KENDALL PARK, N.J.–A new federal credit union has been chartered, and it will not charge interest on loans.
NCUA said it has issued a charter to Maun FCU in New Jersey, which will serve a local Islamic community.
The credit union has been approved for National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund coverage and expects to open in June, the agency said.
“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.”
The agency said Maun Federal Credit Union 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.”
The credit union will serve employees and members of the New Brunswick Islamic Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and employees and members of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey.
Mentoring Agreement
During its first year of operations, Maun will focus on non-interest-bearing consumer loans and offer its membership share accounts, direct deposit, ACH transfers, wire transfers and notary services.
NCUA said the new credit union has a mentoring agreement with Jafari No-Interest Credit Union, a federally insured, state-chartered credit union in Houston, Texas, which has a similar no-interest, fee-based business model. Jafari provided assistance with the business plan and policy development during Maun’s charter application process, NCUA said.