Celebrating OCCU’s 68th birthday: Share your story

It’s been 68 years since a group of state employees decided to pool their money in a shoebox and help each other financially. We’ve come a long way since then. We’re now a thriving not-for-profit financial cooperative, and we’ve grown from 26 member-owners to more than 260,000!   

Though we’ve grown, the values of our founders remain instilled in us. We’re people helping people, and when we work together as a community to achieve our financial goals, we enrich lives.   

At OCCU, we strive to improve the communities we live and work in. By forming meaningful partnerships with local organizations, we help to build stronger, more resilient communities. And we couldn’t have done it without our incredible members, who help empower each other every day to become a force for good.  

We invite you to share your OCCU member story. Tell us how … 

• You are a force for good. 

• A member of our team was a force for good. 

• Our OCCU community together was a force for good. 

Your story is an important part of our history and our future, and it’s one that deserves to be told. 

Thank you for 68 amazing years. We look forward to the next 68. 

And since you’re sharing your story, here’s ours. Take a peek back in time from our humble beginnings to our thriving present. 

1956 

Lane Federal Credit Union was established by a group of Oregon state employees who pooled their money together in a shoebox. 

1960 

We became U-Lane-O Federal Credit Union to better represent our strong affiliation with the University of Oregon (UO). 

1962 

We opened our first branch in Eugene. 

1981 

We expanded our field of membership to include family members, UO students and alumni, and all state of Oregon employees. Now a state-chartered credit union, we changed our name to U-Lane-O Credit Union. 

1982 

We installed our first ATM outside our Downtown Eugene branch. 

1985  

We introduced debit cards to members, making us one of the first credit unions in the country to do so. 

1990s 

We opened five new branches in Eugene, Oregon, launched a local member contact center and internet banking. 

2000 

We grew to serve 55,000 members.  

2003 

We adopted a community charter and changed our name to Oregon Community Credit Union. 

2007  

We launched Remarkable Checking, a free and interest-bearing account that lets members earn while they spend. 

2011 

We reached a new membership milestone as we grew to 100,000 member-owners strong!  

2016 

Recognizing our membership reaches well beyond the state of Oregon, we adopted OCCU as our name.  

2018 

The OCCU Foundation — the credit union’s charitable arm — was formed, allowing OCCU to harness its resources to strengthen the long-term well-being of the communities it serves. 

2019 

We expanded our membership area to include all of Washington state, allowing us to serve more members across the Pacific Northwest. 

2020 

We introduced an updated vision — enrich lives — and set of values — tenacious, big-hearted and humble — to reflect the character of OCCU and its membership.  

2024 

We celebrate 68 years of dedication to enriching the lives of our members and the communities we serve. That membership includes more than 260,000 people across the country and around the globe, each one of them a force for good. We operate more than a dozen branches throughout the state of Oregon, with plans to expand underway. We look forward to what the future holds!