Ten years ago we moved to the USA from England; we were excited by the move and looking forward to experiencing a new life. There were many aspects of family life to consider — choosing a school, living in a new home, making friends, new job and of course who we were going to trust to look after our money.
After shopping around and talking to people we chose to bank with Bank of America. The staff was pleasant, the banks were everywhere, and the promises were good.
As the years went by we realized that we weren’t really getting good value; and the helpfulness that was so forthcoming at the beginning, diminished soon after we’d opened the account.
We made the decision to change to First Tech Credit Union and haven’t looked back. Here’s why:
The Personal Touch
Banks are automated, humans never answer the phone. If I pressed the wrong key I got the wrong information. It was unsettling, unfriendly and uncaring. With the credit union humans not machines answer the phone, and they try to help.
Receiving Statements
The bank always sent my statements a month late. Who wants to know what they had in their account three weeks ago? With the credit union, all statements are up to date.
Overdraft Protection.
On the same type of account, the bank charged $10 every time I needed money transferred to cover an overdraft. The credit union has no overdraft protection fee.
This isn’t an exhaustive list of reasons, but they make a good start.
The important thing to remember about banks is that they answer to their investors and stockholders, they do not answer to you like a credit union does. A Board of Directors makes all the decisions, and they are mostly driven by profit.
With a credit union, members get the chance to make business decisions.
Because credit unions are non-profit organizations, any profits gained can cover their costs and then help the members. They can offer lower rates in everything because of this.