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Honestly I think these days credit unions are way overrated. The true small independent ones that look out for their members are a rarity, and non-existent in m

Honestly I think these days credit unions are way overrated. The true small independent ones that look out for their members are a rarity, and non-existent in many areas. They've merged, or shifted strategies, and most of them are driving for higher profits the same way that the major banks are. But the difference is that they usually have way worse technology, and fewer branches, so you get the inconvenience of an old school credit union without the benefits. It's often the worst of both worlds. I do still have a credit union account, but I think people need to be really careful about just jumping to a CU and expecting it to be great. You have to do your research and try to find one that is actually still decent, if that even exists in your location.

phpisthebest 3y ago
I feel sorry for your community Around here community credit unions are still plentiful. I am still a member of a credit union not in my current community as a moved away, but I use the services of the local credit union like it was own, the credit union here services about just this metro area, and the credit union that holds my account services just the former metro area I used to live in I did have a auto loan shortly with one of the large nationwide credit unions but I did not have the loan long so i can say if they were good or bad. I also have accounts with banks like including those on the "technical edge" of financial system, I find the technology stack of my local credit union to be on par with those more "technical" banks for banking services. Now some of banks also have non-banking services like Wealth management, investing, crypto, etc that my credit union does not have but I dont expect that from a credit union, nor would i want them to expand into that.
- zippergz 3y ago
  I have experienced this in three states, so it's not limited to a single community, but I'm glad to hear that it can be better in some places.
xeromal 3y ago
Yeah, people are quick to recommend credit unions but they are not always the godsend commentors claim they are.
toast0 3y ago
Most of the credit unions participate in shared branching, so you can usually do business anywhere with credit unions (which is most places). Pandemic banking was sketchy where I live though. When I needed a cashier's check during the pandemic, I was more or less forced into opening a local account, but the local credit unions and banks don't have competitive interest with the credit union from where I used to live (which is still behind internet banks)
Spooky23 3y ago
It’s not that they are great, just that they aren’t actively awful. Regulatory changes make most of the “help a buddy out” stuff harder to do. In my area for normal mortgages they are also consistently cheapest. If you travel internationally, are high net worth, or routinely need access to a lot of cash in different cities, you don’t need a big commercial bank.

phpisthebest 3y ago

I feel sorry for your community Around here community credit unions are still plentiful. I am still a member of a credit union not in my current community as a moved away, but I use the services of the local credit union like it was own, the credit union here services about just this metro area, and the credit union that holds my account services just the former metro area I used to live in I did have a auto loan shortly with one of the large nationwide credit unions but I did not have the loan long so i can say if they were good or bad. I also have accounts with banks like including those on the "technical edge" of financial system, I find the technology stack of my local credit union to be on par with those more "technical" banks for banking services. Now some of banks also have non-banking services like Wealth management, investing, crypto, etc that my credit union does not have but I dont expect that from a credit union, nor would i want them to expand into that.

zippergz 3y ago
I have experienced this in three states, so it's not limited to a single community, but I'm glad to hear that it can be better in some places.

xeromal 3y ago

Yeah, people are quick to recommend credit unions but they are not always the godsend commentors claim they are.

toast0 3y ago

Most of the credit unions participate in shared branching, so you can usually do business anywhere with credit unions (which is most places). Pandemic banking was sketchy where I live though. When I needed a cashier's check during the pandemic, I was more or less forced into opening a local account, but the local credit unions and banks don't have competitive interest with the credit union from where I used to live (which is still behind internet banks)

Spooky23 3y ago

It’s not that they are great, just that they aren’t actively awful. Regulatory changes make most of the “help a buddy out” stuff harder to do. In my area for normal mortgages they are also consistently cheapest. If you travel internationally, are high net worth, or routinely need access to a lot of cash in different cities, you don’t need a big commercial bank.