What are the benefits of using a credit union?


Quick Answer

Credit unions offer many benefits over regular banks, such as lower interest rates on loans and higher interest rates on savings accounts, according to Bank Rate. They also tend to offer low- or no-fee checking accounts and lower minimum balances.

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What are the benefits of using a credit union?
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Full Answer

Because credit unions are nonprofit institutions, they're able to pass their profits on to their members rather than to shareholders. They belong to a large network of credit unions, giving customers a wider range of shared branches and ATMs to use than regular banks, states Bank Rate, with 30,000 credit union ATMs located throughout the United States in 2015, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Credit unions tend to be smaller than regular banks, giving banking a more personal feel, states U.S. News and World Report. Credit unions earn a higher customer satisfaction rating than regular banks in customer surveys, reports Bank Rate,

In addition, credit unions participate in the financial education and training of their members, volunteers and the public, particularly youth, which is one of the seven cooperative principles for credit unions, according to the Credit Union National Association. They offer informative seminars for their members on financial topics such as identity theft and credit management, states U.S. News and World Report.

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