Credit Unions Save U.S. Consumers Millions of Dollars
by Gina Ragusa
For cash-strapped consumers, joining a credit union may be one of the easiest ways to save money. A recent study conducted by the Georgia Credit Union Affiliates found that credit union members in the state saved more than $150 million dollars over the past year.
Roy Bibb, VP/Branch Services at Robins Federal Credit Union ($1.5 billion, Warner Robins, GA) says that service, rates and fees are driving more people to investigate a credit union. “Really it’s a little bit in everything that we do…from our lower fees to lower application fees to better dividend rates on savings to lower loan rates,” he told a local Georgia NBC affiliate station.
And it’s not just credit union members in Georgia that are realizing significant savings. Alliant Credit Union ($8 billion, Chicago, IL) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) crunched the numbers and found that the average consumer saves at least $255 per member each year for basic membership benefits–$485 per member household.
“CUNA looked at all of the deposit and lending products and compared our rates and fees to an average banking institution rates and fees for a 12 month period,” say Joe McGowean, VP/Marketing Communications for Alliant Credit Union. “This number can be different depending upon the amount of business the member does with us. For example, members who use Alliant exclusively, meaning that they use us for their full financial relationship, enjoy an annual savings of $1,165.”