Estimated 650,000 Americans switched to credit unions ahead of ‘Bank Transfer Day’
The US Wall Street bailouts on “too big to fail” banks and Bank of America’s plan to charge debit card users $5 a month drew public outrage, resulting in Saturday’s “Bank Transfer Day.”
Americans are jumping ahead of Saturday’s “Bank Transfer Day” and switching from large commercial banks to more consumer-friendly credit unions by the droves.
The Credit Union National Association estimated 650,000 Americans made the jump to credit unions since September 29 — the day Bank of America sparked public anger when announcing its debit card fee. Bank of America announced earlier this week it will be dropping its $5 monthly fee for debit card users.
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The industry trade group said deposits from the new customers added up to $4.5 billion — an amount that they receive in a typical month from their entire customer base, Reuters reported.
Credit unions in the US are not-for-profit organizations with the largest being the Navy Deferal Credit Union that serves 3.4 million government workers with over $45 billion in assets.
The surge in new customers for credit unions was notably large. By comparison, they had 600,000 new customers open accounts in all of 2010 before the additional 650,000 estimate. There are 7,800 credit unions in the US, Reuters reported.
Many credit unions are planning to extend hours or adding staff in preparation for the social media-inspired Bank Transfer Day.
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Many are skeptical of Bank of America’s, and other “too big to fail” banks, cancellation of the $5 per month fee, suspecting that money will be taken in some other form.
“My guess is we’re going to see more stealth-like fees,” Dennis Moroney, research director for a financial services consulting firm, told TIME.
TIME: “In other words, while a $60 annual fee to use a debit card was enough to prompt an outcry, if banks charge a buck or two for paper statements, customers might not object — or even notice.”
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