I’ve been unhappy with my bank for a while now, and am looking for a change. There’ve been a few folks here that have mentioned how much happier they are with their credit unions, so tell me: what’s a better choice, and what’s the difference?
Also, if you’re in the Seattle/Tacoma area, feel free to make specific recommendations.
Credit Unions have less fees and often pay high dividends. This is because unlike banks, which have to make a profit for its owners, credit unions are owned by the members.
Razorette and I have “banked” at our local credit union for many years and will never go back to a big traditional bank again. The upsides for us are:
[ul]
[li]The CU is technically not-for-profit, so its fees (check cancellation, overdraft, etc.) are lower.[/li][li]Problems are never shunted off to a call center run by a third-party provider; when I call my local CU, I know the person I’m talking to personally.[/li][li]Our CU has been far more lenient with loans and more eager to work with us on loans than big banks – because they’re locally owned, they’re not hobbled by corporate rules that make no sense.[/li][li]They offer most of the technology (online banking, automatic payment, automatic deposit) the big banks offer.[/ul] [/li]
There are some tradeoffs. The biggest ones are:[ul]
[li]Because a CU is independent (maybe two branches, at most) there’s no way to make an ATM withdrawal away from home without paying a fee.[/li][li]They can’t handle mortgage lending (our’s can’t, anyway, but maybe some employee-based or union-based ones can).[/li][li]They can’t offer the ancillary financial services like investment and retirement packages.[/ul][/li]For us, the first list far outweighs the second list. Of course, we live in a small town and remember when all of the banks were locally owned. In a way, the community credit union is kind of like going back in time. I can’t say enough for the way our local credit union has taken care of us when we really needed their help. That has earned them our unwavering loyalty, and as our financial situation has improved over the years, we’ve stuck with them, and we always will.
[QUOTE=Sunrazor]
There are some tradeoffs. The biggest ones are:[ul]
[li]Because a CU is independent (maybe two branches, at most) there’s no way to make an ATM withdrawal away from home without paying a fee.[/li][li]They can’t handle mortgage lending (our’s can’t, anyway, but maybe some employee-based or union-based ones can).[/li][li]They can’t offer the ancillary financial services like investment and retirement packages.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE]
My credit union is networked with credit unions all over the country to allow for fee-free ATM transactions. And mine offers a full range of financial services including mortgages and retirement accounts.
I’ve been with my credit union for over a decade and would never go back to a bank, for all the reasons mentioned and more.
C-r-e-d-i-t-U-n-i-o-n!!!
If you have a choice of several, see which one:
My credit union is way out of my way, only lets me use a few ATMs for free here and there, and has somewhat of a small interest rate but I would NEVER switch to a bank!
I’ve never heard anything, ever, at all even slightly bad about BECU. (Boeing Employee Credit Union, which isn’t just for Boeing Employees anymore)
I’m slightly too lazy to switch over - but when Bank of America finally pisses me off enough to do so, that’s where I’m going.
Do not know exactly what it is like in the States. In Australia the downside of CU-
We do pretty much all our financial stuff (except for investments) with our credit union. One of the best things Typo Knig did when we first moved to the DC area - there was a credit union on-base and he suggested we join it. I don’t think they directly handle investments but that’s why we have an account with Fidelity.
They do mortgages (though their mortgage rates aren’t the best for primary; we did take out a HELOC which was competitive). They have online banking and free bill-paying. They’re affiliated with a large number of local credit unions that have several local “service centers” which can handle deposits, withdrawals, etc. We can get money from any credit union-affiliated ATM (and there are a lot of those around here).
The one thing they don’t do that we need from a bank is safety-deposit boxes. So we opened up an account at a local branch of a large bank with just enough money to get the customer rate on the box rental.
Like everything else - there are good banks and bad banks and good credit unions and bad credit unions.
On the whole Credit unions are better than banks. In my personnal situation, the credit union I would have to use is worse than most banks. So ask people who use the credit union you’d be joining to make sure they’re happy.
Wise words. At the moment, pretty much everyone I know uses the lousy bank I do, but I’ve been browsing websites and comparing. I think I’ve found one that looks pretty good and they’re part of a network of credit unions, so I should be able to access my account if I’m elsewhere.
I have a bank and a credit union. And I can’t tell a difference at all. Fees are about the same for both. Interest is roughly identical. The Credit Union has never granted me a loan. The bank did but I ended up not using it. I was able to withdraw money at ATMs in Korea from both the CU and the Bank.
I really can’t tell a difference between them. But the bank had online bill pay before the CU did. So it has become my default account, and the CU is just a side thing where I stash a little petty cash.
Our credit union is wonderful. Airman’s mother and sister also have accounts there, and we can deposit money directly into either one, and with our permission, we can link accounts so we can transfer money online.
And the manager of our local branch told me to come talk to her when I graduated school to work out some credit and money-management issues. A bank would’ve laughed in my face when I asked about that.
Robin
I have dealt with both kinds of institutions over the years, and I think the distinctions have become less as laws have changed. One time, CUs couldn’t offer true checks, but NOW’s (Negotiated Order of Withdrawal).
As to fees, I now deal with a bank for most financial stuff, and they have no fees at all for most everything (ATM, checking accounts even with low balances, deposit processing, notarizing, cashier’s checks), so it would be hard to imagine lower ones. And recently, a bank gave me a better loan rate than the CU did.
So nowadays, I just don’t see much real difference.
My credit union reminds me a lot of the independent banks I remember from the '70s. There is a lot less company red tape to wade through to get anything done. I recognize the tellers. When I call, I get someone down the street, not cross country or around the world. They actually seem to want to have my business.
7 years ago I got turned off of the big banking chains by the red tape, the bad customer service, and by the increased fees they were trying to charge ($3 fee to see a teller for anything you could do at an ATM? Please close my account NOW). I’ve been very happy at the local credit union, but I’m not sure I could tell the difference between a good bank and a good credit union anymore.
I LOOOOVE Boeing Employees’ Credit Union. I’ve been a member for about 6 years or so, and they are just great. When we refinanced our house with them, it only took a few phone calls – and no more than 30 seconds on hold over the entire course of those calls – and the stack of papers to sign was about 1/3 the size of our previous lender’s.
Their interest rates are good (for loans and such) and they actually answer the phone when you call. It’s great. And I believe that anyone who lives in WA can join. It just feels like you are dealing with a small company that thinks you’re a real person – everyone I’ve ever talked to at BECU treats me that way – and not a huge impersonal corporation in whose side you are a thorn.
I do business with my firm’s employee credit union. Just like a bank, but better service. one observation: I don’t belive that deposits in a CU are insured by the FDIC. years ago, in Rhode Island, the state’s credit unions collapsed. it turned out that their depositors were insured by a shadowey entity called Rhode Island state deposit insurance Corp., a private entity which had insufficient funds to reimburse the depositors. an ugly scandal ensued-in which it came out that several prominent politicians had gotten their money out before the state shut down the credit unions. later, investigation showed that these credit unions were run by crooks, who looted them and gave out mortgages to friends, other crooks, etc.
Don’t trust ANY RI credit unions!
I’ve been a member of my credit union for almost twenty years and would put my money under my mattress before giving it to another bank. We have all the good services already mentioned (on-line banking, personal service, free investment counseling, etc.) and I’ve never had a problem getting money anywhere I’ve ever been. (Although I haven’t left the US, my CU is affiliated with the Air Force base in OKC, so it’s my understanding I can use the credit union at any US airbase.) I did get my mortgage elsewhere, but only because I was able to get a (slightly) better rate, not because the CU didn’t offer the service. I’ve financed two of my last three cars at the credit union (they couldn’t match GMAC’s 0% for the last one). Direct deposit, on-line (real-time) account information and balance transfers, electronic bill-paying, retirement accounts (and other services, I’m sure) are all offered.
All that being said, the main reason I am such a big fan is the underlying principle of credit unions. A bank (any bank) is a business with owners (shareholders) who must be fed. If you want to believe your bank is giving you free checking or great interest rates out of the goodness of their hearts, well “bless your heart!” Credit unions are also businesses, but their shareholders are the depositors. Whatever profits that , in a bank, would be given to the owners, are, in a credit union, given back to the customers in the form of (in my case) a monthly dividend. It’s a finacial co-operative.
As for ATM use, my CU has made agreements with all(?) local CU’s to share services. To this end, they have built several Credit Union Service Centers around town that act as branches for any credit union. This gives me access to more no-fee ATM’s than most banks in the area.
Just last month, I used my debit card in Costco in Phoenix. I don’t belong to Costco or live in Phoenix.
Oh, and one more thing. Bank deposits are insured (up to $100,00.00 per account, I believe) by FDIC. Credit unions are insured by their own version (whose name escapes me at the moment). I seem to remember this was mandated by the Rhode Island fiasco, but was voluntary even before that happened. (I am admittedly a little fuzzy about the details in this paragraph. I’m sure someone will be along to correct me if I’m mistaken.)
As someone said before, there’s good credit unions and bad credit unions.
When I lived in Reading, PA, no one with any sense used the credit unions there, because they were all a little seedy.
Out here, I wouldn’t bank with anyone other than Greater Nevada Credit Union. I love them. Every time I have a problem (and they do happen, as things slide more towards computers than human effort) I go in, and pow, fixed. I place a HUGE value on customer service, and they’ve never failed me.
Also cool is that I’m automatically enrolled in Overdraft Protection, which means that if I go into overdraft up to $500, they’ll pay the check and then charge me a $24 fee instead of bouncing the check. I have 25 days to pay it off and then nothing goes on my record. Banks like to charge for that kind of thing, but the credit union gives it to members for free. I also get things like free online banking and bill pay.
Also nice is that I get free cashiers checks (That’s what I use to pay my rent), and free checks printed whenever I want (I don’t like to keep checkbooks around because I’m worried I’ll get myself into trouble - best to remove temptation). They’re also a lot more lenient than banks with things like loans. I got a small personal loan for my laptop with no credit - a much higher interest rate, of course, but the credit unions are willing to take the chance on you, whereas the big banks probably won’t. They’re also working with me to refinance my car, because I’m getting raped up the ass by the people I’m currently financed with. I love GNCU and I recommend them to everyone in northern Nevada. The ONE downside I’ve ever seen is that if you don’t have $500 in your checking account at the end of the month they charge you an $8 fee, but if you have a direct deposit that doesn’t happen, so I just do direct deposit. I think there’s a few other credit unions that do stuff like that.
In short, do some research. Credit unions are based on a better idea, but they can be just as crappy as banks can, if the wrong people are running them.
~Tasha
Have been a member of multiple credit unions over the years due to relocation. Only drawback I have ran into is that some Federal regulation limits the number of transfers you can make online between your different accounts (savings, checking etc). You COULD still make the transfer by calling or going in-person, but couldn’t make the electronic transfer. Seemed silly to me, but was also made aware of that by our current CU we joined after moving to TX ( I had thought it was just an interpretation by our CU in Illinois prior to that).
I’d like to take this opportunity to recommend my credit union: WTF Credit Union. 