Pre-internet banking, I might have cared about major bank convenience of multiple branches or ATMs. Now, it’s no contest. I very rarely pull cash from an ATM directly, and the very rare times I’m caught traveling with the need, I will eat the $3-5 non-branch fee.
I’ve been at BofA, Chase, and WellsFargo, and my little credit union has them beat on all fronts with regard to loan rates, no fees, customer service, credit cards, etc. Plus, their website is very well done and doesn’t look like a crappy ad-saturated MySpace page.
Okay, the convenience thing makes sense. NC SECU is super-convenient, but I didn’t realize that its size was remarkable: it’s just the size I think of a credit-union being. (In my town there are three different branches that I use, depending on where I’m driving, and several more ATMs, but most of my banking is online, and honestly I use an ATM less than half a dozen times a year).
A big piece of it for me is admittedly my pinko leanings and general quasirational mistrust of all banking institutions. But another big piece seems highly rational to me. A bank has divided loyalties. Sure, they need to please me, the customer, or else I’ll take my business elsewhere. But they also need to please the shareholder, or else the CEO will get replaced. My credit union has no such divided loyalties: since I’m both customer and shareholder, there’s nobody else to please.
Even so, when I went shopping for car loans and house loans, I was unable to find anything cheaper than my credit union. I love it.
Every bank transaction I actively make (excluding auto internet stuff) and since I receive physical checks I need to go there, or mail them in (ain’t happening), though new internet based check deposit methods may eliminate that need, but the CU would need to get this for me to consider them unless if my bank gets there first.
I don’t use ATM’s, I don’t carry my ATM card and I don’t even want to have to carry another card.
I really like my bank. It a local chain and big on customer service. They reimburse all ATM fees. I have free overdraft protection They’re very community minded, so when my kids did a penny drive for the SE Asia tsunami they counted all the coins for free and gave a free business account for my Girl Scout troop. They’ve a drive up teller with pneumatic tubes!!!
Our CU might be as good, but ive no need to check it out.
I keep thinking about opening an account at a credit union…the main reason I haven’t is that the two I’d be eligible to join have either two, or maybe three branches in this county - and I think none in surrounding counties.
Also I bank with a locally-owned bank that has branches all over the place here, so I don’t feel like I’m banking with a faceless entity based 2,000 miles away, that changes its name every few years due to mergers or whatever.
(Citizens Bank, FTR.)
I visit my brick and mortar bank quite often. I like that they have coffee and cookies in the lobby.
This simply isn’t true around here. I’m with PNC and I get 0.85% interest in my savings account. While not extraordinary, it’s more than the local credit unions.
I’ve gone into a physical bank a few times in the last year to have a signature notarized. Chase will do that for free for members. I don’t know any other notaries, and I’ve had to look for them at my workplace for other people in the department to use. Couldn’t find any.
Not very often…but it only took one bad experience trying to do branch banking out of town to sour me on credit unions pretty quickly.
I was trying to withdraw more than my maximum daily ATM withdrawal amount from an associated credit union in a different province. From the reaction of the teller, you would have thought I was asking her to perform brain surgery blindfolded while being whipped with a cat-o’-nine-tails.
I’ve had mostly positive experiences with big banks.
When I went off to college, I opened a savings account at their credit union while also opening a checking account at a bank. I’d had a savings account at the bank for a while, but I can’t remember the reasoning for not opening a checking account with the credit union as well. At any rate, the credit union was convenient for when I was on campus, but the bank was convenient when I was home with my parents, mainly because of the branches and ATMs available in each place. Once I graduated, it became a pain to keep up the credit union account. My experience with my bank has been positive enough to not go anywhere else.
I actually last looked a few months ago and was completely unable to find one for which I met the membership requirements.
I used to belong to one, 10+ years ago, but they sucked and consistently screwed up my car loan payments, which I had set up via automatic checking withdrawal. Apparently one part of the computer system thought it was supposed to be bimonthly withdrawals, and another thought it was supposed to be every 2 weeks, so I was getting hit with late fees. Took a lot of phone calls to straighten it out. Then they started charging for online bill pay, which everyone else was pretty much doing for free, so I threw in the towel on them. I’d still be willing to consider a different CU, though.
in WA you can join a credit union if you live in state, it seems like some states this isnt the case.
also in WA you can access any CU from any other CU as well as use their atms free of charge.
We have accounts with two local credit unions and BofA. The CU’s are great for things like auto loans and cash savings. Our day-to-day checking account is with BofA, and my experience with them has been excellent to date.
We’ve considered swinging more of our banking over to the CU(s), but haven’t really seen anything to be gained. That may change - we revisit the topic from time to time.
Because credit unions have done a terrible job of advertising for my business. Rarely a day goes by that one of the major banks hasn’t sent me a letter asking me to move to them; I couldn’t name a single credit union in the area or what’s required to join them or what they’d offer me.
I’m saying that if a company doesn’t let people know who/what they are and the benefits of doing business with them, it should be no surprise when a person doesn’t do business with them even if they might otherwise be in the correct market.
Maybe this is regional. I see/hear radio ads, TV ads, and billboards for credit unions all the time around here. I don’t get junk mail for them but I am really, really ok with that.
I’ve been a member of Vystar Credit Union since 1983, when it was Jax Navy Federal Credit Union. They’re in Jacksonville, FL. I’m in southern Maryland - about 800 miles away. I can do everything I need to do on line, including get a loan (except for a mortgage.) I can call and talk to a rep, email and get a reply the next day, or find what I need on line.
I also joined a credit union in Dahlgren, VA when I started working there in '97. Their nearest branch is about 25 miles from me, but I rarely need to visit a branch. Again, most everything is done on line. Plus my daughter works in Dahlgren, so she can go there for me if necessary.
I love both my credit unions. I have no need for banks. And it does help that the convenience store near me has a no-fee ATM and my CU doesn’t charge ATM fees. Otherwise, I’d just do an occasional debit transaction and get cash back. It’s worked for me for years!
