The Association of Military Banks (AMBA) is the only trade association representing banking institutions specializing in providing banking services for military personnel and their families around the world. AMBA has a long history of partnering with the Department of Defense for the benefit of military members and their dependents. AMBA’s membership includes large and small national and state-chartered banks, most operating on military installations and all insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). AMBA represents the interests of banking institutions serving the military. AMBA serves as a liaison with DoD, Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), Military Services, Treasury, FDIC, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and its Office of Servicemember Affairs (OSA).
AMBA’s Mission
To lead and support its members to enhance the financial wellness of U.S. military and veteran communities by building strategic partnerships and promoting financial products, services, and education.
AMBA’s Vision
The premier organization supporting all U.S. banks committed to serving our military and veteran communities.
Benefits of an On-Base Bank
Passion
Military banks are full-service financial institutions with experience in and a passion for serving the unique needs of military personnel and their families.
Full Service
Military banks do not limit their services to their customers; they provide services to customers and non-customers in the military communities they serve.
Partnership
On-base banks partner with the commands and the military communities they serve by providing financial services and sponsoring community activities and programs.
Financial Education
Military banks are committed in their operating agreements to provide financial education to all base personnel and family members. This benefit is particularly important as Congress redefines military compensation and retirement benefits.
Responsible Lending
On-base banks engage in responsible lending by helping qualified service members and their families bridge occasional gaps between paychecks. As alternatives to predatory lending often available outside the installation’s main gate, military banks offer loans at reasonable prices and employ lending practices designed to improve borrower credit.
Choice
All on-base banks provide military members, civilian employees, and their families a choice of financial service providers without requiring them to leave the base. This choice results in a healthy competition through increased availability of products and services, improved delivery methods, and more favorable prices for members of the military community.
Command Support
Most military banks are participants in the Treasury General Account program, through which they provide financial services to federal entities on the installation. These banks also store cash, thereby eliminating the need for on-base entities to transport their funds off-base.
Convenience
Some military banks are located inside Military Exchanges and offer financial services during Exchange operating hours. Most on-base banks manage ATM machines that provide access to cash 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Support to the mission
Commercial, nonprofit, and other on-base accounts can be maintained at military banks. Alternatives such as personnel traveling off-base to perform these financial tasks potentially adversely impact their unit’s mission.
Expeditionary
Military banks serve where our military serves. Whether through on-base banks in the United States or abroad or through electronic bank networks like the Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN), military banks provide military members access to their money wherever they are assigned or deployed.
Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN) and the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA)
The Armed Forces Financial Network® (AFFN®) is an electronic transfer network (EFT) providing network access to the U.S. military, veteran, and civilian communities with ready access to their funds through ATM and POS terminals located at or near U.S. military bases worldwide. For more than 35 years, The Armed Forces Financial Network (AFFN) has provided service to the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA) Banks and the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) Credit Unions in support of those who serve.
To learn more about AFFN, please visit www.AFFN.org
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