Since 1954, America's Credit Union has provided quality financial programs that are tailored to meet the needs of the service members serving at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

One of those small but significant services is that ACU makes early deposits for active-duty military members.

As a rule, service members know their bi-weekly salary will be paid on the 1st and 15th of every month. They also know that when that date falls on a weekend, their pay gets moved to the closest weekday instead.

ACU offers early direct deposit of military pay as a benefit to their military customers as early as three days in advance of the Defense Finance Accounting Service (DFAS) actually depositing the money at the credit union.

"We pay it out once we get it," commented David Hughes, ACU's senior vice president of marketing.

It is worth noting that ACU has been selected by Money Hoarder, an online savings advocate, as the best credit union for checking accounts for military members, as well as one of the nation's top six Best Credit Unions of 2022.

Along with early pay, ACU provides members of the military with banking options such as easy online bill pay, international branches on military bases, 24/7 stateside assistance, and its award-winning status as a member first credit union.

The early deposit of service members' paychecks may help them keep up with bills and avoid late fees, especially bills due about the time they receive their salary.

With two-thirds of its military members living off-base, ACU offers them the best of both worlds - they can bank both on base and off base.

The following are America's Credit Union locations on Joint Base Lewis-McChord:

• North Fort Lewis Branch, 11574 A Street
• Main/Fort Lewis Branch, 2201 North 12^th Street
• Madigan Branch, 9035 Jackson Avenue

No other military credit union offers a better range of checking account options - to include early pay - for its members with more competitive rates than ACU.

"We work very hard to provide our customers with the very best in service, and we constantly work to improve," concluded Crysta Cover, a former branch manager at JBLM who now works at a Tacoma-based ACU.

"We are deeply involved with our service members and their families."

For more information, visit www.youracu.org.

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