-Messenger file photo by Chad Thompson
Green State Credit Union, 1207 Central Ave., formerly First American Bank, opened for business in the spring of 2020.

Green State Credit Union became the newest financial institution in Fort Dodge last year.

Formerly known as the University of Iowa Credit Union, it arrived in Fort Dodge by purchasing branches of the former First American Bank.

First American Bank was established in Fort Dodge in 1934. In the summer of 2019, a deal was announced in which Green State Credit Union would buy the Fort Dodge and Des Moines area branches of First American Bank.

“We are excited about the opportunity to enhance the financial well-being of Iowans throughout the Des Moines and Fort Dodge communities, while at the same time providing greater convenience for our existing members living in those areas,” Jeff Disterhoft, the president and chief executive officer of Green State Credit Union, said when the deal was announced.

Green State Credit Union had some hurdles to overcome as it got established in the Fort Dodge community.

In early 2020, it briefly seemed like the Iowa Division of Banking was going to block the deal between Green State and First American.

Then, on one of the first days it was open, Green State’s downtown location was robbed by a man with a knife. He was arrested immediately just outside the bank and later pleaded guilty.

The credit union moved past the drama and settled into the community.

In the summer of 2020, it became one of the first financial institutions to issue contactless credit cards.

Contactless cards use radio frequency identification technology to allow the user to simply hold the card near the card reader to process the transaction. There is no need to insert or swipe the card.

If the store does not have a contactless card reader, the individual can use the conventional methods to process the transaction.

Also last year, Green State offered a Give and Grow program in which it matched, dollar for dollar, any donations that members made to local school foundations.

Green State Credit Union has branches at 1207 Central Ave. and 114 N. 27th St.