston-Salem, Greensboro and Burlington cities of North Carolina.

It became North Carolina Works Federal Credit Union in 1954, adopting the 'Works' name given to Western Electric's factory network.

Steady membership growth continued and increased to about 14,000 members by the end of the decade. By 1968, it was the 96th largest federal credit union in the United States.

By 1988 the credit union had 46,000 members. New Member Financial Centers were added in Virginia and North Carolina, and the credit union began growing its presence in Charlotte.

By the early 1990s, AT&T Family Federal Credit Union had 110,000 member-owners. Branches continued to accompany growth during this decade when the credit union launched its first website, and began to offer debit cards and online banking services.

By 2000, with membership at about 163,000 members, it opened more branches in South Carolina and Virginia. In 2004, it merged with Victory Masonic Credit Union, the oldest historically African American credit union in North Carolina, and later opened branch for Victory members in a developing area of downtown Winston-Salem, N.C.[2]

Truliant's Victory branch in downtown Winston-Salem.

In 2005, it passed $1 billion in assets[3] and opened its Truliant Way headquarters, where its administrative offices are located. In 2008, it opened a second location in Greensboro, North Carolina.[4]

In 2007, Truliant's Victory branch opened in a developing area of downtown Winston-Salem.

In 2010, Truliant began implementing new Small Business Administration programs and began offering no-cost credit reviews to help members understand their complete financial picture. In April 2011, it launched an iPhone mobile banking app.

In 2014, the credit union began adding the first of ten new locations[5] in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region of North Carolina. The build was complete in Spring 2017, giving Truliant 33 locations. Truliant has opened new branches[6] in Mint Hill, Harrisburg, Cornelius, South Boulevard, Waverly, Steele Creek, Ballantyne, Huntersville, Mallard Creek, and Park Road sections of Charlotte.[7]

The credit union began an intensive expansion of credit union services, adding a second branch in Burlington and a sixth branch Forsyth County[8] in 2014. The credit union also announced plans to open ten branches in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region by the end of 2016, which will bring its total branch count to 33.

On June 17, 2019, Truliant Federal Credit Union filed suit against SunTrust and the Winston-Salem based BB&T claiming trademark infringement[9] over the proposed new name of the merged entity, Truist Financial Corporation. Truliant was concerned about confusion between the similar names, including Truliant products with "Tru" in their names. The companies reached a settlement, which was not disclosed, but Truist did not change its name.[10]

Truliant serves more than 250,000+ member-owners with assets over $2 billion.[9] and more than 1,100 organizations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

In January 2020, Todd Hall was named president/CEO. He had joined the organization in 2012 as chief operating officer.

AT&T Family Federal played a key role in a court case that ultimately resulted in the 1998 signing into law [11] of the Credit Union Membership Access Act (H.R. 1151), which expanded credit union membership nationally. This new law enabled credit unions to expand their charters to include additional occupational groups and community groups, people who lived, worked, worshiped or attended school in the community, to have access to credit union membership and benefits. The credit union then changed its name the next year and became Truliant Federal Credit Union to reflect this change.

• Official website