Bank fees help contribute to growing credit union membership

by: Christina Pontisso

A year in review for credit unions, is reported in the Credit Unions Online article “2014 Credit Union Review: Bank Fees and More Bank Fees” written by Gina Ragusa.

Credit Unions continue to soar in membership, reaching the 100 million mark this past summer. You may ask how is this happening? There are many answers to this question, but one of the biggest reasons are bank fees.

For instance, did you know check re-ordering is one way banks can get consumers to overpay for a small withdrawal? A Pew Charitable Trust survey found that almost half of the nation’s major banks re-order checks to boost income. “Checking accounts are a fundamental tool for managing money and they need to be safe and transparent,” said Susan Weinstock, director of Pew’s safe checking research to CBS News Moneywatch. “We urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to make fair checking account practices a priority by issuing new rules.”

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