Has Your Bank Made You Credit Union Curious?

 By Jacquette Timmons

Since the 2008 financial crisis, has the interest rate on your credit card increased; has the interest rate on your savings account and interest-bearing checking account decreased; are you now paying fees for transactions and services that were once available to you at no additional cost?

I suspect you can probably answer “yes” to one if not all of the above questions. This trend is an unexpected (?) consequence of the financial reform brought about in response to and as a result of the financial crisis. The fees banks used to be able to charge you but can no longer have sliced their profits significantly and the “loss” revenue has to be made up somewhere. But the approach many banks are taking (i.e., charging you to use your debit card) is altering the relationship dynamic with its retail customers, leaving some consumers pissed about the nick-picking and wondering: “What else can I do?”

Joining a credit union is a viable option.

Unlike a bank, which is a shareholder-owned, for-profit financial institution and open to anyone, credit unions are member-owned, not-for-profit financial institutions, and you must be eligible to join. Even though credit unions have been around since the 1800s (in Germany) and the early 1900s (in America), a lot of people are taking a closer look at credit unions today. Just as banks are looking for ways to increase their revenue, customers are looking for ways to get more for their money while simultaneously reducing their expenses.

And relative to traditional, national banks credit unions offer:

• Lower fees and balance requirements
• Higher interest rates on checking and savings (CDs, money markets) accounts
• Better loan rates (credit card, mortgage, car loans)

So, should you join a credit union? Yes! (Go here to find a credit union near you.) And you don’t have to abandon the convenience (more ATMs, branches, broader products and services and longer customer-service hours) of your traditional bank to enjoy the benefits (noted above) of a credit union.

Look at financial institutions as part of your financial team; when viewed in this light, it’s not about “either-or.” Instead, it is about “both-and” and the ways in which the blend can help you achieve your financial goals and objectives. Personally, I have a savings account at a credit union and my personal and business checking accounts are with a major national bank. This combination gives me the best of both worlds!