About HawaiiUSA FCU

HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit federally insured financial cooperative owned and operated by our members. Chartered in 1936, we serve individuals in the field of education including employees, retirees, students and their parents of Oahu schools except secondary schools in Honolulu.

Vision Statement:

HawaiiUSA will be recognized as the "Life matters" organization that makes financial dreams come true.

Mission Statement:

HawaiiUSA improves our members' lives through our "Life matters" commitment.

Core Values:

Honor: Value the individual. Treat each person with dignity.  Strengthen relationships with enthusiasm, energy and compassion.

Integrity: 

We are trusted; we do what we said we would do

Innovation / Continuous Improvement: Be flexible, seek new and better ideas.  Embrace change, creativity, and innovation to respond to opportunities.

Unity: 

We bring to life our organization’s vision and culture of helping one another 

We support and work with others until the goal is achieved
We collaborate to resolve conflict and create win-win relationships

Share one vision. Earn the trust of others through honesty, fairness, and professional conduct.

Service: 

We create a positive impression/outcome during each interaction

We build strong member confidence and satisfaction

Our members and employees find value in interacting with us

Build lifelong relationships through caring genuine hospitality, and superior service.  Provide members extraordinary value.

Achievement: 

We are true to our profession and continuously seek to renew our skills and knowledge level

We are responsible and strive for personal accountability for results

We are resilient; we overcome obstacles, changes, and challenges

Strive to be the best.  Take personal responsibility and fulfill commitments promptly and in a timely manner.

HawaiiUSA’s mission is to be the primary provider of financial services to our members. 

Our Board of Directors and staff pledge to achieve this goal through a total commitment to service excellence. 
We will maintain financial strength and stability to support growth and to provide diverse services to our members.

Member deposits are insured up to $250,000 by the National Credit Union Administration.

Credit Union History


This is a common question with a not-so-common-knowledge answer. Credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions, owned by their members. Members pool their money for the credit union to lend to other members. Profits earned are returned to members in the form of lower fees, higher dividends, and/or other benefits. Hence, the credit union motto, “People helping people.” 

HawaiiUSA has been living this motto for 80 years. From our roots as Oahu Teachers No. 3 Federal Credit Union serving Hawaii Department of Education employees, retirees, students, and their parents, to the many businesses and associational groups we welcome today, helping people is simply what we do; or shall we say, it’s what all of you – our members – do!

HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union has been providing financial services to our members for over 80 years. 
In 1936, teachers and principals on the Island of Oahu bonded together to form three credit unions based on grade levels that took advantage of the new federal regulations enabling organizations with a common bond to form credit unions.

Our Credit Union opened its doors on November 6, 1936 as Oahu Teachers No. 3 Federal Credit Union. Our field of membership was comprised of elementary school teachers of schools in the Honolulu District, as well as teachers of schools of all grade levels in what was then called “rural” Oahu. Over the years, our credit union benefited from the tremendous growth of population and the corresponding expansion of the school system in the Leeward, Central and Windward districts.

Our credit union ended its first year of operation with 138 members and assets of $4,499. We have since grown into the largest credit union in Hawaii by asset size of more than $1.5 billion, and is also the largest credit union by membership with more than 131,000 members being served through 14 branch locations on the islands of Oahu and Maui.  

The membership has changed to include not only teachers, but also principals and other school employees such as secretaries, counselors, cafeteria workers, volunteers and janitorial staff. Employees of all schools (not only elementary) outside the Honolulu school district as well as students and parents are eligible to join. In 1971, our name was changed to Oahu Educational Employees Federal Credit Union.

For many years, the membership remained predominately teacher and school oriented, providing a stable yet maturing membership base. There were several amendments to our charter expanding the field of membership to its current approved position, which include 5,800-plus Select Employee Groups (SEGs). A significant membership amendment occurred when the definition of immediate family member was revised to include those living outside of the household.

On February 23, 2000, the Board of Directors approved to change our name to HawaiiUSA Federal Credit Union. This process of a name change was important not only to accurately reflect the changes in our membership but also to gain a marketing advantage for membership expansion. Although our core membership and focus remains with the educational community, the passage of legislation by Congress allowed HawaiiUSA FCU to aggressively seek membership expansion through Select Employee Groups. After months of planning and pre-notifications, the conversion to our new name was completed on July 1, 2000. Our new name better depicts our current field of membership and lays the foundation to provide service to our members statewide and possibly nationwide.


Board of Directors:

assume fiduciary responsibility, 

do not receive compensation, 

and may require many hours of time commitment. 

Some of the skills and competencies needed are:

Ability to understand and appreciate the Mission of HawaiiUSA and needs of its members;

Independent-minded to advocate for the members’ best interests;

Financial literacy encompassing a working familiarity of basic finance and accounting practices and procedures;

Risk Management experience in evaluating the opportunities and challenges of HawaiiUSA in the financial services industry;

Governance experience to lead HawaiiUSA in its Life matterscommitment; and

Diplomacy and strong network of community contacts.

Education: University of Hawaii (UH)

May, 1995: College of Education, Master of Education (M. Ed.), Major: Educational Technology.

May, 1993: College of Arts and Science, Graduate Certificate, Major: Telecommunication Information Resource Management (TIRM).

May, 1986: Leeward Community College, Major: Accounting, Associate in Science (AS).

May, 1985: Leeward Community College, Major: Information and Computer Science (AS).

December, 1983: College of Education, Professional Diploma (PD), Major: Secondary Education - Mathematics.

May, 1982: College of Business Administration, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Major: Business Economics & Quantitative Methods.