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 Montana
40 credit unions are headquartered in Montana, with 420,417 members in total. 32 are federal credit unions and 8 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 40
- Members
- 420,417
- Federal
- 32
- State-chartered
- 8
- Members per 100 people
- 38
- CUs per 100k people
- 3.6
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in Montana
Montana has 40 credit unions headquartered here and 6 payday, installment and title loan stores. Local credit unions count 420,417 members — roughly 38 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
40
3.6 per 100k residents
420,417 members
Payday & loan stores
6
0.5 per 100k residents
1 store chain
Biggest loan store chains in Montana: OneMain Financial (6).
Borrowing $500 for 6 months in Montana
| Option | Payment | Total cost of borrowing |
|---|---|---|
| Installment loan at the Montana rate cap (36% APR) | $92.30/mo | $53.79 |
| Credit union PAL (28% APR) | $90.27/mo | $41.62 |
| Payday loan renewed every 2 weeks (typical $15 per $100, not available in Montana) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $975.00 |
- Monthly payment at the Montana rate cap vs median monthly household income
- 1.6%
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 Montana
- Median household income
- $71,403
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.0 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 15.8%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 12.2%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for Montana are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in Montana
| Payday loan in MT | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Not allowed — storefront payday loans are banned | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Rate cap | Capped at 36% 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: Montana law as summarized on our Montana 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 Montana
Credit unions are headquartered in 24 cities and towns across Montana. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in Montana
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater Federal Credit UnionFederal | Missoula | 67,211 | clearwatercreditunion.org |
| Whitefish Credit Union AssociationState-chartered | Whitefish | 64,905 | whitefishcu.com |
| Altana Federal Credit UnionFederal | Billings | 40,056 | altanafcu.org |
| Valley Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Billings | 38,943 | valleyfcu.com |
| Park Side Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Whitefish | 30,171 | parksidefcu.com |
| Montana Federal Credit UnionFederal | Great Falls | 26,193 | montanacu.com |
| Intrepid Credit UnionState-chartered | Helena | 18,704 | intrepidcu.org |
| 1st Liberty Federal Credit UnionFederal | Great Falls | 14,437 | 1stliberty.org |
| Billings Federal Credit UnionFederal | Billings | 13,027 | billingsfcu.org |
| Sky Federal Credit UnionFederal | Livingston | 12,746 | skyfcu.com |
| Southwest Montana Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Anaconda | 11,541 | swmcfcu.com |
| Russell Country Federal Credit UnionFederal | Great Falls | 9,897 | russellcountryfcu.org |
| Fergus Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lewistown | 6,485 | fergusfcu.com |
| Ravalli County Federal Credit UnionFederal | Hamilton | 6,272 | ravallicountyfcu.org |
| Lincoln County Credit UnionState-chartered | Libby | 5,698 | lincolncountycu.com |
| Richland Federal Credit UnionFederal | Sidney | 4,834 | richlandfcu.com |
| Vocal Credit UnionState-chartered | Helena | 4,324 | vocal.coop |
| Community 1st Federal Credit UnionFederal | Miles City | 3,924 | c1stfcu.org |
| Grasslands Federal Credit UnionFederal | Circle | 3,858 | grasslandscu.com |
| Rimrock Credit UnionState-chartered | Billings | 3,252 | rimrockcu.org |
| Wolf Point Federal Credit UnionFederal | Wolf Point | 3,236 | wpfcu.com |
| Daniels-Sheridan Federal Credit UnionFederal | Scobey | 3,178 | dsfcu.net |
| Mountain West Federal Credit UnionFederal | Butte | 2,990 | mountainwestfcu.com |
| Northwestern Energy Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Butte | 2,889 | nweefcu.org |
| Butte Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Butte | 2,773 | buttecommunityfcu.com |
| The Morning Star Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lame Deer | 2,430 | tmsfcu.com |
| Badlands Federal Credit UnionFederal | Glendive | 2,198 | badlandsfcu.org |
| Bitterroot Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Darby | 2,168 | bitterrootcommunityfcu.com |
| Seg Federal Credit UnionFederal | Laurel | 1,992 | segfcu.com |
| Mile High Federal Credit UnionFederal | Butte | 1,721 | milehighfcu.org |
| The Family First Federal Credit UnionFederal | Great Falls | 1,689 | familyfirstfcu.org |
| Montana Educators' Credit UnionState-chartered | Missoula | 1,661 | mtedcu.org |
| Glendive Bn Federal Credit UnionFederal | Glendive | 1,645 | bnfcu.org |
| Fort Peck Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fort Peck | 1,178 | fortpeckcu.com |
| St. Pats Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Missoula | 649 | stpatscu.com |
| M D U Employees Federal Credit UnionFederal | Glendive | 486 | mdufcu.com |
| Deer Lodge County School Emp Federal Credit UnionFederal | Anaconda | 476 | — |
| Tricounty Federal Credit UnionFederal | Harlowton | 227 | — |
| Northern Montana Hospital Federal Credit UnionFederal | Havre | 188 | nmhcare.org |
| Froid Federal Credit UnionFederal | Froid | 165 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of Montana
Other cities and towns in Montana where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Anaconda 2
- Butte 4
- Circle 1
- Darby 1
- Fort Peck 1
- Froid 1
- Glendive 3
- Hamilton 1
- Harlowton 1
- Havre 1
- Lame Deer 1
- Laurel 1
- Lewistown 1
- Libby 1
- Livingston 1
- Miles City 1
- Scobey 1
- Sidney 1
- Whitefish 2
- Wolf Point 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.