By Lesli Bishop/FSCU Marketing Director
Have you ever wondered about the differences between Family Savings Credit Union and banks?
First, let’s start with their similarities. For example, Family Savings and banks both accept deposits and withdrawals while providing loans and a variety of checking and savings accounts. But Family Savings Credit Union has one very significant and noteworthy difference.
Unlike banks, we are a not-for-profit, cooperative financial institution. Unlike banks, which are owned by groups of stockholders and operated by a paid board of directors for the benefit of the stockholders, Family Savings and other credit unions are owned by their members and operated by a volunteer board of directors for the benefit of the members.
Since credit unions are not-for-profit associations, profits are returned to the members in the form of lower loan rates, higher savings rates, and many free and discounted services like free checking accounts and discounted insurance products.
As cooperative financial institutions, credit unions are owned and operated by the very people who use their services – the accountholders.
Each credit union operates under a charter, which defines its “field of membership.” The field of membership designates who can join their institution and what their common bond will be.
At Family Savings, our members all share the common bond of where they live, work, worship or attend school within Etowah, Calhoun, Cherokee, Marshall, St. Clair, Cleburne, Madison, Jackson, Blount and DeKalb counties in Alabama as well as those persons who live in the most northwestern 10 counties of Georgia.
What do you have to do to join Family Savings? Simply open a savings account with as little as $5. This is your “share” of ownership in our institution. Think of it as your share of “stock” in the business; after all, you are the owner.
All members, or depositors, have an equal voice in the way the organization functions through annual board member elections, special votes, etc.
As a credit union, we believe that fair and equitable financial services are a vital part of the well-being and stability of the average, ordinary United States citizen.
Research shows that there are roughly 6,600 functioning credit unions. From those 6,600 institutions, greater than 95 million members believe that their individual credit union sincerely wants to provide them with the financial services that will allow them to improve their economic well-being.
Some of the most popular free and low-cost services available through Family Savings are Kasasa Cash savings and checking accounts, home mortgage loans, IRA accounts and vehicle and personal loans. We consistently provide the finest financial assistance possible at reduced rates with fewer fees while offering our members higher rates on saving and checking accounts.
You will also find that our services are very convenient as well.
Whether it is by using our mobile app on your smartphone, an online credit application or an online account opening, our members find Family Savings to be one of the most easily accessible financial institutions to use.
In the spring of 2014, we will announce a new product offering that will eventually change the way our members use FSCU.
The new technology will provide even more convenient access to the credit union 24 hours/7 days a week, saving our members precious time that they may use elsewhere in their lives.
So if you wish to try Family Savings but still have questions, whom better to ask than one of our members, who are our biggest advocates and are the owners of our credit union.
To sum it up, Family Savings Credit Union is the best place to, well, bank. Why? Because Family Savings provides the very best service and most economical financial offerings possible to their most valuable, and indeed priceless, asset – their credit union members.