A History

In May of 1951, first-class postage was three cents, a penny postcard still cost a penny, and a phone call was only a nickel. The United States was less than a year into the Korean War, and President Harry Truman wondered how our involvement in that conflict would affect the economy of our nation.

In Connecticut, Governor Chester Bowles was concerned about unemployment in our state, while William Celentano, Mayor of New Haven, focused his efforts on education, business and the general welfare of the city’s residents.

Against the background of these events, a group of seven forward-thinking individuals, among them Andrew R. Harris, pursued a dream for postal employees and their families. Driven by their desire to take more control of their financial lives and futures, they pooled their resources to form a financial institution they believed would give them that control. As a result of their efforts, New Haven Postal Employees Federal Credit Union received its federal charter on May 17, 1951.

The entire process from talking about it to final formation took about one-and-one-half years, and the effort was well worth it. Membership in the new credit union immediately began to expand. Eventually merging with other small postal employee credit unions, New Haven Postal EFCU quickly outgrew its first location at 141 Church Street in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to the 50 Brewery Street location when that facility was able to provide convenient space. The main credit union office has remained there ever since, moving to larger quarters within that building in the mid 90s.

What kind of services did the credit union initially offer its members? The two most basic financial needs of most people's savings and personal loans. Soon services expanded to include auto loans, specialized savings programs and a variety of other convenient services. In January 1991, the credit union was able to provide share draft checking, another basic financial service. The first cash operation began in March 1994. Since then, electronic services have been added, such as direct deposit, payroll deduction and many others.

Other milestones quickly followed. In the spring of 1995, the credit union’s first own ATM unit was installed at the Brewery Street location. That fall, the first branch office opened in the new postal facility in Wallingford, Connecticut, and a second credit union-owned ATM unit was installed in that location in February 1998. On June 1, 1998, the credit union aquired the New London Postal Employees Federal Credit union, establishing New Haven Postal's third branch location in New London, Connecticut.

With the introduction of ATM services, the addition of CU-ACCESS, our 24-hour telephone access system, the convenience of three locations and our Internet Web site, New Haven Postal EFCU members now have round-the-clock access to their credit union accounts, an achievement we are extremely proud of.

So, welcome to our Web site!

Please feel free to explore and learn all about our great financial and resources!

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