A Credit Union Moon Shot

Sometime in the next 12 months the proposed Carolina Students’ Credit Union will be launched.

The crew of 31 students is backed by a support team  of faculty and credit union interested folk. As noted in yesterday’s post, new charters are rare with fewer than two a year succeeding after  lift off.

The  Beginning

What motivated these fulltime students to organize this coop venture?

Shiva Rajbhandari is originally from Boise, Idaho. When he arrived on campus as a freshman, he was unable to deposit his scholarship check remotely, so he searched for a financial option in Chapel Hill. As a climate activist, he wished to avoid large banks with their investments in fossil fuels.

When he couldn’t find a credit union available to UNC students, he decided to start one. Shiva is now a junior studying Public Policy and Sociology. He is also the President and founder of the student chartering team.

Critical Milestones Met to Date

• By April of 2025 a board of advisors  of credit union professionals and faculty was assembled.
• NCUA approved their concept with an FOM of undergraduate and graduate students at UNC in August.
• After two rounds of recruitment, the launch crew grew to 31 team members.
• From advisors’ counsel, the group is seeking a state charter with the NC Credit Union Division. North Carlina has not issued a new charter in over 30 years.
• Team members visited the student-run credit unions at Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania.  They learned about student loan products, potential vendor partners, and university support.  One critical  takeaway: in the digital campus environment students value local personal service. Over 60% of the Georgetown student body are credit union members.
• The first draft of the charter application is complete and circulating to advisors for review. It includes a 40-page continuity plan.-
• Campus financial literacy presentations drew over 80 students further documenting interest.

Why a Credit Union Charter?

Founder Sarah Galdi, from Apex, NC,  is a sophomore studying Economics and Mathematics. A life-long credit union member, she took for granted the value they provide communities.  Then at  college she realized not everyone has access to not-for-profit financial services. She describes three situations of immediate focus:

• Wells Fargo has  a monopoly on our campus. International students, for example, have a difficult time opening accounts with large banks. We will be able to lower these barriers to entry as has been done at UPenn’s credit union. Two international students joined our team because they were personally drawn to our mission . 
• Student organizations can be disadvantaged by the lack of financial options. To receive funding from student government, organizations must have a bank account. Wells Fargo, requires a minimum deposit to open organizational accounts, meaning students must advance this deposit requirement before receiving University funding.
• As a public university, students come from all income levels. Economic inequality on campus mirrors society at large. Some student’s  parents add their name on their children’s credit card to establish a credit history.  Lower income and first-generation students often lack this option. They have low or no credit scores. This is a significant economic hurdle for these students.  We plan to offer credit builder loans to close this gap.

 An International Student’s Story

When I first came to the U.S. at 17, I was completely on my own — new campus, new country, no idea what I was doing.

And one of the first walls I hit was just trying to access the basic financial system.

I couldn’t get a debit card because I was under 18. I couldn’t work because I didn’t have a Social Security Number yet. And without an SSN, I couldn’t apply for a credit card  It was an exhausting loop—every door seemed to require a key I didn’t have.

The hardest part, honestly, wasn’t even the bureaucracy. It was doing all of it alone.  I was just figuring it out as I went, confused, frustrated, and sometimes just worn down by it.

That experience stuck with me. The system isn’t just complicated — it’s genuinely inaccessible for international students, especially those who arrive young. And that’s something I really want to change. 

The witer, Hasvi Mariki,  joined the credit union luanch crew.

A Standing Ovation at GAC

Through the support of Carolina credit unions and ACU, three student founders attended last month’s GAC.  Here is one participant’s account.

At a Credit Union Roundtable, we told the people at our table our story.  They got so excited for us, they grabbed a mic.  Then they asked  me to stand up and share our mission with the 100–200 people in the room. They gave us a standing ovation. People were inspired that we are encouraging young people to join credit unions and work in the credit union industry. We affirmed that cooperative finance is relevant and worth building for the next generation.

An observer at that session sent me this note: The students are choosing to build. Not because it’s easy. Not because the system makes it straightforward. But because they see a gap between what finance is and what it could be.

Regulator’s Funding Requirement

An outreach committee is seeking the initial $500,000 capital  now required to receive a charter. Junior Mohammad Qureshi from Greensboro, NC, is  the Chair  for this task.

“I came to UNC on the pre-med track. From a young age, I knew I wanted a career centered on helping people, and becoming a physician felt like the natural path. But early in my sophomore year, I realized I wasn’t happy.

I switched to economics, as i was surrounded by business growing up. But something still felt off. Most business careers prioritize profit over people, and that bothered me.  I’d lost my sense of purpose; sold out on doing something meaningful.

When seeing the opportunity to join the startup, I didn’t know much about credit unions, but I’d always heard of them. I researched and something clicked: high-impact finance that puts people first.

This has been one of the most transformative experiences of my time at UNC. Bringing a credit union to campus has become my way of leaving something meaningful behind, proof that purpose and business don’t have to be in conflict.”

This is Bigger than One Credit Union

This is a more consequential  effort than founding one more credit union. It demonstrates the next generation’s belief that coops can make a difference.

Whenever a brand, a product, a  company or even fan loyalty created by the founders  is not renewed for following generations, consumers’ interest will atrophy and die.

This de novo effort has multiple projects and specific support needs.  You can learn about these by contacting  Sarah Galdi, Scgaldi@unc.edu or President Shiva Rajbhandari, Shiva.rajbhandari@unc.edu.

The credit union’s website is here.  Individuals can make tax exempt donations through CU De Novo, linked here.

Support of this startup will have an impact on campus for students, on the NC credit union system and the public’s perception of coop’s relevance. But most importantly you will feel good knowing you made a difference.

If you have any hesitation, I recommend you talk with one of the founders.  That is what convinced me this is a special group who will complete their mission.