First Virginia

First Virginia is a consumer-facing lending brand operated within the Community Choice Financial family of companies. It is described by its parent as an American alternative financial services provider, and its official page presents it as a neighborhood-based source of short-term cash solutions. The brand's core proposition is speed and accessibility: customers can apply in-store or online, use a mobile app, and find a store through a national network that Community Choice Financial says numbers nearly 500 locations. Alongside loans, First Virginia-branded services include check cashing at competitive rates and prepaid debit cards usable anywhere Visa is accepted, with cash withdrawals and balance checks available at ATMs worldwide. First Virginia sits inside a larger multi-brand structure. Community Choice Financial states that it has grown since 1986 from a single check-cashing store in Ohio into a family of trusted brands with more than 1,500 locations and robust online services, serving under-served communities across roughly 30 states. The parent company's brand family has been assembled through both organic expansion and acquisitions, including CheckSmart, California Check Cashing Stores, Cash Central, Check Into Cash, Speedy Cash, Rapid Cash, and Avío Credit. First Virginia is one of the lending banners through which the group delivers personal lending and money services nationwide. The brand's positioning is explicitly aimed at hardworking Americans who need access to credit between paychecks or during emergencies. Its messaging emphasizes safe, convenient neighborhood locations, great customer service, and helping customers get back on track toward financial goals. Because it operates under Community Choice Financial, First Virginia benefits from the parent's national store network, licensed online lending capabilities, and omnichannel strategy. The brand does not appear to be a separately listed public company; it functions as part of a privately held group.

First Virginia is a lending brand within the Community Choice Financial family of companies, an American alternative financial services provider. Its own history is tied to the broader history of its parent, which traces its origins to 1986, when the company began with a single check-cashing store in Ohio. Over the following two decades, the business expanded across multiple states, introduced new lending products, and built the groundwork for what would become a national network of financial services brands. Between 2006 and 2010, private equity backing accelerated retail expansion and product offerings, helping to build scalable infrastructure and to unify multiple brands under one vision. From 2011 to 2015, the group consolidated CheckSmart, California Check Cashing Stores, and Cash Central under the Community Choice Financial name, strengthening its coast-to-coast presence and launching an omnichannel strategy with licensed online lending. Between 2016 and 2020, strategic moves and market expansion, including asset swaps and refinanced growth, improved operational efficiency; by 2020 the company was operating hundreds of locations nationwide. The period from 2021 to 2023 was transformational: Community Choice Financial welcomed Check Into Cash, Speedy Cash, Rapid Cash, and Avío Credit into its family of brands, dramatically expanding its storefront and digital footprint. Today the parent describes itself as a national, neighborhood-based lender with more than 1,500 locations and robust online services, serving customers in roughly 30 states. First Virginia operates as one of the consumer lending banners within this family, offering short-term cash solutions, check cashing, and prepaid debit cards through neighborhood stores and online channels. Its official page directs customers to apply online or via app and to find one of nearly 500 locations nationwide.

• 2021

  Check Into Cash, Speedy Cash, Rapid Cash, and Avío Credit join the Community Choice Financial family of brands.

• 2020

  Community Choice Financial operates hundreds of locations nationwide.

• 2011

  CheckSmart, California Check Cashing Stores, and Cash Central are consolidated under the Community Choice Financial name.

• 2006

  Private equity backing accelerates retail expansion and product offerings.

• 1986

  Community Choice Financial's origins begin with a single check-cashing store in Ohio.

Neighborhood-based alternative financial services brand offering fast, accessible short-term cash solutions and money services to under-served communities.

• Short-term loans

  Short-term cash solutions available in-store or online.

• Check cashing

  All types of checks cashed at competitive rates.

• Prepaid debit cards

  Cards usable anywhere Visa is accepted, with ATM cash withdrawal and balance checks worldwide.

1. 1First Virginia Loans – Community Choice Financialccfi.com
2. 2About – Community Choice Financialccfi.com
3. 3Our Brands – Community Choice Financialccfi.com
4. 4First Virginia – Wikidatawikidata.org