Mission As a local not-for-profit financial institution, we don't just say we care, our very foundation for our existence is to care for our members. As we grow and evolve, the local communities we serve grow and strengthen too! As a Credit Union, our earnings are put back into our members' hands through better rates and yields, more services, and support for our local non-profits and charities.
Description With 14 locations, more than 77,000 members, and over $1.4 billion in assets, Beginnings Credit Union is one of the largest credit unions in New York State. Our ongoing success can be traced to a number of factors, including sound management practices, adherence to a strict code of ethics, excellent rates, and great products. But what truly sets us apart from other financial institutions is our ability to connect our members to all that's possible through highly personalized, quality service.
We began in 1953 as Cornell Federal Credit Union and served the employees of Cornell University. Over forty year later, in 1997, we adopted a New York state charter and became Cornell FingerLakes Credit Union.
With deep roots in the Finger Lakes Community, we branched out in 2003 by converting to a community charter for Tompkins and Cortland counties and changed our name to CFCU Community Credit Union. The community charter made it possible for us to serve anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school, or maintains a business in these counties.
In 2017, we expanded to also serve individuals, businesses, and organizations in Cayuga, Ontario, and Seneca Counties. Then we expanded further in 2022, when we merged with CORE Federal Credit Union who became CORE, a division of CFCU Community Credit Union. This expansion allowed us to also serve individuals, businesses, and organizations in Madison and Onondaga Counties.
Our transformation throughout our almost 75 years makes it possible for anyone who lives, works, worships, attends school, or maintains a business in Tompkins, Cortland, Cayuga, Ontario, Seneca, Madison, or Onondaga counties eligible to become a member.
In 2025, we continued our journey of transformation and changed our name to Beginnings Credit Union, uniting our current and future members under one meaningful name. We're moving forward and connecting our members to new opportunities that unlock all that's possible. Strong communities begin here. First homes begin here. College savings begin here. Early retirement begins here. Financial independence begins here.
Tomorrow begins here.
Beginnings Credit Union is truly "More than banking".
Beginnings Credit Union has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 28 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Beginnings Credit Union employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.6 stars).
Overall, 35% of employees would recommend working at Beginnings Credit Union to a friend. This is based on 28 anonymously submitted reviews on Glassdoor.
60% of job seekers rate their interview experience at Beginnings Credit Union as positive. Candidates give an average difficulty score of 2.2 out of 5 (where 5 is the highest level of difficulty) for their job interview at Beginnings Credit Union.