Lompoc-based CoastHills Credit Union recently opened its first Ventura County branch at 125 N. Moorpark Road in Thousand Oaks.

The 5,000-square-foot “branch of the future” features a virtual banking experience as well as a tech bar that offers tutorials for CoastHill’s digital products. CoastHills completed a renovation of the space that was formerly home to the furniture chain Jennifer Convertibles.

“The banking industry is changing so rapidly,” Branch Manager Ari Hovnanyan said in a news release. “We want to make sure we provide members the options they need to manage their finances on their own terms.”

The nonprofit credit union has more than $960 million in assets and serves some 62,000 members at 12 branches that span Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties. It is one of the largest credit unions in the region.

CoastHills was organized in 1958 to serve the Vandenberg Air Force Base military personnel. It became a state-chartered credit union in 2014 and expanded beyond Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties into Santa Cruz, Monterey and Ventura.

Credit unions, which are owned by their account holders, have been expanding throughout the region. New rules have allowed a number of them to expand their service area and they have become increasingly popular with consumers since the financial downturn. Tri-county credit unions continue to capture a bigger market share of loans for cars and first-time homebuyers.

Ventura County Credit Union moved to its new Ventura location at 2575 Vista Del Mar Drive in February and SESLOC opened its first branch in Santa Barbara County at 2506 S. Broadway in Santa Maria earlier this year.

• Contact Alex Kacik at akacik@pacbiztimes.com.