Can someone tell me more about Credit Unions?

I distrust and despise banks, and closed my Wells Fargo account after they charged me up the wazoo for some nonsense fees.

I now use cash, however since I'm renting a townhouse with another ASU student, I might want to have checks or a card as a kind of cash substitute.

I know CUs are co-operative and don't screw around with customers like banks do, but I was curious if any knowledgeable DUer could tell me more. Apart from the very basic facts I know virtually nothing.

Will my money gain interest in a CU? Do they charge fees? How easy is it to withdraw/deposit? Are CUs everywhere like banks are, or will they be hard to find in small towns? Is there an initial deposit of any sort?

You have to keep some money in a savings account. Usually $50. You earn interest on the savings account. There are various checking account plans some with no charge and some with fees. Credit Unions will usually lend money to people who can't borrow at banks etc. If you are a member you can easily get a car loan or a second mortgage provided your credit isn't totally screwed up.

very customer friendly and have the best rates around. If you can find one on or near a military base they are even better. My Wife works for DOD and the AFB credit union is great for savings loans and all round banking needs and they are insured just like commercial banks.

most of them offer the same services, however, you have to qualify for membership, i.e. through your employment or membership in an organization.

planet. Both hubby and I have been credit union members from our college days. I love my Credit Union.

http://banking.about.com/od/creditunions/Credit_Unions.htm

as a financial counselor and I urged any and all young Sailors to join a credit union and remain a member for life whether you do just a little or a lot of business with them. Checking accounts, savings accounts, IRA's, loans, the full monty so to speak. I joined for five bucks and haven't regretted a day with them. My wife also belongs to a credit union at her work and she's rolling in pin money. That said, check out any one that you might do business with. They are only as good as the people who run them. I may be wrong, but I believe if you have a relative in the Navy you can join Navy Federal. Not 100% sure about that but I would recommend them to anyone.


http://www.navyfcu.org/

do you happen to know if there is something similar for veterans?

I keep my dough, can you believe it, at Bank of America and I hate those bastards.

to recommend to you:

https://www.usaa.com/inet/ent_references/CpStaticPages?PAGEID=cp_aboutusaa

USAA Savings Banks. Credit cards, loans, checking accounts. A very fine organization started by servicemembers. May only be for active duty folks. I was active when I joined and they didn't kick me out when I retired. Couldn't be happier with their service.

The best a sailor can get, if you ask me.

I know folks who were only related to USAA members, who were able to join. The servicemembers they used as a bootstrap have gone to their rewards, but USAA still keeps them. Once a member, always a member I'd say.

And that year-end SSA check doesn't hurt either.

Many let you write checks etc.

There are some good banks. I have had excellent luck with www.firstib.com (First Internet Bank), an internet-only bank. They have never charged me a fee, except for printing checks (which I rarely use because of their terrific bill-paying service). In the Boston area, Wainwright Bank has a good reputation. For other areas, you would have to ask around.

Fleet was remarkably good, and I was impressed. They could be really shady for all I know, but my experiences with them were just fine.

Out here in Arizona, though, banks seem to be decidedly more cutthroat.

They changed my PIN for use at ATM machines, sent out press releases blaming the customers for using the ATMs wrong, wouldn't tell me in person what my new PIN was, and wouldn't send anything by mail either. Their fees were so high that in Roxbury (poor black area in Boston), the check cashing places that charge high fees were actually outcompeting the bank.

I never did find out what my new PIN was supposed to be. So I went to First Internet, have had no problems since.

They are much more user-friendly, have a tendency to know their customers and offer a wider variety of consumer-friendly products with better interest rates. You are actually a shareholder when you are a member of a credit union.

It depends on where you live, but the only downside I ever had was in OH, my CU was very small, and the ATM machine choices were limited. Now in Philly, I can go to a convenience store and not pay a fee at PNC MAC machines.

All in all, I've been much happier with my credit union experiences than my commercial bank ones. Just my .02

http://www.ncua.gov/ConsumerInformation/index.htm

See this concurrent thread for more reasons why credit unions are the most sane alternative to commercial banks:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=3106495&mesg_id=3106495

are interested in joining. My sonbelongs to a CU at work and it's GREAT! Higher interest rates forit's members, low rate loans, etc. My husband belongs to a CU at work and it is worse than any bank I've ever seen! The interest rate on a savings account is .75%! YES, that's LESS than 1%! I can get better loan rates at my local bank, and the few times I called them, no one knows what they're doing!

I would suggest you check with some smaller banks in your home town. I stopped dealing with the big boys years ago, when THEY obviously decided their Corporate customers were very important to them, and the hell with the little guy

Ihave had our accounts with a small local bank for 7 years now. All the tellers know us, there are NO FEES for my checking account, ATM card, and they offer free Billpay and free notary services.

both my checking and savings account balances (must keep at least $5 in each) and have no fees do to the level of business I conduct with them. Some CUs aren't open directly to the public. Some require that you be in a certain job, belong to a certain organization, etc. There is probably a CU associated with the university you attend.

I like it. There are no fees except the usual ones for using a non-system ATM, and I don't think it mattered how much I put in. I started an account for my son with $50. I think the interest I get on my CD is a tad lower than I'd get in a bank, but it more than makes up for it in other ways -- they're great about supporting local businesses and give loans to low-incomes folks, and so on.

I can only speak for my own, though. I WAY prefer it to the bank that my husband and I have our mortgage at -- and they're a great, nice bank, too.

Initial savings deposit of $5. Free checks, interest on savings, on-line banking, ATM's at most convenience stores, anywhere I see "Star ATM", which I've never had a problem finding. Direct deposit or deposit at night box or any ATM. I've never been charged a fee for anything in 2-1/2 years. Money orders and traveler's checks are free. Debit card and they also offer Visa credit card.

The following provides US information.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_union

rate than normally found elsewhere (5.6%, I'm stoked).

of the city of Minneapolis.

I have to keep a minimum of $5 in a savings account, but otherwise, I have all the other banking services, including free checking and free check blanks, because I'm over 55. One can get loans, credit cards, and various types of accounts for various purposes.

It also serves low-income neighborhoods and has a program for children and youth that teaches smart money management and offers modest college scholarships to members.

And never looked back.

We have 4 accounts (due to me being a freelancer now) if you keep minimum balances you get free service. Plus, they refund any ATM charges no matter which ATM you use. Overdraft protection on checking. They even have dog biscuits for my doggie when I use the drive-through for my deposits. I've never caught them in a mistake.

The only downside at my CU has been when I've gone for an auto loan, I can usually do better with the deal at the dealership.

Many CUs have pretty liberal membership requirements now, so you don't necessarily have to be a teacher or whatever to join.

The Republicans wanted to put the shaft to credit unions because the big banks saw them as a threat. They wanted membership to be more restrictive. If Republicans in congress didn't like them, they must be doing something right.


The down side of CU's: less services and less branches.

And when I was married, opened a joint account at another one.

Non-profit, customer oriented.

I live in an exurban town of ~7000. My credit union has three branches within 12 miles, two of which I go by at least once a week. With direct deposit, free on-line banking, and a debit/ATM card, though, I'm physically in a branch less than once a month.

They hold my car loans, my mortgage, my kids' college funds, the works.

The credit union movement was always big in Maine, and the Catholic Church has a lot to do with it. . The Franco millworkers had experience with the Caisses Populaires in Quebec, and every big milltown parish had a credit union because the Yankees wouldn't lend to the French and the French didn't trust the Yankee banks. Many CU's still bear the name of their original parish -- Ste Croix, St John's, etc.