1st Valley Credit Union

What 1st Valley Credit Union does

1st Valley Credit Union (operated as America First Credit Union, legal entity America First Federal Credit Union) is a federally chartered, member-owned financial cooperative founded in 1939 and headquartered in Ogden, Utah. It serves consumers, small and medium businesses, military and youth members, employer groups, first-time homebuyers, and retirement planners across a multi-state footprint that now includes Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Southern California, with deposit insurance provided by the National Credit Union Administration Share Insurance Fund.

The institution operates a full-service retail banking platform spanning deposits (Premium, Classic, and Money Market Checking; Share Savings, Money Market Savings, HSA, Youth, Wedding, and Coverdell Education Savings; Certificates and IRAs); consumer lending (auto, RV, powersports including motorcycle, ATV, boat, UTV, snowmobile, and Turo; home equity loans and HELOCs; personal loans including certificate-secured, consolidation, line of credit, and share-secured; and mortgage products covering purchase, construction, renovation, refinance, and reverse); Visa credit cards (Signature, Platinum, Classic, Secured) and debit cards including co-branded team variants; and a business banking line covering checking, SBA and commercial loans, merchant services, and business Visa cards. Distribution runs through a regional branch network, online and mobile banking (iOS and Android apps, Zelle, Card Guard, mobile check deposit, mobile wallet), Video Teller, auto dealership indirect lending, select employer groups, and dedicated mortgage loan officers. Wealth and HSA services are delivered through partnerships with LPL Financial and Lively rather than in-house build.

The business model is a standard cooperative retail banking model: net interest income from deposits and a broad loan portfolio, supplemented by fee income on cards, merchant services, and ancillary products, and referral-based revenue from the LPL Financial investment relationship. Monetization is driven by competitive loan pricing (auto loans from 4.99% APR in Utah, HELOC introductory rates of 3.74% APR for six months, Visa Platinum 0% intro APR for six months), member acquisition incentives (up to $350 new-member bonus), and cross-sell across deposit, lending, card, insurance, and investment products. Recent strategic actions signal moderate expansion momentum: a Southern California market entry announced in July 2026, a co-branded Salt Lake Bees Visa debit card launched July 2, 2026, and an upcoming enhanced digital and mobile banking platform refresh.

Name

1st Valley Credit Union

Legal name

America First Federal Credit Union

Website

https://1stvalleycu.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

1st Valley Credit Union (America First Federal Credit Union) is a federally chartered, member-owned cooperative founded in 1939, offering full-service consumer and business banking, lending, credit cards, and wealth services across Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Southern California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Retail Banking

NAICS

Credit Unions (52213), Credit Card Issuing (522210), Depository Credit Intermediation (5221)

SIC

Savings Institution, Federally Chartered (6035), Personal Credit Institutions (6141)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Credit Unions (Retail/Consumer Focus) (FSABAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Credit Cards & Revolving Credit (FSABAAAC), Bank & Credit Union Personal Loans (Unsecured Installment) (FSAKAAAL)

Keywords

• Retail banking
• Consumer lending
• Credit union services
• Savings accounts
• Digital banking

Headquarters

HQ city

San Bernardino

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

1st Valley Credit Union operates as a member-owned credit union providing deposit products (checking, savings, money market, share savings, certificate accounts, HSA, IRA), consumer lending (auto, RV, personal, home equity, mortgage loans), Visa credit and debit cards, and digital/branch banking channels. It also offers business banking solutions including business checking, business loans, business Visa cards, and merchant services.

Product overview

1st Valley Credit Union (operated as America First Credit Union) is a full-service financial institution offering a comprehensive suite of banking products through a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core banking platform provides checking accounts (Premium, Classic, Money Market), savings accounts (Share Savings, Money Market, HSA, Youth, Wedding, Coverdell Education), certificate accounts, and IRA accounts. Credit products include vehicle loans (auto, RV, powersports), home equity loans and HELOCs, mortgage loans (purchase, refinance, construction, reverse), and personal loans. Payment products feature Visa credit cards (Signature, Platinum, Classic, Secured) and debit cards with co-branded team options. Digital channels include online and mobile banking platforms with a virtual assistant. Business banking encompasses checking, loans, merchant services, and Visa business cards. Retirement and wealth services, insurance products, and trust services are offered as supplementary modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Premium Checking A high-tier checking account offered to credit union members with enhanced features for personal banking customers.
• Classic Checking A standard-tier personal checking account for everyday banking needs of credit union members.
• Money Market Checking An interest-bearing checking account for members seeking higher yields with check-writing access.
• Share Savings A foundational member share savings account that establishes credit union membership.
• Money Market Savings A higher-yield savings account for members who want to earn more on deposited balances.
• Health Savings Account (HSA) A tax-advantaged savings account for members to set aside funds for qualified medical expenses.
• Certificate Accounts Term-deposit certificate products that pay a fixed rate for a defined term for member savers.
• IRA Investing Individual retirement account products for members to save for retirement on a tax-advantaged basis.
• Auto Loans Consumer installment loans for members to finance new and used vehicle purchases.
• RV Loans Recreational vehicle financing loans offered to credit union members.
• Home Equity Loans Secured loans that let members borrow against the equity in their primary residence.
• Mortgage Loans Residential mortgage financing products for members purchasing or refinancing homes.
• Personal Loans Unsecured consumer installment loans for member borrowing needs.
• Visa Signature Credit Card A premium-tier consumer Visa credit card with rewards and travel benefits for members.
• Visa Platinum Credit Card A mid-tier consumer Visa credit card with platinum-level features.
• Visa Classic Credit Card An entry-tier consumer Visa credit card for everyday revolving balances.
• Secured Visa Credit Card A collateral-backed Visa credit card designed for members building or rebuilding credit.
• Visa Debit Card A consumer debit card linked to member checking accounts for point-of-sale and ATM transactions.
• Business Checking A dedicated business checking account for small and mid-sized businesses, sole proprietors, and commercial members.
• Business Loans Commercial lending products extended to business members for working capital and growth.
• Business Visa Cards Visa credit cards tailored for business owners and their employees to make business purchases.
• Merchant Services Payment processing and merchant account services for business members to accept card payments.
• Mobile Banking A native mobile application (available on iPhone, iPad, and Android) that lets members deposit checks, pay bills, and transfer funds.
• Digital Banking (Online Banking) An online banking platform that lets members view balances, transfer money, and manage accounts from a web browser.
• America First Virtual Assistant A conversational assistant in the mobile app that lets members check balances, history, due dates, and schedule payments using voice or text.

Quantifiable outcome

• Auto loan rates as low as 4.99% APR for Utah customers (5-year fixed)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Salt Lake BeesminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 July 2026America First Credit Union and Salt Lake Bees partnership to launch an exclusive Visa debit card. The Salt Lake Bees is a Minor League Baseball team and affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The official Salt Lake Bees Visa debit card is available at no cost with a checking account, providing co-branded banking product with team branding.
• LPL FinancialcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLPL Financial provides investment services and wealth management offerings to America First Credit Union members. This is a strategic partnership where America First refers members to LPL for investment services, and LPL operates as a separate entity from the credit union with its own website (www.americafirst-lpl.com). The partnership provides brokerage and advisory services to complement the credit union's core banking products.
• National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)coreOthersThe NCUA is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters, and insures federal credit unions. America First is federally insured by the NCUA's Share Insurance Fund, which protects member deposits up to $250,000. This is a regulatory and insurance relationship that ensures member deposits are protected.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Chase Bank: National retail bank competing head-on for the same checking, savings, mortgage, auto, and credit-card customers in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, and Southern California.
• Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed): National credit union with full consumer banking, lending, and credit-card products — comparable on breadth and credit-card focus, though with a different membership base.
• Navy Federal Credit Union: The largest US credit union, offering a similarly broad product suite (deposits, credit cards, mortgages, auto, wealth) and demonstrating the upper bound of credit-union scale and digital capability.
• Discover Bank: Major direct-to-consumer credit-card and deposit franchise; overlaps with America First's Visa credit-card and consumer savings products and competes on national digital deposit acquisition.

Direct peers

• Alliant Credit Union: Large digital-first credit union competing for the same nationwide consumer checking, savings, and credit-card relationships with a strong online and mobile platform.
• Cyprus Credit Union: Utah/Idaho community credit union offering the same core banking, lending, and digital channels — directly comparable on geography, charter, and product mix.
• GoldenWest Credit Union: Utah-based community credit union with comparable full-service consumer and business banking and a long operating history in the Intermountain West.
• Desert Financial Credit Union: Arizona-headquartered credit union serving a Western US consumer base with consumer lending, mortgages, and business banking — overlapping footprint and product set with America First.
• Mountain America Credit Union: Large Utah-headquartered community credit union serving members across the Intermountain West with checking, lending, and digital banking — the closest geographic and product peer to America First's Utah-anchored footprint.

Regional players

• Golden 1 Credit Union: California's largest credit union; comparable consumer and business banking product set, relevant as America First expands into Southern California markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/1stvalleycu
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC_0lF10ecPkX5Sha3P_pn9g
• Facebookfacebook.com/1stValleyCU
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1st-valley-credit-union
• Instagraminstagram.com/americafirst
• TikToktiktok.com/@americafirstcreditunion?_t=8ivWJBNptL1&_r=1

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1st Valley Credit Union