What Are the Advantages of Using A Credit Union?

Credit unions are member-based financial institutions that offer their services only to the people who share the common bond – the feature, quality or affiliation that stands at the base of the credit union, such as employment with a particular company, a particular profession, registered address in a particular geographical area or membership in an organization or association. An account held with a credit union offers many benefits over banks, payday lenders and other financial organizations – here are some.

Friendliness and Attention

The relationship between account holders and branch employees might seem cold and impersonal with banks, one of the benefits of credit unions being a much more personal relationship between union members and the union’s employees, such as branch managers. Credit unions in Littleton  provide customized consultation and educational programs about the management of personal finances – a great opportunity for people who have a poor credit history or difficulties repaying loans.

Credit unions in Littleton focus on community enrichment, offering financial education for free and other types of help to the members of their local community.

Working for the Benefit of the Members

Credit unions are not-for-profit organizations owned by their members and run by their members, which means that these organizations work with the best financial interest of their members in mind. Any profit that a credit union makes is redistributed to its members in the form of annual dividends, which means a credit union membership actually gives the member a yearly income.

Credit union members being the owners of the union as well, they get to vote on important matters that affect the union’s operations. Credit unions also organize yearly meetings in which the union’s results are presented to the members and important issues are discussed.

Lower Fees and More Attractive Rates

While profit-oriented organizations, such as banks, are interested in charging fees and interest rates that are as high as can be in order to maximize their profit, the vision of credit unions does not include profit-making, therefore they can afford to charge lower credit card fees, lower fees on transactions and they can also offer more attractive interest rates, lower on loans and higher on deposits, than banks. The minimum deposits are also lower with credit unions.

A Wide Range of Services

Credit unions usually offer the same types of services as banks, credit lines, checking accounts, savings accounts, deposits and a wide variety of loans being equally available. Like banks, most credit unions also provide internet banking through various apps and have ATM networks and branch offices as well.

Security for Deposits

Federal credit unions and some state unions are insured through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, offering the highest level of security for personal deposits up to $250,000. However, you must know that not all credit unions provide such insurance coverage – some unions are privately insured, which also means that they are not backed up by government, so before choosing a credit union, find out about the union’s insurance and security status.