America First Credit Union was founded on March 16, 1939. It was established at
Fort Douglas in
Salt Lake City, Utah after 59 members of the
National Federation of Federal Employees, Local No. 650, instituted the Fort Douglas Civilian Employees Credit Union. On June 23, 1947, the finance office of the U.S. Army at Fort Douglas was moved to the Utah General Distribution Depot in Ogden, Utah, and the credit union moved with it and renamed itself Federal Employees Credit Union. In 1960, with the addition of the Naval Supply Depot in
Clearfield, Utah, the credit union was now affiliated with five Federal Government installations, the others being the Utah General Depot,
Hill Air Force Base, Fort Douglas and the Internal Revenue Service Building in Ogden, Utah. Utah-chartered credit unions began serving anyone in the state and the credit union changed its name to America First Credit Union in 1984. This is the year when the credit union opened its membership to the public. In 1994, it marketed residential mortgages with incentives such as no fees for first mortgage refinancing, a quarter-point reduction in the interest rate if payments were to be deducted automatically from an America First checking account, and a quarter-point reduction for mortgages of less than half the residence's appraised value. Beginning in 1998, a series of legal and legislative restrictions were placed on America First Credit Union's field of membership and its ability to make business loans. In 2003, America First became federally chartered to protect its membership and serve its business members. In 2004, it opened its first branch in
Summit County, Utah, since the federal charter allows it to serve that county as well. In 2005, it announced that it would offer
Small Business Administration loans to its members. In 2007, the credit union, many of whose members serve in the military, hosted Operation Best Wishes. On August 12, 2009, America First acquired
Las Vegas-based
Community One Federal Credit Union following its closure by the
National Credit Union Administration. In June 2018, America First announced it would be merging with the Arizona based Altier Credit Union, expanding to include Maricopa County within America First's field of membership. In November 2019, America First announced it would be merging with the Utah County based City Center Credit Union. On March 14, 2022, America First opened its first branch in the state of New Mexico, following its approval to add several counties and cities in New Mexico to its field of membership in 2020. On June 12th, 2024, America First merged with the California-based 1st Valley Credit Union, expanding its field of membership to include San Bernardino County. ==Technology==