A Credit Union Vs Bank

Now that we’ve kicked the big bankers out of our hypothetical conference room, there’s no one left who’s trying to profit off you. Instead, the moment you open an account with a credit union, you become a member instead of a customer. And you and all the other members own the credit union.

Those freshly empty seats at the conference table? They’re yours! (Slide that bar cart on over here, would you?)

This essentially means credit unions are not-for-profit financial institutions — meaning that any profit made off your money goes right back to you and your community in the form of:

Credit unions still charge fees, sure. (Gotta keep the place running somehow.) But there are often far fewer fees, and those fees are also lower than bank fees.

And while ATMs for your credit union may be a little harder to find, they often don’t charge ATM fees. Often they even waive fees from out-of-network ATMs.

Because no one is trying to profit off a credit union’s members, credit unions are able to charge lower interest rates on loans and credit cards. So if you take out a loan and put, say, $200 to that loan every month, you’ll pay it off faster than you would with a bank loan because the interest rate isn’t as high.

Same thing goes for credit cards. So when you finally decide to replace your old college mattress or buy a couch with your credit card, a bank might give you a 13% interest rate while a credit union might give you 9% — allowing you the freedom to pay it off faster or make smaller payments

Remember those low, low fees credit unions charge? Well, not only are they lower than bank fees, but they also go straight back into your pocket in the form of better interest rates.

When it comes to credit unions vs. banks, credit unions offer some of the best interest rates so you can watch your money grow faster.

(Why wait until you save a few hundred to start earning interest when you could just put in one month’s Spotify premium money?)

Online banks are the next best alternative, but credit unions have the added benefit of keeping your money local and encouraging wealth distribution.

Saving enough money for an initial bank deposit to open a new account can feel nearly impossible, especially if you’re

• saving for college
• paying off student loans
• paying off medical bills
• barely making enough money for rent because minimum wage still hasn’t gone up 

That’s where credit unions also come in handy. Not only can your money grow faster with a credit union — you can also start growing it sooner than you would with a bank because the initial deposit needed is often lower.

The minimum balance is often lower, too, so on a particularly tight month, you don’t have to worry about getting fined if you only have $9 to your name.

Fresh outta high school with no credit history? Still recovering from some old mistakes? That drunken Amazon one-click purchase spree from last year? (Drunk you really needed that dad bod beach towel, we know.)

Credit unions are often far more flexible when it comes to credit requirements.

No need to worry about judgy stares from bankers when they see your credit score.

Because many credit unions serve local or niche communities — and because they are owned by every member — they’re often more invested in their people.

Love for their community + the not-for-profit system = grants, scholarships and fundraisers for the members.

Why invest in some rich men you’ll never meet when you could invest in your own community?

From financial workshops to credit counseling, credit unions are invested in their members and often provide the education and services they need to be financially literate.

And because they’re invested in their community — and because those communities are often smaller than a bank — credit unions have the ability to connect with their community and personalize their services to each members’ needs.

As long as banks continue to profit off their customers, the wealth gap will continue to increase. In short, banks make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

But with a credit union, when your money is going back into your own pockets in the form of lower fees, higher interest on savings and lower interest on loans, that means no one is profiting off you. Which means instead of increasing wealth inequality, you’re actively working against it.

In fact, credit unions were started as a way to help poor urban workers avoid loan sharks. Then, when the Great Depression hit, laws were established to oversee credit unions on a federal level to help poorer citizens get credit and eventually have their deposits insured just like banks.

We can’t magically fix the economy overnight, but by joining a credit union, you’re saying “screw you” to the very people who caused wealth inequality in the first place. And that’s a pretty damn good feeling.