<p>What do you think of this? </p>
<p>Anyone planning to move their business from a bank to a local credit union? </p>
<p>We have been doing most of our business through a credit union for many years now. </p>
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<p>Thumbs up!</p>
<p>When BofA tried to fool us (ha!) in 2003, DH and I took our money, marched across the road and set up an account at Prevail. 
Pretty happy with them, so far.</p>
<p>Is there a downside of using credit unions? We haven’t experienced any but what is the argument in favor of using a bank over a credit union?</p>
<p>The only downside we ever had with the credit union is that they did not approve as large a HELOC as the commercial bank did a number of years ago. Well we know where that got the banks :). Our credit union is downtown where DH used to work so it is not as convenient as the bank I use. But I bank at one without fees for what I do so I have not moved my account. Of course, I don’t have a debit card, so that fee is not an issue for me.</p>
<p>It used be in the dino ages that CUs didn’t have FDIC protected deposits. That is not the case anymore. I have never really heard of anything they can’t do, and I do have a CU account but keep most of our assets in a Texas bank that in financially stong and actually know a bit about customer service. And no stupid fees.</p>
<p>Just to be clear - NO credit union is insured by the FDIC. All federal credit unions and many state-chartered credit unions are insured by the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) which is a separate federal agency that regulates credit unions. Like the FDIC it has the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. </p>
<p>HOWEVER, some credit unions have private deposit insurance like ASI (American Share Insurance). While such insurance companies themselves may appear to be strong/stable, they can not be considered the equivalent of a full faith and credit guarantee. </p>
<p>Be sure to know “who” is insuring your credit union deposits!!</p>
<p>Been at my credit union for years as is my DH and my son account - though we had to open an account for him at TDBank because of where he is at school and direct deposits from work study - which he decided not to do, but I digress. </p>
<p>We have both our mortgage and have had a HELOC with our CU. The great thing about ours (YMMV) is that the CU hold the loans. None of that selling it to someone else. I hated that when we had our first mtg. Every year it seemed it was sold. </p>
<p>Our mtg was over $200K and our HELOC was around $100K. I suppose those lines aren’t big enough for a lot of people but it was fine for us. </p>
<p>I live in an area with a huge state employee workforce who own the CU and there are branches everywhere, even in my supermarket. </p>
<p>No fees for anything, either. I will never use a regular bank again. Even our CC’s are the CU’s and our APR’s are great. </p>
<p>I cannot think of one negative, tbh.</p>
<p>Funny. It makes me wonder why not more are using a credit union now, especially those that feel angry with the big banks. I guess a hassle to switch over (plus i think if you have a history and a ton if business with one institution it puts you in a stronger position to negotiate. We’ve always gotten some great negotiated deals with our credit union for example (not just on mortgage rate but also negotiating out of most fees and also favorable exchange rates when needed).</p>
<p>I keep my money in a very local bank, so I don’t feel the need to move it. They treat me like gold, and even my checking account makes interest (microscopically, but still…) My MC is, full disclosure, with BofA, but since I pay them nothing, because I pay it off every month, I don’t feel like they’re making anything from me.</p>
<p>The only negative that I can think of is that there are fewer offices and ATMs, although my new CU is part of a nationwide network of CUs which share ATMs.</p>
<p>I work for an international bank, I have no choice where I bank. With enough deposit, we are considered a “premier” customer. We travel a lot, we get fees waved for ATM transactions, FX fees, and we could get into many VIP airport lounges with no extra cost. I could get foregin currency without additional fees. We have foreign accounts and we could transfer money from one acct to another online. Our kids’ accts are linked to our accts, therefore they are also able to enjoy all of those perks through us. When D1 went off to college, we didn’t have to set up a local bank acct for her because she could use any ATM without incurring any fees. When she went abroad, we also didn’t have to worry about how to send money to her because she had access to her account.</p>
<p>garland, even if you are paying off your balance every month, BofA gets a cut of the merchant fee, which is then passed on to you, the consumer, so you are still feeding the evil monster, so to speak.</p>
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Hmm … ATMs is the one negative I worry about … I used to travel A LOT and having a bank with tons of ATMs helped a lot. What is the network of CUs that share ATMS? That may well tip me to a credit union.</p>
<p>My CU uses this network:</p>
<p>[CO-OP</a> Financial Services](<a href=“http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locators/atmlocator/index.cfm]CO-OP”>http://www.co-opfs.org/public/locators/atmlocator/index.cfm)</p>
<p>Any ATM that has this logo is free of charges and fees:</p>
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<p>Of course, your card can be used in pretty much any cash machine worldwide, but there will be fees associated with the machine owner, but not the CU.</p>
<p>However, I never had a debit card. It is either cash that I have in my wallet or a credit card.</p>
<p>If you want to change, go ahead and change (I have been thinking about moving to a credit union for a long time) but I don’t see the point in trying to organize a run on a bank.</p>