Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state before you talk to any lender. Compare legal limits, fees and the true cost of small loans in your state.
Credit Unions vs Payday Loans in Maine
48 credit unions are headquartered in Maine, with 770,427 members in total. 36 are federal credit unions and 12 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 48
- Members
- 770,427
- Federal
- 36
- State-chartered
- 12
- Members per 100 people
- 56
- CUs per 100k people
- 3.5
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Maine
Maine has 48 credit unions headquartered here and 5 payday, installment and title loan stores. Local credit unions count 770,427 members — roughly 56 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
48
3.5 per 100k residents
770,427 members
Payday & loan stores
5
0.4 per 100k residents
2 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in Maine: OneMain Financial (4), loanDepot (1).
Borrowing $500 for 6 months in Maine
| Option | Payment | Total cost of borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Installment loan at the Maine rate cap (30% APR) | $90.77/mo | $44.65 |
| Credit union PAL (28% APR) | $90.27/mo | $41.62 |
| Payday loan renewed every 2 weeks (typical $15 per $100, not available in Maine) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $975.00 |
- Monthly payment at the Maine rate cap vs median monthly household income
- 1.4%
Example calculation with fixed monthly payments; the payday row shows typical out-of-state pricing for comparison. Actual rates and terms vary by lender.
What it means for a household in Maine
- Median household income
- $75,636
- A $400 emergency equals
- 1.9 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 15.2%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 10.8%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Maine are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Maine
| Payday loan in ME | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Not allowed — storefront payday loans are banned | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Rate cap | Capped at 30% APR | Up to 28% |
| Term | Usually 2–4 weeks, due in one payment | 1 to 12 months, in installments |
| Credit check | Usually none; a bank account and income are required | Membership required; payments can be reported to credit bureaus |
Payday rules: Maine law as summarized on our Maine payday page. PAL rules: National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) rules for federal credit unions (PAL I and PAL II); state-chartered credit unions may offer similar small loans.
Credit unions by city in Maine
Credit unions are headquartered in 32 cities and towns across Maine. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Maine
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic Regional Federal Credit UnionFederal | South Portland | 49,072 | atlanticfcu.com |
| Maine Savings Federal Credit UnionFederal | Hampden | 42,905 | mainesavings.com |
| Town & Country Federal Credit UnionFederal | South Portland | 38,593 | tcfcu.com |
| Maine State Credit UnionState-chartered | Augusta | 37,537 | mainestatecu.org |
| Cport Credit UnionState-chartered | Portland | 37,387 | cportcu.org |
| Evergreen Credit UnionState-chartered | Portland | 32,688 | egcu.org |
| The County Federal Credit UnionFederal | Presque Isle | 32,258 | countyfcu.org |
| University Credit UnionState-chartered | Orono | 31,058 | ucumaine.com |
| Ancorum Credit UnionState-chartered | Bath | 30,563 | ancorumcu.com |
| Dirigo Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewiston | 28,620 | dirigofcu.com |
| Downeast Credit UnionState-chartered | Baileyville | 25,342 | downeastcu.com |
| Cumberland County Federal Credit UnionFederal | Falmouth | 22,101 | myccfcu.com |
| Peopleschoice Credit UnionState-chartered | Biddeford | 20,377 | peopleschoiceme.org |
| Oxford Federal Credit UnionFederal | Mexico | 20,296 | ofcu.org |
| Maine Family Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewiston | 19,179 | mainefamilyfcu.com |
| Acadia Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fort Kent | 18,300 | acadiafcu.org |
| Midcoast Federal Credit UnionFederal | Freeport | 16,020 | midcoastfcu.me |
| New Dimensions Federal Credit UnionFederal | Waterville | 15,866 | newdimensionsfcu.com |
| Bangor Federal Credit UnionFederal | Bangor | 15,712 | bangorfederal.com |
| Community Credit UnionState-chartered | Lewiston | 14,776 | communitycreditunion.com |
| Maine Highlands Federal Credit UnionFederal | Dexter | 14,196 | mhfcu.com |
| Norstate Federal Credit UnionFederal | Madawaska | 14,075 | norstatefcu.org |
| Seaboard Federal Credit UnionFederal | Bucksport | 13,367 | seaboardfcu.com |
| Truchoice Federal Credit UnionFederal | Portland | 12,579 | trufcu.com |
| Otis Federal Credit UnionFederal | Jay | 12,477 | otisfcu.coop |
| Sebasticook Valley Federal Credit UnionFederal | Pittsfield | 12,022 | svfcume.com |
| K V Federal Credit UnionFederal | Augusta | 10,948 | kvfcu.org |
| Lisbon Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lisbon | 10,474 | lisboncu.org |
| Franklin-Somerset Federal Credit UnionFederal | Madison | 10,005 | f-sfcu.com |
| Ksw Federal Credit UnionFederal | Waterville | 9,553 | kswfcu.org |
| Saco Valley Credit UnionState-chartered | Saco | 9,215 | sacovalley.org |
| Casco Federal Credit UnionFederal | Gorham | 9,134 | cascofcu.com |
| Brewer Federal Credit UnionFederal | Brewer | 8,561 | brewerfcu.org |
| Trademark Federal Credit UnionFederal | Augusta | 8,110 | trademarkfcu.org |
| Winthrop Area Federal Credit UnionFederal | Winthrop | 8,031 | winthropcreditunion.org |
| Katahdin Federal Credit UnionFederal | Millinocket | 7,856 | katahdinfcu.org |
| Connected Credit UnionState-chartered | Augusta | 7,611 | connectedcu.com |
| Lincoln Maine Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lincoln | 6,920 | lincolnmainefcu.com |
| Central Maine Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewiston | 6,460 | cmfcu.com |
| Gardiner Federal Credit UnionFederal | Gardiner | 5,489 | gardinerfcu.org |
| Great Falls Regional Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewiston | 4,757 | greatfallsfcu.com |
| Sabattus Regional Credit UnionState-chartered | Sabattus | 4,728 | srcu.net |
| Eastmill Federal Credit UnionFederal | East Millinocke | 4,070 | eastmillfcu.org |
| Capital Area Federal Credit UnionFederal | Augusta | 3,957 | capitalareafcu.org |
| Coast Line Credit UnionState-chartered | South Portland | 3,307 | coastlinecu.com |
| Milestones Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewiston | 1,817 | milestonesfcu.com |
| Maine Solutions Federal Credit UnionFederal | South Portland | 1,175 | cportcu.org |
| Maine Media Federal Credit UnionFederal | Portland | 883 | mainemedia.com |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Maine
Other cities and towns in Maine where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Augusta 5
- Baileyville 1
- Bangor 1
- Bath 1
- Biddeford 1
- Brewer 1
- Bucksport 1
- Dexter 1
- East Millinocke 1
- Falmouth 1
- Fort Kent 1
- Freeport 1
- Gardiner 1
- Gorham 1
- Hampden 1
- Jay 1
- Lewiston 6
- Lincoln 1
- Lisbon 1
- Madawaska 1
- Madison 1
- Mexico 1
- Millinocket 1
- Orono 1
- Pittsfield 1
- Presque Isle 1
- Sabattus 1
- Saco 1
- South Portland 4
- Waterville 2
- Winthrop 1
Credit unions are listed in the city of their headquarters; many have branches in other cities and accept members from across the state or the country, so members per 100 people is an approximation.