Tell Your Members These Results: Credit Unions 86 – Banks 14
By Samantha Paxson
If you ask a credit union employee or consultant where they think people should put their money – credit union or bank – the winner, of course, is credit union. But how exactly do you explain this to members and potential members?
Recent survey results might be of help. Try promoting the findings of independent website Business Insider. When it asked readers via an online poll which was better, 86 percent of respondents said credit unions (as of July 24, 2013).
Business Insider’s analysis is based on accessibility, checking account fees, interest rates and customer service. The overwhelming “verdict” favored credit unions because credit unions charge lower fees and interest rates, and provide better customer service. The question of accessibility was a draw, which one could say actually makes credit unions the winner since banks are generally much larger – there are 150 banks in the U.S. with assets of $5 billion or more, compared to only 13 credit unions of that size.
Thinking about this question of accessibility, many credit unions have an additional advantage in this area that they can talk about with members and potentials: shared branching. Members of participating Credit Unions can enter a branch of any other participating credit union anywhere in the United States and conduct their business as if they were at their own home branch. There are now 5,000 shared branch outlets in CO-OP Financial Services‘ shared network, with more than 1,800 different credit unions participating. This network, in fact, is the fourth largest system of branches among financial institutions in the country. Couple that with our network of 30,000 ATMs and Credit Union accessibility is clearly a strength.
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