credit unions: co-op banks

[nibot]

Armed with my first U(R) paycheck, I wandered over to Genesee Co-Op Federal Credit Untion (741 South) and opened an account. They're just a mile from here and the office is the front of a wooden building that could be a Mercantile Emporium or something like the Candy Store on Ortega. Inside feels a little bit like USCA central office, complete with the familiar green "CO-OP: WE OWN IT" bumper sticker on the wall. What I mean is, you sort of wonder whether you should trust them with your money. But with just one office and a small staff, if anything they have more accountability than a commercial bank.

I don't know much about credit unions. They provide the same services as banks, except, like all co-ops, they are owned by their members. As a nonprofit enterprise, there is no third party siphoning off a profit. They provide low-interest loans and relatively high-yield savings (4% APY). It's like selling your textbooks directly to the next person, instead of giving the bookstore a 25% cut. All credit unions restrict their membership to a particular group of people. You're eligible to join GCFCU if you live in the Genessee Valley of south/southeast Rochester, for instance. This means that the investment of your account is kept somewhat local. The National Credit Union Association insures deposits, as the FDIC does for banks.

There are, of course, disadvantages to credit unions. Their service offerings are generally more spartan than one would expect from a bank. It seems to be a requirement that a credit union have a terrible web site, for instance, and one cannot expect ubiquitous ATM's or 24-hour telephone service. (Although there is an agreement between many credit unions so that their members can use any member credit union ATM without a fee.) Nonetheless, with a credit union you have a slightly better idea what your money is doing. I suspect it might be easy to get involved, too, and learn a little bit about banking.

[at berkeley there is Credit Union for Berkeley Students.]

Comments

[heike.livejournal.com]

We don't get paid until the last day of the month. So I get to run down to the bank so that the check is deposited as fast as possible so I can pay rent as fast as possible.

[anemone.livejournal.com]

My credit union had (free)online banking before banks were advertising that. It wasn't the first with billpay, but it now does free bill pay. With only two branches and maybe 6 ATMs it was inconvenient.

The credit union for Berkeley Students wasn't nearly as good, though.