Credit unions are non-profit financial institutions that provide their members with competitive products and services at much lower costs than for-profit banks. Instead of giving their profits away to shareholders, credit unions reinvest them back into products offered to members – giving lower loan rates, better dividends on savings accounts and reduced or no fees for checking and credit card accounts as a result.
To join a credit union, one must meet its eligibility requirements. These may differ depending on your location or affiliation (such as working or living in one town) but usually involve living or working within certain towns; also having an association through businesses, communities or organizations such as employers may make you eligible; another option could be having family or close relative already belong to it or being veterans themselves – typically membership is free but some credit unions charge one-time joining fees.
As with banks, credit unions offer an array of banking products and services such as online and mobile banking, direct deposit, ATMs and overdraft protection. They can also offer loans and lines of credit with terms tailored to fit your budget, home/auto loans/lines of credit with flexible terms/rates for purchases as well as free eStatements with reimbursement of ATM fees from other financial institutions.
While credit unions typically have fewer branches than banks, they generally provide more personalized in-person service at these locations. This is especially true of local credit unions founded to serve specific regions or communities and known for providing excellent customer care directly.
Credit unions often provide more competitive savings and checking account rates and fees, as well as lower credit card fees than banks (such as $0 balance transfer fees compared to 3-5%)
Becoming a member of a credit union offers you many advantages, including low-cost or even free services like Bill Pay and Purchase Rewards. These services allow you to make payments to anyone in the US from your ACCESS Federal Credit Union checking account – setting recurring or one-off payments right from your computer, tablet or smartphone!
Make managing your ACCESS FCU account convenient anytime, anywhere with our free Web-Branch online and mobile app! Just log into ACCESS Online using the secure tools to view account activity, pay bills, make loan payments and more! For your added convenience, ACCESS also offers telephone banking through Bank by Phone which makes much of this functionality available from any touch tone phone – transfer funds, make loan payments and check if a cleared check has posted. You just need a member number and pin – or visit one of our branches if available ACCESS FCU branches!
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