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Here’s an interesting article about church-based credit unions. It looks like they exist to offer better options to underbanked populations and are often limite

Here’s an interesting article about church-based credit unions. It looks like they exist to offer better options to underbanked populations and are often limited to church members: https://religionnews.com/2018/10/30/church-run-credit-unions-keep-the-faith-despite-challenges/ https://religionnews.com/2018/10/30/church-run-credit-unions...

inferiorhuman 4y ago
Credit unions, by law, must have restrictions on who can join. Often times they're gated by where you live, what city you worship in, where you work. I'm a member of a large California based credit union and while the low/no fees are nice, their general incompetence is awful.
- yencabulator 4y ago
  Including donating $5 to a charity, where the credit union pays the $5 on your behalf: https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership#faqs https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership#faqs
- sharkweek 4y ago
  I'm at a credit union for a chunk of my banking. Their tech is bad, but you know what I love? When I call the number on the back of the debit card a human answers the call after a few minutes and 9/10 times can fix whatever I need fixed themselves.
  - inferiorhuman 4y ago
    Oh, it's the humans that are the biggest problem. In theory I've got a "password" on my account, in practice I think maybe one or two people have asked for it in the past decade. I went in to buy a couple rolls of quarters the other day… and eventually gave up and got them at Wells Fargo (where I'm not a customer) instead. Let's not get into how monumentally stupid it was of them to ditch NCUA (temporarily). Their tech… well at least they're not using case insensitive passwords anymore. I had a hell of a time trying to figure out which branches were open – their own site buries contact info and instead heavily pushes their 'virtual teller' which is rather useless for getting quarters. Apple Maps is a few (5?) years out of date in terms of branch locations. Yeah, Apple is a third party company but you'd think one of their six hundred odd employees would've submitted a bug report by now. I like the idea of credit unions, but this one just sucks. I keep them around because their own incompetence has granted me a favorable fee schedule.
  - oefrha 4y ago
    Hmm, with a reasonably good bank you shouldn’t have had ten problems with your debit card you had to call. With things like bank cards, the best customer service is don’t need customer service.
    - piperswe 4y ago
      The problems probably aren't with the card itself, the phone number for the CU just happens to be printed on the card.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
- massysett 4y ago
  The membership restrictions have been watered down a lot. Anyone can join PenFed. There are others that require a token donation to an associated foundation. I have been in more than one credit union and found they were just as bad as banks when it came to ridiculous fees. I therefore prefer the huge commercial bank as it is much more convenient.
- bradeeoh 4y ago
  > I'm a member of a large California based credit union and while the low/no fees are nice, their general incompetence is awful. Some banks have general incompetence, as well. I'm a member of a mid-sized California based credit union, and their customer service and competence are fabulous.
  - inferiorhuman 4y ago
    Some banks have general incompetence, as well. Sure and that puts them more or less on equal footing with credit unions. I've been with Patelco for decades and they're hands down one of the most inept financial institutions I've ever dealt with. Bank of America's obnoxious because everything is very stick to the script (and I've not banked with them in decades), but Patelco is just make it up as you go along. I've looked at other credit unions (Golden1, Redwood) and been pretty underwhelmed with the offerings. Redwood especially had the feel of being run out of someone's basement.

inferiorhuman 4y ago

Credit unions, by law, must have restrictions on who can join. Often times they're gated by where you live, what city you worship in, where you work. I'm a member of a large California based credit union and while the low/no fees are nice, their general incompetence is awful.

yencabulator 4y ago
Including donating $5 to a charity, where the credit union pays the $5 on your behalf: https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership#faqs https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/membership#faqs
sharkweek 4y ago
I'm at a credit union for a chunk of my banking. Their tech is bad, but you know what I love? When I call the number on the back of the debit card a human answers the call after a few minutes and 9/10 times can fix whatever I need fixed themselves.
- inferiorhuman 4y ago
  Oh, it's the humans that are the biggest problem. In theory I've got a "password" on my account, in practice I think maybe one or two people have asked for it in the past decade. I went in to buy a couple rolls of quarters the other day… and eventually gave up and got them at Wells Fargo (where I'm not a customer) instead. Let's not get into how monumentally stupid it was of them to ditch NCUA (temporarily). Their tech… well at least they're not using case insensitive passwords anymore. I had a hell of a time trying to figure out which branches were open – their own site buries contact info and instead heavily pushes their 'virtual teller' which is rather useless for getting quarters. Apple Maps is a few (5?) years out of date in terms of branch locations. Yeah, Apple is a third party company but you'd think one of their six hundred odd employees would've submitted a bug report by now. I like the idea of credit unions, but this one just sucks. I keep them around because their own incompetence has granted me a favorable fee schedule.
- oefrha 4y ago
  Hmm, with a reasonably good bank you shouldn’t have had ten problems with your debit card you had to call. With things like bank cards, the best customer service is don’t need customer service.
  - piperswe 4y ago
    The problems probably aren't with the card itself, the phone number for the CU just happens to be printed on the card.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
massysett 4y ago
The membership restrictions have been watered down a lot. Anyone can join PenFed. There are others that require a token donation to an associated foundation. I have been in more than one credit union and found they were just as bad as banks when it came to ridiculous fees. I therefore prefer the huge commercial bank as it is much more convenient.
bradeeoh 4y ago
> I'm a member of a large California based credit union and while the low/no fees are nice, their general incompetence is awful. Some banks have general incompetence, as well. I'm a member of a mid-sized California based credit union, and their customer service and competence are fabulous.
- inferiorhuman 4y ago
  Some banks have general incompetence, as well. Sure and that puts them more or less on equal footing with credit unions. I've been with Patelco for decades and they're hands down one of the most inept financial institutions I've ever dealt with. Bank of America's obnoxious because everything is very stick to the script (and I've not banked with them in decades), but Patelco is just make it up as you go along. I've looked at other credit unions (Golden1, Redwood) and been pretty underwhelmed with the offerings. Redwood especially had the feel of being run out of someone's basement.