Primary vs. Joint Ownership Explained

Primary vs. Joint

Getting to know Dupaco Membership & Account Ownership

Whether you’re a primary, joint, or secondary owner of a Dupaco account, it’s essential to understand how credit union membership and account ownership work. The following information is a quick summary of what you need to know!

Primary Member/Account Owner

What’s a primary account owner?

A primary member is the individual account owner whose Social Security Number (SSN) or Tax Identification Number (TIN) is linked to a Dupaco Membership Share.

How do I become a primary account owner?

A one-time $25 deposit opens your first account and funds a Dupaco Membership Share, keeping your membership active and granting access to products, services, and benefits.

Can more than one person be a primary member?

The primary account owner’s Dupaco membership is exclusively theirs and cannot be shared with anyone else. They can add joint or secondary owners to the accounts they open. But, even then, they retain full responsibility and control over the accounts while they’re living.

Joint/Secondary Account Owner

What’s a joint account owner?

A joint or secondary account owner is someone who was added to a primary member’s account. Common examples include spouses and partners, co-borrowers and co-signers, parents and custodians, and agents and trustees.

Can a joint account owner be a primary member, too?

A joint or secondary account owner can become a primary member by depositing $25 for a Dupaco Membership Share and opening their own account(s) with their SSN or TIN. However, doing so does not grant them any additional control or privileges on the account(s) they were added to by another primary member.

What else do I need to know?

The terms, conditions, and limitations of being a joint or secondary account owner are defined in the Joint or Secondary Account Agreement signed when joining the primary member’s account. It outlines their account privileges, along with those reserved for the primary member only.

Primary vs. Joint: What’s the diff?

Here's an overview of how privileges work

Privileges	Primary Member	Joint/Secondary Owner
Access and manage the shared account through Shine, over the phone, and in-branch	Yes	Yes (with their own login or identity authentication credentials)
Perform day-to-day banking transactions on the shared account (like deposits, withdrawals, transfers, etc.)	Yes	Yes
Remove joint/secondary owners from the shared account	Yes	Yes (with the Primary's verbal authorization)
Open and add new accounts, loans, and lines of credit to the primary member's membership	Yes	No
Access and manage all accounts associated with the primary member's SSN or TIN	Yes	No (just the ones they're added to)
Close a shared account, loan, or line of credit	Yes	Yes (unless it's a Share Savings account)
Close a primary member's membership	Yes	No

Have questions? Need help?

Please refer to your Dupaco Account Agreement. You’ll find your specific Dupaco membership and account ownership details there. If you still have questions, give us a call at 800-373-7600. We’re here to help!