Chances are that you have heard about a credit union bank in your area, but you never really understood what the whole credit union thing was all about. How is a credit union better than a bank? Why would I want to leave my current financial institution for a type of service that I’ve never used before? What, if any, are the pros and cons of using a credit union instead of my current bank? These are all questions that we likely ask ourselves when trying to figure out where the best place is to put our money. Luckily enough, they are very easy to answer.

Before we talk of the pros and cons of a credit union bank in respect to regular, commercial bank, we have to know what a credit union actually is. Essentially a credit union is like a bank that is designed for a group of people who all meet the same criteria. They could all live in the same area, be alumni from the same college, and so on and so forth. The important thing is that a credit union is like a non-profit cooperative for people who all share something in common.

Because a credit union is driven by its members, it provides a variety of key benefits over commercial banks. The first, and most obvious, is that credit unions usually have very low rates on loan because they are essentially a non-profit organization. This also translates to higher interest rates for its customers because the credit union is not trying to make millions for its investors. Also, the member-centric atmosphere of most of the credit union bank services have lead countless people to join for the sole reason that credit unions treat their customers much better than commercial banks do.

One thing about credit unions that very few people know is that a great deal of them do not use ChexSystems or Early Warning Services when opening new accounts. This means that credit unions could be a very good deal for someone needing a second chance banking opportunity. If you are listed in ChexSystems or Early Warning Services and need a checking account, you can click here to visit secondchancecheckingbanks.com for a free directory of banks and credit unions that may allow you to open a checking account.