I like the idea of a less profit-driven business that is maybe more community-focused but I wonder if they have the same capability as a bank? Have you been able to do your banking needs at a credit union? Was the customer service decent?
I have, until recently, tried to bank only with credit unions. I have had a couple of poor experiences but nothing awful enough to get me to go back to banks.
As with anything else, do your homework. Not all credit unions are the same and not all are run well.
What you need from a credit union will help determine your choice. A couple near me focus on home mortgages while another is all about CDs and savings.
I do my own investing and found myself using CashApp more and more for lots of things and ended up closing my credit union account because I was getting just as good a deal on ATMs and services I used frequently.
I have a savings account with a credit union, they can offer some pretty good rates and will generally have a very open investment strategy. Customer service has been rather good, at least when accessed via phone. I don't think my union offers things like current accounts, but I hear some do.
You experience is going to be heavily dependent on your specific union, they tend not to have as much money to throw around as major banks do, so don't expect a bespoke app or anything like that.
I currently don’t have an account with a CU at the moment but based on what I’ve heard from people in my city, they are great with what they stand for, have great loan rates, and are friendly. The main problem is that they lag behind with technology. Their online banking and mobile apps are slow, buggy, and lack features. So make sure to take that into account.
I was with a semi-local one until recently because they had some pretty hefty account access fees (got charged $40 in a month for what I would consider normal card usage). As much as they had a "give back to the community" initiative behind them I just couldn't justify that financially.
The one I'm with now advertises itself as a "bank" and seems to be more national but they're still a CU. No monthly access fees, the same level of great service, local branch, they'll donate to a local charity of your choice free of charge, just generally more satisfied with them overall.
Both seemed to use the same general app which seems to be getting around the CUs and it seems to work fairly well for checking balances and transferring funds. Also works fine on phones that don't run Google services with SafetyNet and all that.
Personally it's been a terrible experience that I don't intend to repeat. The rates aren't nearly as good as others in this thread are suggesting, the app experience is trash and everything I do online requires human intervention to approve my transactions during regular business hours. Tbh I fail to see the niche in the market filled by these awful, tiny banks. Save yourself the headache and just go with a national level bank you've heard of before.
Considering the competition, they are all good in comparison.
To find a great one is rare though.
Edit: I see lots of bad experiences and figured I should add more context. I use credit unions that are not available to the public. There is a requirement to work somewhere for all my CUs. Perhaps that is why i have had better luck.
I believe the bad stories, we live in the shitter multiverse after all.
Hey, I'm a banker. Obviously, credit unions are smaller businesses than a large bank. If you haven't used a small bank before, note that it is different.
But the biggest thing that I can think of you may not expect is that credit unions are not insured the same as a bank. Some may be insured adequately for your needs, or they may not. Do your homework.
