Why we should support credit unions over banks and have the two ATMs in our CAB building switched for Bank Transfer Day?
Have you ever wondered why the most visible - and accessible - ATM on our campus is that of Bank of America? Do you also know that there happens to be another ATM for a credit union? Yes, in fact it is-- a floor under, down the hall behind the staircase by the Greenery toward KAOS radio station's studio, down another a dark hall to the left, hidden to the side in a literal hole-in-the-wall where no one would expect to find an ATM. It feels less safe, and is also reminiscent of the scene in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, in which the demolition plans for planet earth were hidden in the most inconvenient location, behind a door with the sign: "Beware of the Leopard."
Well anyway, that ATM in the basement belongs to the Washington State Employees' Credit Union (or WSECU). Therefore, many of our own school's employees have accounts there. But that's not all. Did you also know that, as students at this state school, you are automatically eligible for membership, too? So, why doesn't our campus support our local credit union and put WSECU's ATM first?
As students, we have no reason to support Bank of America, which recently announced its plans to begin tacking $5/month charges on their own customers' debit card usage starting next year. Due to strong opposition, BofA retracted these intentions earlier this week. However, desperate measures, such as this, still indicate the unhealthy state that the bank is potentially in.) Their ATMs - including the one on campus - already charge $3.50 per use for all non-BoA customers. On the other hand, use of WSECU's ATM is free for members of any credit union nationwide - thanks to a National Credit Unions Association's agreement to share all their ATMs (for non-CU members, the fee is still at a lower $1.50 per transaction).
Credit unions (CU) are also inherently better than banks. They're member-owned, not-for-profit cooperatives, and they're run by a board voted-in by and from its membership. So, all decisions are made with members in mind first. They have better and more personalized services (e.g. lower rates on loans, higher APY returns on deposits, and no minimum balance). Also, since most CUs are rooted in a specific geographic area, they are very committed to community investment and development. Financial education is a major mission for many of them. Tellers at my local branch even take care to remember my name and financial goals.
On the other hand, corporate banks are run by a board of directors whose main purpose is to raise profits for their shareholders; "Customer Service" matters only as it contributes to their bottom line. Also, since the FInancial Services 'Modernization' Act (FSMA) of 1999 undid all progress made in financial-sector regulation since the Great Depression, the line between commercial and investment banks became blurred. Now, your deposit money can be used to gamble on the stock market, and your loans turned into "derivative" financial products, which happened with the "securitization" of subprime mortgages that ultimately brought down our global economy into a deep recession. As future graduates, we college students are heavily dependent on the economy's recovery to find jobs.
If this hasn't deterred you from corporate banks already, it may help to know that banks are also majority holders of your private (i.e. non-Stafford) student loans. Indeed, they have "invested" in you and are profiting off of your interest payments under the veil of "generous lending". (According to Mark Hudson of the LA Times, banks did the same to low-income, first-time homeowners, who were deceived into usurious mortgage, many of whose homes have since been foreclosed by these same banks.)
All this points toward supporting credit unions. Banks may have more branches nationwide - but with NCUA's shared ATMs, the banks' advantage is dulled. Availability of online banking is the most-oft raised reason against CUs, but many credit unions including WSECU also have state-of-the-art, secure online banking that rivals any corporate bank's.
A call has been out for a national Day of Action to get everyone to transfer their funds to their local credit union and close their bank accounts. I have been a proud member of a credit union for the last three years, but this has still been an issue I have been advocating ever since my first day of college. I believe that, in the interest of a better world, we should all deposit our money into our local credit unions, and thus support our local community. I believe that our campus should advocate for WSECU instead, considering the fact that we are a Wasington-state school. It is wrong to support an ATM owned by a bank that wants to take transaction fees from everyone (except maybe BofA account holders). Especially considering that the CAB building (where the ATMs are located) was supposedly renovated for increased student utility, I advocate the location of the two ATM being switched.
To conclude: for the sake of convenience, curbing predatory fees, and as a matter of principle, I think that our student body should aim to move around the two ATMs for the national day of action on Nov 5th. And last but not least, that we also look into our local credit unions!