The Credit Union Difference
Can you explain the difference between credit unions and banks? If you can’t, you’re not alone—most people don’t know the difference, even people who use credit unions as their financial! They provide many of the same products and services as banks, such as checking and savings accounts, credit cards, auto loans, and more. So, what is it that makes credit unions so special in comparison to banks?
LOWER FEES & INTEREST RATES
A credit union is also known as a financial cooperative. What does that mean, you ask? It means everyone who belongs to Educators Credit Union owns a piece of the pie, and we all get to enjoy that scrumptious filling. As a not-for-profit, the filling is distributed back to our member-owners by offering lower (or no1) fees and interest rates, higher dividend earnings, and programs like Member Loyalty where we give back to our qualifying members every year. The credit union difference is offering products and services that benefit members first and foremost.
PERSONAL SERVICE
As an organization, we’re proud to serve the communities where we live and work. When you visit a branch, call us on the phone, or contact us via our wide selection of digital services (Educators Connect Cam™, TOMs, instant messaging), you can rest assured that you’re speaking with someone who lives in your community and gets to know you. The credit union difference is understanding member needs and treating each member as a person with goals to achieve and dreams to realize.
LOCAL COMMUNITY ADVOCACY
Educators’s vision is to advocate for and empower our community. We bring it to life by offering free financial literacy to all ages, volunteer opportunities for staff to give back to our community, and hundreds of thousands of dollars to local organizations that provide support and free events for families. The credit union difference is uplifting communities instead of shareholders.
Defining what makes credit unions different isn’t easy, because it’s about so much more than products and services. The simplest way to define what makes us different is the credit union motto: People helping people.