Credit Union Membership
| What is a
credit union and why should I join one?
With so many financial
institutions to choose from, why put your money in a credit
union? What's the difference between a "credit union" and a bank
anyway?
Credit unions are member-owned,
not-for-profit, cooperative financial institutions. They are
formed to allow members to pool their savings, lend to one
another and own the organization where they save, borrow and
obtain other related financial services. In other words credit
unions are all about People Helping People.
Notice we've been referring to
our "customers" as "members or member-owners" but why? Because
at a credit union when you open your savings account you are
actually aquiring "one share" of the credit union (which you'll
notice we call our savings accounts share accounts), as well as
paying your onetime membership fee (ours is only $5.00). This
makes you more than just a "customer" it makes you a
MEMBER-OWNER of the credit union.
Ok, so what? I'm a member-owner
what's that get me?
Well since credit unions exist
solely to serve their members, for those who belong, that means:
- Friendly personalized
service (hey we all own the place so we do our best to treat
you how we want to be treated!)
- A voice in how the credit
union operates (please feel free to attend our annual
meeting and make your voice/comments/suggestions be heard to
our management staff and board of directors). Of course,
we're always open to hear from you.
- All our decisions on loans
are made here locally
- Fewer fees for the same
services offered by other financial institutions
- Lower lending rates
- Higher savings rates
- Special discounts offered
to our members by our local and national business partners
(see our Member Discount section
for more details)
So you still what to know what
exactly are the differences between banks and credit unions?
Well here's some more information to help you better understand:
Banks are owned by groups of
stockholders who main interest is to earn a healthy return on
their investment. In contrast, credit unions exist to serve
their member-owners, the people (like you) who save and borrow
with us. In other words, credit unions return any profits to
their members in the form of higher savings rates, better
services, and lower borrowing rates. Banks give their profits to
their stockholders, and if those profits are good enough they
continue to raise your fees, borrowing rates and lower your
savings rates so they can earn even more profit.
|
 Credit
Union |
|
Banks |
Not-For-Profit
Not-for-Charity, But For Service |
|
For-Profit
(as much as they can get from you!) |
|
Owned
by YOU the Member |
|
Owned by Stockholders
(who might not even bank there!) |
Volunteer Board
of Directors
(elected by the membership from the membership) |
|
Compensated Board of
Directors
(highly paid individuals trying to figure out how to get
more money out of you the customer or the government) |
Tax Exempt
(we do not pay federal tax-kind of like a charity) |
|
Taxed
(but they can apparently access your and mine hard
earned tax money in the form of TARP) |
Deposits are Federally
Insured to at least $250,000 by the NCUA
(National Credit
Union Administration, a Federal Government
Agency...similar to the FDIC but just for Credit Unions) |
|
Deposits are Federally
Insured
to $250,000 by the FDIC |
|
Ok, so now your
convenience that credit unions might be a
better way to bank...but why SUN Credit
Union?
First of all
we want to be your partner and help enhance
your financial life. Our name says it
all: SUN stands for Service,
Unity, Neighbor. It's our
mission to provide you with quality service,
strength through unity and be a trusted
neighbor. To learn more about our history
click here.
We are dedicated
to helping our members out the best we can
which is why to join SUN Credit Union we
only require a minimum deposit of $5.00
(which establishes your "share" of the
credit union-and is placed in your main
savings account with us) and a $5.00 onetime
membership fee.
Once you've
established your membership (which you must
qualify for,
click here for our membership qualifications)
you are eligible to enjoy all the benefits
of membership such as:
-
Free Checking w/no minimum
balance requirement
-
Free ATM access though the
Presto! Network which are the ATMs located outside of Publix
-
Apply for a loan or credit
card
-
Open additional savings
accounts like a Christmas Club Account
-
Invite your family members
to join and save as well.
-
Plus so much more...just
cruise our website to see all that we offer
We welcome you to come
experience a real difference in banking at SUN Credit Union. |
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