Which is safer a bank or a credit union?
Federally insured credit unions and banks are both safe places to keep your money. The National Credit Union Administration protects deposits (within certain limits) at insured credit unions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protects deposits (within certain limits) at insured banks.
The differences between credit unions and banks
Put into context, the rate of failure at both types of institution is low. But one upside with credit unions is that they're less likely to make risky investments.
Limited accessibility. Credit unions tend to have fewer branches than traditional banks. A credit union may not be close to where you live or work, which could be a problem unless your credit union is part of a shared branch network and/or a large ATM network such as Allpoint or MoneyPass.
Through right of offset, the government allows banks and credit unions to access the savings of their account holders under certain circ*mstances. This is allowed when the consumer misses a debt payment owed to that same financial institution.
If the bank fails, you'll get your money back. Nearly all banks are FDIC insured. You can look for the FDIC logo at bank teller windows or on the entrance to your bank branch. Credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Administration.
For decades, bankers have objected to the tax breaks and sponsor subsidies enjoyed by credit unions and not available to banks. Because such challenges haven't slowed down the growth of credit unions, banks continue to look for other reasons to allege unfair competition.
Most Deposits Are Insured Through the NCUA
From a consumer perspective, the major benefit of the FDIC is its insurance coverage of up to $250,000 per depositor. This insurance provides peace of mind that money won't be lost should a bank fail. While credit unions aren't covered by the FDIC, their deposits are insured.
| Bank | Forbes Advisor Rating | ATM Network |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of America | 4.2 | 16,000+ ATMs in the U.S. |
| Wells Fargo Bank | 4.0 | 11,000 |
| Citi® | 4.0 | 65,000 |
| Barclays | 3.4 | N/A |
Both can be hit hard by tough economic conditions, but credit unions were statistically less likely to fail during the Great Recession. But no matter which you go with, you shouldn't worry about losing money. Both credit unions and banks have deposit insurance and are generally safe places for your money.
Weaknesses of Credit Unions
The membership of a credit union is restricted to a specific community, most often a religion, profession, or geographic location. For a member to be eligible to join a credit union, they must belong to a group listed in the credit union's charter.
Why not to use credit union?
With a credit union, you might have to do some extensive research to compare accounts and find out what services they offer. Credit unions only serve certain groups of people and if the ones you can join don't have mobile banking or their apps aren't up to par, that could potentially be a major disadvantage.
Credit unions tend to offer lower rates and fees as well as more personalized customer service. However, banks may offer more variety in loans and other financial products and may have larger networks that can make banking more convenient.
The short answer is no. Banks cannot take your money without your permission, at least not legally. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insures deposits up to $250,000 per account holder, per bank. If the bank fails, you will return your money to the insured limit.
U.S. government securities–such as Treasury notes, bills, and bonds–have historically been considered extremely safe because the U.S. government has never defaulted on its debt. Like CDs, Treasury securities typically pay interest at higher rates than savings accounts do, although it depends on the security's duration.
Just like banks, credit unions are federally insured; however, credit unions are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Instead, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is the federal insurer of credit unions, making them just as safe as traditional banks.
No member of a federally insured credit union has ever lost a penny in insured accounts.
3. Cybersecurity Threats. Credit unions are no more immune to crime than the big banks — and with a smaller IT bench they may present a tastier target. In fact, the NCUA has warned against an uptick, in 2023 of crimes such as ransomware, phishing, email scams, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) credit unions had seven conservatorships/liquidations in 2022 and two so far in 2023. While credit unions have experienced several failures in 2022, there were no Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Money held in credit union accounts is insured through the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). Many types of accounts are covered by insurance such as checking, savings, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, and others.
- Alliant Credit Union. Alliant offers an above-average interest rate for savings. ...
- Consumers Credit Union. ...
- Navy Federal Credit Union. ...
- Connexus Credit Union. ...
- First Tech Federal Credit Union.
Why are banks worse than credit unions?
Profit-based institutions may mean higher fees. Banks are for-profit entities that are either privately owned or publicly traded. This means that the bank's primary goal is to earn profits for shareholders and owners, which often come from fees on consumer accounts and penalty charges. Less favorable interest rates.
If your bank is insured by the FDIC, or your credit union is insured up the NCUA, then those organizations (government corporations) will pay you the value of your accounts at the time the bank went into bankruptcy - up to $250,000.
Your money is safer in a Credit Unions hands because all accounts are federally insured up to $250,000 and backed by the U.S. government.
You'll save more money.
Instead of paying shareholders a portion of the profit generated, credit unions return their profits to their member-owners in the form of better dividends on savings, lower interest rates on loans, interest-earning checking and fewer fees.
The collapses in March of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank – two of the largest U.S. banks to fail since the Great Depression of the 1930s – have led some to wonder if the nation may be headed for a new widespread banking crisis.
