A credit union that entered the Wilmington area market in 2021 is expanding, this time with a branch in Wilmington itself.
 
On Friday, Summerville, South Carolina-based REV Federal Credit Union cut the ribbon on its new facility at 3702 S. College Road. This location joins existing ones in Riegelwood and Leland, which REV acquired when it merged with Riegelwood Credit Union and Hamlet (North Carolina) Credit Union in late 2021. With those transactions, REV entered North Carolina.
 
“Wilmington was the next logical move for us after coming into Riegelwood and Leland,” the company's director of marketing Shelley Puckett said Friday. “This is our 16th branch, and we’re looking at an additional Wilmington location so we can continue to expand our footprint here.”
 
Jason Lee, REV’s president and CEO, has a vision for what a credit union can be, Puckett continued.
 
“We like to have a very positive energy, looking forward to the future,” she said. “Our members are the most important thing. We want a credit union that is long-lasting, so we have to change and adjust and modernize in a way that makes sense while keeping our roots.”
 
The credit union began in 1955 as Heritage Trust Federal Credit Union, serving personnel at Charleston Air Force Base. The name change to REV Federal Credit Union happened in 2020 and was part of a rebranding of the financial institution as a digital-first credit union under Lee’s leadership.

REV currently manages more than $1 billion in assets, serves over 68,000 members and employs 202 people, according to the National Credit Union Administration.
 
Pucket said REV’s commitment to the communities it serves is demonstrated through several outreach efforts, notably its Up the Good initiative in which REV employees collaborate on projects for local nonprofits.
 
Each year on Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day when their offices are closed, REV volunteers carry out their Day for Good, said Dorine Bishara, REV’s Leland-based community engagement coordinator. This year on Oct. 9, 15 REV team members from Riegelwood, Leland and the new Wilmington branch carried out projects at the Harrelson Center.
 
“Last year, part of the team took a tour of The Harrelson Center as part of our volunteer day and expressed how amazing it is to have one location with so many nonprofits working alongside each other to help our community,” she said Sunday. “This planted the seed for The Harrelson Center to be the main focus of our day of service for 2023.”
 
Several volunteers assembled new clothing racks for Philippians 3: Ministries, an organization that provides free clothing, food and other essentials to people in need. Another group painted the office of Soaring as Eagles Outreach Ministry, an organization that offers tutoring and educational outreach services to at-risk youth. Another group from REV installed multiple diaper-changing tables in bathrooms throughout The Harrelson Center.
 
During that day, one team of volunteers also installed new plants in the Harrelson Center courtyard and removed broken outdoor furniture. Another team distributed Birthday Bags for clients of several Harrelson-housed organizations and assembled Blessing Bags for the Help Hub to distribute to clients.
 
REV has also lent support to area events. The company was a sponsor of the Airlie Gardens Concert Series this summer and, most recently, of Saturday’s Bands, Brews, & BBQ event in Belville.