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 South Carolina
46 credit unions are headquartered in South Carolina, with 1,714,366 members in total. 38 are federal credit unions and 8 are state-chartered; all are federally insured by the NCUA.
- Credit unions
- 46
- Members
- 1.7M
- Federal
- 38
- State-chartered
- 8
- Members per 100 people
- 33
- CUs per 100k people
- 0.9
Credit unions vs payday loan stores in South Carolina
South Carolina has 398 payday, installment and title loan stores but only 46 credit unions headquartered here — about 8.7 loan stores for every credit union. Local credit unions count 1,714,366 members — roughly 33 memberships per 100 residents.
Credit unions
46
0.9 per 100k residents
1.7M members
Payday & loan stores
398
7.6 per 100k residents
13 store chains
Biggest loan store chains in South Carolina: TitleMax (79), Security Finance (76), Advance America (46), OneMain Financial (45), 1st Franklin Financial (43).
What a $500 loan costs over 3 months
| Option | Payment | Total cost |
|---|---|---|
| Payday loan, re-borrowed 6 times (~391% APR) | $75.00 every 2 weeks | $450.00 |
| Credit union PAL, 3 monthly payments (28% APR + $20 fee) | $174.50 a month | $43.51 |
- You keep with a credit union PAL over 3 months
- $406.49 payday costs 10× more
Payday: the SC maximum — $75 on a $500 loan for 2 weeks, paid again each time the loan is renewed or taken out again (6 times in 3 months). PAL: payday alternative loan from a federal credit union, capped at 28% APR with an application fee of up to $20.
What it means for a household in South Carolina
- Median household income
- $69,406
- Payday fee of $75, share of two weeks' income
- 2.8%
- Hours of work to pay the $75 fee
- 4.2 hours
- PAL payment of $174.50, share of monthly income
- 3.0%
- A $400 emergency equals
- 2.1 days of income
- Households earning under $25,000
- 17.7%
- Residents below the poverty line
- 14.4%
Income and poverty: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, by ZIP code; figures for South Carolina are population-weighted and approximate. Hours of work are based on the median individual income.
Payday loans vs credit union PALs: the rules in South Carolina
| Payday loan in SC | Credit union PAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal status | Allowed | Offered by many federal credit unions |
| Loan amount | $500 | $200 – $2,000 |
| Fee limit | 15% of face value ($75) | Application fee up to $20 |
| Typical APR | ~391% | 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: South Carolina law as summarized on our South Carolina 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 South Carolina
Credit unions are headquartered in 24 cities and towns across South Carolina. Pick a city for addresses and websites, or scroll down for the smaller towns.
All credit unions in South Carolina
| Credit union | Headquarters | Members | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founders Federal Credit UnionFederal | Lancaster | 290,408 | foundersfcu.com |
| Srp Federal Credit UnionFederal | North Augusta | 201,844 | srpfcu.org |
| South Carolina Federal Credit UnionFederal | North Charlesto | 156,633 | scfederal.org |
| Safe Federal Credit UnionFederal | Sumter | 140,790 | safefed.org |
| Allsouth Federal Credit UnionFederal | Columbia | 119,460 | allsouth.org |
| S. C. State Federal Credit UnionFederal | Columbia | 93,521 | scscu.com |
| Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit UnionFederal | Columbia | 86,899 | palmettocitizens.org |
| Sharonview Federal Credit UnionFederal | Fort Mill | 82,853 | sharonview.org |
| Cpm Federal Credit UnionFederal | North Charlesto | 66,965 | cpmfed.com |
| Rev Federal Credit UnionFederal | Charleston | 66,276 | revfcu.com |
| Family Trust Federal Credit UnionFederal | Rock Hill | 59,524 | familytrust.org |
| Spero Financial Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenville | 45,420 | spero.financial |
| Carolina Trust Federal Credit UnionFederal | Myrtle Beach | 40,399 | carolinatrust.org |
| Greenville Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenville | 35,393 | greenvillefcu.com |
| Spc Credit UnionState-chartered | Hartsville | 25,924 | spccu.org |
| Carolina Foothills Federal Credit UnionFederal | Spartanburg | 19,389 | carolinafoothillsfcu.coop |
| Georgetown Kraft Credit UnionState-chartered | Georgetown | 18,296 | gkcu.org |
| Upstate Federal Credit UnionFederal | Anderson | 17,602 | upstatefcu.org |
| Mtc Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenville | 15,990 | mtcfederal.com |
| Mid Carolina Credit UnionState-chartered | Lugoff | 14,016 | midcarolinacu.com |
| Greenville Heritage Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenville | 11,410 | greenvilleheritage.com |
| Caro Federal Credit UnionFederal | Columbia | 10,650 | smartcaro.org |
| Curis Financial Credit UnionState-chartered | Columbia | 9,251 | curisfinancial.org |
| Nucor Employee's Credit UnionState-chartered | Florence | 8,574 | nucorcu.org |
| Tru Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenwood | 7,343 | trufcu.com |
| Neighbors United Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenwood | 7,234 | neighborsunitedfcu.org |
| Santee Cooper Credit UnionState-chartered | Moncks Corner | 7,152 | santeecoopercreditunion.com |
| Palmetto First Federal Credit UnionFederal | Florence | 6,501 | palmettofirst.com |
| Latitude 32 Federal Credit UnionFederal | Charleston | 6,323 | latitude32.org |
| South Carolina National Guard Federal Credit UnionFederal | Columbia | 5,584 | allsouth.org |
| Dixies Federal Credit UnionFederal | Darlington | 5,008 | dixiefcu.com |
| Pee Dee Federal Credit UnionFederal | Florence | 4,714 | pdfcu.org |
| Secured Advantage Federal Credit UnionFederal | Simpsonville | 4,492 | securedadvantagefcu.com |
| Hopesouth Federal Credit UnionFederal | Abbeville | 3,851 | hopesouth.org |
| Edisto Federal Credit UnionFederal | Orangeburg | 2,787 | edistofederalcu.org |
| Anmed Federal Credit UnionFederal | Anderson | 2,546 | anmedfcu.org |
| 1st Cooperative Federal Credit UnionFederal | Cayce | 2,488 | 1stcooperative.com |
| Berkeley Community Federal Credit UnionFederal | Moncks Corner | 2,111 | berkeleycommunityfcu.com |
| Self Memorial Hospital Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenwood | 1,838 | selfregional.org |
| S C I Federal Credit UnionFederal | Florence | 1,622 | scifcu.com |
| Columbia Post Office Credit UnionState-chartered | Columbia | 1,202 | columbiapostalcreditunion.com |
| Emerald Credit Association Federal Credit UnionFederal | Greenwood | 1,202 | emeraldcu.com |
| Brookland Federal Credit UnionFederal | West Columbia | 1,167 | brooklandfcu.org |
| South Carolina Methodist Conf Credit UnionState-chartered | Columbia | 986 | scmccu.org |
| S. C. H. D. Dist #7 Federal Credit UnionFederal | Orangeburg | 534 | — |
| Trinity Baptist Church Federal Credit UnionFederal | Florence | 194 | — |
Credit unions in smaller towns of South Carolina
Other cities and towns in South Carolina where credit unions are headquartered, and how many there are in each.
- Abbeville 1
- Cayce 1
- Darlington 1
- Georgetown 1
- Hartsville 1
- Lugoff 1
- Moncks Corner 2
- North Augusta 1
- North Charlesto 2
- Orangeburg 2
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.