SMITHFIELD – Credit Union Central Falls, a $1.03 billion financial institution with branches in six cities and towns across northern Rhode Island, has changed its name to Navigant Credit Union.
Only the name is changing, Navigant emphasized. “This is not merger, acquisition or buyout,” the credit union said on its Web site. “We are the same organization you have trusted for over 92 years with the same friendly staff.”
Its multimedia ad campaign includes the tagline “Someone to stand beside you, someone to guide you: Navigant Credit Union. Enjoy life’s journey!”
The credit union is Rhode Island largest and its first, founded in March 1915 in the basement of a Central Falls church under the name “La Credit Union de Notre Dame de Central Falls.” In the early 1920s, it changed its name to Credit Union Central Falls, to distinguish itself from the parish.
Its latest name was chosen to evoke the credit union’s connection to the Ocean State “without being tied to any specific place,” Navigant said. In the past, it said, “Many people believed they couldn’t join our credit union unless they had some relationship with the city of Central Falls. … This name change will eliminate any eligibility confusion.”
Navigant has branches on Broad Street in Central Falls; on Front Street in Lincoln; on Dexter Street in Pawtucket; on Douglas Pike in Smithfield; on Park Avenue in Woonsocket; and on Mendon Hill Road in Cumberland. A second Cumberland branch, Diamond Hill Road in the Chapel Four Corners neighborhood, will have its grand opening this Saturday, April 28.
Additional information is available at www.navigantcu.org.
