Greater Watertown Federal Credit Union members have approved its merger with Waterbury-based FD Community Federal Credit Union, and the institutions plan to complete the transaction on Aug. 1, according to a statement on Greater Watertown FCU’s website.

The member vote took place in April and results were confirmed last month. The credit unions have already received regulatory approval from the National Credit Union Administration for the transaction.

In a letter to members earlier this year, GWFCU’s board of directors said several factors drove the decision to pursue a merger, including the challenges faced by a small institution. GWFCU has about $20 million in total assets and 2,600 members, according to NCUA data.

“Our size does not lend itself to the economies of scale necessary to offer competitive pricing of our products,” the board of directors said in its letter. “Since much of our membership is beyond their prime borrowing years, we are unable to generate sufficient loan income to pay competitive dividend rates. And, we are unable to offer emerging technologies to improve our remote interactions with our membership.”

FD Community has about $117 million in assets and 9,800 members. In a separate letter to FD Community members, President and CEO David Sacco and Chairman Joseph Del Buono said the merger would bring greater value and convenience to the combined membership.

“Looking ahead, the combined deposits and capital base that will result from this partnership will give us added resources to offer even greater levels of member service, explore greater access to new technologies, as well as begin offering new products and services,” Sacco and Del Buono said.

Sacco will lead the combined organization, which will keep the FD Community name. FD Community FCU’s combined field of membership would include people who live, work, worship or attend school in Waterbury, Naugatuck, Cheshire, Watertown, Wolcott, Plymouth, Prospect, Oakville, Thomaston or Middlebury. Businesses and other legal entities in those towns will also be eligible for membership.

This will be the third merger of Connecticut credit unions in 2021. East Hartford-based America’s First Network Credit Union acquired Groton Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union in February, and Bethel-based Consolidated Controls Corp. Federal Credit Union merged into Shelton-based Mutual Security Credit Union.