AFFN was founded in 1985 at the request of the U.S. Army in support of the Surepay direct deposit system to provide U.S. military personnel (active, reserve, dependents and retired) with access to their funds through ATM and point-of-sale (POS) terminals at or near U.S. military bases worldwide. AFFN's mission is to increase the versatility of participating financial institutions to better serve the U.S. military. AFFN is co-owned by the Association of Military Banks of America (AMBA) and the Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC).