National Invest in Veterans Week: Expanding access to capital for those who served

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Scott Simpson is president/CEO of America’s Credit Unions.

The first week of March marks National Invest in Veterans Week, a reminder that honoring service requires more than recognition. Investing in veterans means ensuring access to stable financial institutions, affordable credit, and real economic mobility.

For active duty service members, financial stability is closely tied to readiness. For veterans, access to affordable capital often determines whether the transition to civilian life begins with momentum or friction. If policymakers and financial institutions want to meaningfully invest in veterans, the conversation should focus heavily on credit access, small-business formation, and long-term financial security. We know that veterans can’t focus on their mental and physical health needs without a strong financial foundation.

Credit unions have long occupied a distinctive role in military communities. Many defense-focused credit unions were chartered during World War II to serve personnel stationed far from home. Today, they remain embedded near installations across the country, serving service members and their families through deployments, relocations and transitions.

Unlike shareholder-owned banks, credit unions are member-owned cooperatives. Earnings are generally reinvested into better rates, lower fees and community programs rather than distributed as dividends. That model has often been translated into flexibility during moments of stress. During government shutdowns that delayed military pay, credit unions stepped in with paycheck advances, interest-free bridge loans and fee waivers to prevent temporary disruptions from becoming long-term financial damage.

Survey data reflects the trust built through those relationships. Military household credit union members are nearly twice as likely as non-members to say they are “very positive” they can obtain a low-cost loan at their credit union.

Military families account for more than half of all members in the nation’s largest credit unions. Serving millions affiliated with the armed forces, these credit unions operate as a financial hub for active-duty personnel, veterans and their families worldwide. That scale matters not only for day-to-day banking, but for what comes next. Nearly 25% of veterans say they want to start a small business. They bring leadership and operational discipline but often lack early-stage capital on reasonable terms.

For many veteran entrepreneurs, credit unions are among the few mission-driven lenders willing to provide small-dollar Member Business Loans that support business formation, equipment purchases, or working capital during the early stages of civilian economic life. These loans often serve as the bridge between military service and long-term financial independence.

Across the country, credit unions have filled that gap. In Kentucky, Abound Credit Union extended a small-business loan to a veteran launching a running store, helping catalyze a local revitalization effort and create community in the process. This example underscores a broader truth: access to capital often determines whether ambition becomes economic activity.

However, the statutory cap on Member Business Lending limits the ability of credit unions to meet growing demand from veteran-owned small businesses seeking responsible, community-based financing. This is why we support the Veteran’s Member Business Loan Act (S. 110 and H.R. 507), as it would provide veterans with more business loan options and greater access to capital through their trusted credit union. Modernizing this cap would allow credit unions to responsibly expand lending to veteran entrepreneurs, particularly in rural and defense-adjacent communities where traditional commercial credit options remain limited.

If Congress wants to encourage veteran entrepreneurship and financial readiness, it should ensure that community-based lenders have the regulatory clarity and capital capacity to serve them effectively. Modernizing digital access for deployed service members, maintaining sensible capital standards and preserving strong consumer protections are measures that shape outcomes for military families.

National Invest in Veterans Week should therefore be measured not by rhetoric, but by results.  We are ready to work with Congress and policymakers to protect our veterans who devoted their lives to protecting us. Gratitude honors service. Sustained access to capital strengthens it long after the uniform is retired.