CMAR Credit Union is a state-chartered organization whose original sponsor was the City of Marietta in 1964, hence the name CMAR (pronounced "see-mar"). Over the past four decades, we have grown to include more than 100 sponsoring employers who make credit union membership available to their employees and their families.

The credit union concept was developed in 1849 when the mayor of a small village in Germany wanted to help his community recover from the physical and financial devastation caused by the Napoleonic wars. His plan was for residents to pool their small, but regular savings and give out low interest loans. His plan worked well and the idea quickly caught on and spread across Europe.

As the 20th century began, the credit union idea surfaced in Canada. The first credit union in the United States was established in Manchester, New Hampshire in 1909. Today, there are more than 8,500 credit unions with membership over 84 million.