There’s an internet movement underway to get people to ditch their banks and use credit unions. Dubbed Move Your Money some consumers feel that the big banks are not receptive to consumers, have lots of red tape and use poor practices when it comes to loaning money. The movement started by Arianna Huffington of The Huffington Post.
Here are some pros and cons on credit unions.
I have both a credit union and a traditional bank. I must say, the credit union gave me better rates on my car loan and on my credit card. I really have enjoyed my experience with my credit union. Once I forgot to pay my credit card bill and someone from my credit union called me. Because I had a stellar history of paying on time, the credit union didn’t assess a late fee although I was most certainly late.
Now, my commercial bank is good with quickly detecting fraud on my account (I’ve had my account compromised before), but it has added fees on my accounts for no reason. More than once I’ve caught a $15 fee on my account and I’ve had to call the bank to get it corrected. My commercial bank corrected the problem, but why should I have to do that? Why fee me for no reason?
For now, I enjoy having a relationship with a commercial bank and credit union. However, if I ever need a loan for anything, I most certainly will deal with my credit union.
Here is a story on NPR about the Move Your Money campaign.
Do you use credit unions? Do you like commercial banks? Would you move all of your money to credit unions? Have you ever had fees on your bank account for no reason?
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I did move my emergency savings account to a local bank, but they were bought up by a larger bank. The same thing happened with my regular checking and savings account bank.
I’m still debating moving to a credit union, but it would probably be as a third bank. I like that my emergency savings account is easily accessible (tons of ATMs in my area), and I like having my regular bank easily accessible from work, to withdraw my weekly budget.
Morally, I think it’s a great idea. Practically, well, I’m still working out the implications myself!
I am dealing with a traditional bank and I have a savings account with an online bank. Now that my paper has decided to discontinue the pension plan, I have decided to move that money to a credit union.
Add to that the fact that I’m going to have to get another vehicle later this year or early next year and I need all the help I can get.
@GLM: Three banks. Yikes! Maybe you could use credit unions for your loan/credit needs.
@Smarty: Yay for credit! I think once you make the move to an online bank, the sky is the limit.