Frontwave Credit Union

Frontwave Credit Union is a not-for-profit credit union that is licensed and regulated under the authority of the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation.
Frontwave Credit Union is based in Southern California with branch locations in Oceanside, San Marcos, San Diego, Escondido, Wildomar, Temecula, Barstow, and Yucca Valley. They also have branches aboard MCB Camp Pendleton, MCRD San Diego, and MCAGCC 29-Palms.
Frontwave Credit Union, as of 2023, has more than $1.4 billion in assets and 122,000 members.

WWW frontwavecu.com

Membership

Frontwave Credit Union is owned and governed by its members. Like all credit unions, they have a field of membership that designates who may join. To qualify for membership one must live or work in San Diego County, Riverside County, or San Bernardino County, or be an immediate family member of a current Frontwave Credit Union member. Also, per the NCUA's by law of "once a member, always a member" membership with Frontwave Credit Union may continue should the member decide to relocate.

Services

Like other financial institutions, Frontwave Credit Union offers products that include savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates, consumer loans, mortgages, home equities, lines of credit, credit cards, online banking, as well as some small business services. Frontwave Credit Union also offers investment services, an electronic trading platform, and insurance through Frontwave Financial Group.
Frontwave Credit Union, as a financial cooperative, provides access to nearly 30,000 surcharge-free ATMs nationwide, 9,000+ of which accept deposits. In addition, there are nearly 5,000 credit union branches and over 2,000 self-service locations through the shared branching network.

History

Founded in 1952, Frontwave Credit Union began aboard MCB Camp Pendleton and was originally chartered as Camp Pendleton Federal Credit Union. The initial charter was for membership of active and retired civil service employees.
In 1955 the charter was expanded to include active and retired military personnel.
In 1965 the credit union merged with Naval Ammunition Depot Federal Credit Union.
In 1968 a merger took place with 29 Palms Credit Union.
In 1975 the name changed to Marine Corps West Federal Credit Union, and a new headquarters was constructed aboard MCB Camp Pendleton.
In 1980 a merger with Marine Corps Recruit Depot occurred.
In 1982 they merged with Barstow Community Federal Credit Union. They also added the U.S. National Training Center at Fort Irwin to their charter.
In 1995 the credit union assumed administrative management of the Recruit Direct Deposit Program. The program was so successful that the credit union was awarded the "Golden Hammer Award" in 1997 by Vice President Al Gore for reducing government waste.
In 2002 the credit union changed from a Federally Chartered to a State Chartered credit union, which included the counties of San Diego and San Bernardino. This is also when the name was changed to Pacific Marine Credit Union.
In 2004 Riverside County was added to the field of membership.
In 2010 the credit union moved their headquarters from MCB Camp Pendleton to Oceanside.
In 2018 the credit union changed their name from Pacific Marine Credit Union to Frontwave Credit Union.

Controversies

Overdraft Fees

In 2024, a KPBS investigation found that Frontwave had benefited from an exclusive arrangement with the United States Marine Corps for decades. Each year, approximately 20,000 Marine recruits go through boot camp at the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot. The Marine Corps funnels many of these recruits into the credit union to process their paychecks. KPBS discovered that, over the previous three years, the credit union had collected approximately $8 million annually in overdraft fees from its members, which was about triple the average among all California state-chartered credit unions. Financial records showed that the credit union relied on the fees as a key source of revenue. These fees were often applied to accounts with low balances, sometimes draining the accounts entirely. After the initial report, members of Congress launched an investigation into Frontwave, in April 2024, this included U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, JD Vance, and Rep. Sara Jacobs. The members of Congress called the overdraft practices “unconscionable” and urged for a change in fee policies. They also expressed worry about the potential harm that excessive overdraft fees could cause service members.