I’m a long-time credit union member, and would definitely recommend them over a commercial bank. I’ve consistently encountered better service, lower fees and none of the irritating nickel-and-dime tactics commercial banks use to grind out profits. Every time I’ve bought a car or procured a home mortgage I’ve gotten the same or better interest rates than competing banks.
It looks like 7-11 has an agreement with co-op so the ATMs are free to use for co-op cards.
http://www.allbusiness.com/retail-trade/food-stores/4487893-1.html
I was happy enough with my Saskatoon credit union account until I tried to do some banking at a credit union in Oakville. Their ATM would only let me withdraw $200 and I wanted to withdraw $500. The teller told me it was flat-out impossible, but I persisted and she grudgingly admitted that it could be done by calling my home branch. Then she rolled her eyes when I told her I didn’t know what the phone number and street address of my home branch was (who keeps those kind of details memorised?). So, with even more eye-rolling, she was forced to look up the phone number in a credit union directory. At which point she was able to place a sulky phone call to my branch and confirm I had the money.
After that I switched to BMO and then Scotiabank, and I’ve never looked back. More branches to choose from, better hours (in my experience), more services, etc.
I have found this as well, with primary mortgages. We have our HELOC through the credit union, however, and their rates / fees are better than a private bank’s would be.
Some advantages of a bank vs. a credit union would be wider distribution of branches - most credit unions have only a couple of locations in which you can do business (excluding some of the big ones in the DC area like Navy and Pentagon). We’re finding this to be a minor annoyance at best (we bank with a credit union) but others might find it more troublesome.
Credit Union deposits are insured by NCUSIF which is like FDIC but in much better shape.
Also, credit unions do not have customers but members. Any member can run for the board of directors or committee positions at an annual meeting of members and have a say in CU operations if they would be elected.
I’ve tried. I’ve been rejected due to insufficient credit history.
What is the legal difference between a credit union and a bank? Specifically I am a member of USAA and my checks say “USAA Federal Savings Bank,” so I am pretty sure they are the latter. They do still have limited membership similar to what would be typical of a credit union. So whats the difference between USAA (a membership based bank) and any membership based credit union?
Credit unions expanded a lot and banks said they were breaking the law. The court battle went to the Supreme Court and the SC ruled they were breaking the law by having too many members. However Congress quickly changed the law so the banks wasted a lot of time and money on that issue.
I have been with the local CU for several years now, they have my Checking and multiple Savings accounts, VISA card AND my car loan.
I’m with a small CU (NASA employees) but I have banked all over the country (U.S.) at other CU’s, look for a decal on the door with the NCUA logo (National Credit Union Association).
Since moving to my CU I would NOT consider returning to a “real” Bank.
Unclviny
Here’s an informative article from a year or so ago. Credit Unions vs Banks
I have accounts in banks and credit unions. If it’s just savings or checking accounts or loans, there’s really not much difference. Some services are generally not available at credit unions, such as safe deposit boxes or signature guarantees. Those are two reasons why I have accounts at banks. It used to be that I could get slightly better interest rates from my credit union, but no more. Interest rates suck all over right now.
Banks are useful for frequent travelers.
My BofA card has worked reliably at every ATM I’ve tried all over the world, and sometimes there are even deals with local banks such that I don’t have to pay any fees (which can easily be $10.00 for foreign transactions.)
I am a member of a schoolteachers’ credit union, though I have never taught in a public or private school in my life. They apparently will take anyone with a degree from my alma mater regardless of what it is in and what you are planning to do with your life. I use a major US bank for most of my banking needs as they have branches all around the area - the credit union has only a few.
It doesn’t seem to matter much when I’m temporarily out of town in an area where my bank isn’t - as long as I have my ATM card I can get money in the US (almost all ATMs) and Canada (most major banks such as ScotiaBank). Now, if I was planning to be making deposits from a remote location, that might become a concern.
I’m the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of a small credit union. In Oklahoma (and probably most if not all states) we are regulated much the same way that banks are. We undergo yearly audits by our state banking commission. We also hire an independent auditor every year to help insure safety of deposits. Even though all deposits are federally insured, the current mortgage situation effected us as well. When US Central and Western Corporate Federal Credit Unions were placed into conservatorship by the NCUA, most credit unions took a pretty big hit. Nothing that wasn’t survivable but ugly nonetheless.
That said, I am (obviously) a big supporter of credit unions. They are often much smaller than banks and I believe that your chances of building credit through them are very good assuming that you have a good job and are responsible. If you can show that you’ve paid your bills regularly, that might be all that it takes to convince them to make you a loan. Good luck!
I use a credit union for pretty much all my financial stuff - except our mortgage. At the time, the credit union only offered adjustable rate mortgages, which I was not interested in. But we’ve used it for car loans, savings, checking, and now online bill paying. It’s just fine.
I do maintain a small account ($250) at a fairly good-sized bank in order to be able to use those few services the CU doesn’t offer (primarily currency exchange - I live close to Canada).
Depends on your lifestyle. I can count on one hand the number of times I have been in my bank branch in the last five years. So I couldn’t care less about the customer service. But I do a lot of my business after hours when my credit union is closed. So I have to have both. Plus I do use ATMs a lot and require the convenience. I doubt I would go to PNC or TD for a loan since they aren’t competitive. But I do need to have the help when I need it.
I do most of my credit union banking on line. My credit union debit card is MC, so works anywhere. (At least, anywhere I’m going :rolleyes: )
Maybe I’m alone, but I’ve found credit unions in my area not to be very competitive. Granted, I haven’t checked for 2 or 3 years, but I’ve looked for a credit union that offers a good checking account and there just isn’t one that competes with the local banks.
At first, when I moved to the area, all the credit unions required either large checking account balances or charged a lot of fees (like a transaction fee for every time you used your debit/ATM card). I went with a bank and had no fees except $1 a month for the debit card, and no minimum balance.
When I switched banks a few years ago, things were slightly better for the credit unions on fees, but no checking accounts offered interest. I went with a rewards checking account at a new bank (3% interest now, 5.5% then) with again, no minimum balance, ATM fees (from other banks - they charge no fees and have unlimited transactions) refunded up to $20, and other perks, and all I have to do is use my debit card 10 times per month, don’t get paper statements, and have direct deposit.
For giggles, I just checked some local credit unions. I did find an interest-bearing checking account; a whopping 0.10%, $2k minimum. If you check your balance at at ATM, it costs $1.00 and you can only use the ATM card for free to withdraw/deposit 6 times a month… so yeah. Not flexible enough, not competitive enough.
I like the idea, I really do. But credit unions in this area just aren’t competitive for my needs. If my bank ever does me wrong, I have a close eye on several other banks in the area offering similar interest (in some cases, more – but requiring a significant balance).
Interesting. If your location is correct, I’d guess that the competitiveness of CUs vs traditional banks must vary widely by region.
Here in the DC area, there are truly a LOT of credit unions and they are all actively recruiting members. Possibly because so many of the area’s workers are employed directly or indirectly by the government. I honestly can’t drive more than a mile without passing by a CU branch (or at least ATM). Navy FCU is huge around here with Pentagon FCV probably next in line, but there are boatloads of much smaller ones. In general, rates and fees are much better than a private bank. With the exception of primary mortgage rates, at least with our own CU (though I just checked and they were relatively close, only 1/8 of a point). I could probably get better deposit account rates (CDs etc.) at an online bank, but savings rates are definitely better than other brick-and-mortar places.
I guess so. I just checked, and our Credit Union, in CA, is paying 1.15 % savings, 0.50% checking. By comparison, our bank, in Michigan, is paying 0.05% (!) for savings.