It is time for stretching your dollar where we give
you changeable tips to help you make the most of
your money. And today we're going to break down
a banks versus credit unions a timely topic. You
might think that a bank is your only option for
keeping your money safe or for getting a credit card
. But that's actually not true. Credit unions are
another viable option, but there are of course some
key differences to consider when you make the choice.
So joining me now is Kia mcallister, Young Director
of America Saves and nonprofits seeking to motivate Americans to
save more and reduce debt. I like that.
Kia, it's great to see you on the show
. When should someone offer for a credit union versus
a bank? Yeah. So thanks for having me
. It's always about being informed of the differences,
right? And being able to make the best decision
for you and your loved one. So while I
can't say that one is better than the other,
there are some very clear distinctions between the two.
Um So first one is where banks have to answer
to their shareholders who are often not their customer credit
unions, shareholders are its members or its customers.
So what's good for the shareholder is all always good
for the members at the credit union. Um And
then 61% of credit union members have incomes um that
are less than$100,000 annually. Um Nearly 60% of
credit union branches are, are in low and moderate
income neighborhoods. So when credit unions say they're committed
to the financial well being for all they're reaching those
of us who are most financially vulnerable, you can
also find lower or no cost checking account options usually
at a credit union lower interest rate. Um and
you're able to gain membership through what um what we
have in common. So your employers, social groups
, faith organizations, and sometimes even your geographic location
. Interesting. Uh so Kia in the wake of
these bank collapses that we saw a few weeks ago
and I still obviously questions about um the banking sector
, what happens from here? Um At least in
the near to short term uh near to medium term
, I guess you could say, do you think
that might cause more people to look at a credit
union? Would that be reasonable? Absolutely. I
mean, I feel like it's always reasonable to,
to check and see what your banks and, and
credit unions have to offer. Um It's never a
bad idea to shop and make sure that you're getting
um the best support and, and offers. Um
and products available to you? Mhm. What about
convenience? Um, obviously that's a factor here and
in this digital world, I think people want to
have the ability to access their funds in person if
for whatever reason there is an outage or heaven forbid
a cyber attack, but also have that digital component
as well. What do our viewers need to know
about those two different offerings? Yeah, definitely.
Do your research. So a lot of times we
feel like we don't have access to a certain uh
credit union just because of the name. Um but
sometimes if you know someone that's at that bank or
related to someone that is at that credit union,
you can gain membership. Um for instance, Navy
Federal Credit Union. Um if you are related to
, to a member there, there's a chance that
you could um gain membership. So you want to
do your research and make sure you know exactly how
you can gain membership to credit unions. But again
, banks often are able to have uh to be
more accessible and be, you know, in neighborhoods
. So doing your research and knowing what's available to
you is really key there. Uh Kia very quickly
, we just have about 30 seconds left. What
do people need to know about uh yield that they
would be getting their return on savings greater at a
bank? The uh savings account or a credit union
always do your research. Definitely. Um But,
and and make sure because it, it changes based
on the, the um organization, the financial institution
. So do your research. But um you may
be surprised to find that your credit unions give you
um better interest rates. Interesting. All right,
good to know, especially in this environment, Kia
mcallister, Young Director of America Saves and nonprofit seeking
to motivate Americans to save more and reduce debt.
Our thanks to Kia for that important segment.