Big things are happening at a local credit union that started small, having launched 85 years ago with $110 in a cigar box.
Keys Federal Credit Union last week started its year-long, 85th anniversary celebration by cutting the ribbon on its brand new Stock Island building. The opening occurred on Oct. 16, which was also International Credit Union Day.
“Opening this new branch isn’t just about growth; it’s about deepening our commitment to the community,” CEO Maggie Sayer told the Keys Weekly. “This project has been years in the making, and being able to celebrate its opening on our 85th anniversary — and on International Credit Union Day — made the moment especially meaningful.”
County commissioners, community leaders and credit union board members celebrated the new branch, which opened in the former and now unrecognizable Burger King building on Stock Island.
Keys Federal Credit Union started 85 years ago, when a group of civil service employees pooled $110. At the time, there was only one bank in town, and it was for business accounts only. So on Oct. 26, 1940, nine civil service employees gathered together their money to create NavSta Federal Employees Federal Credit Union.
Eventually the name was changed to Keys Federal Credit Union, and now it serves over 16,000 clients in six locations: two in Key West, one on Stock Island, one in Big Pine Key, one in Marathon and one in Tavernier.
Its mission remains the same: locals helping locals.
“We love the relationships we’re able to build with our customers,” branch coordinator Desiree Perez said in 2021. “They’re like family.”
Keys FCU offers online banking and mobile banking, free person-to-person payments and financial management apps. “We do everything from personal loans to credit cards to auto loans, RV loans, motorcycle loans and mortgages,” Perez said. “And if we don’t, we try to figure out a way to do it.”
