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Comment by bittercynic | Hacker News Reader

>...you want one that isn't too local...

What's the problem with local credit unions?

Limited support hours, lack of access when out of town, having to depend on ATM networks which can change (I guess these also apply to local banks too and not just credit unions)

What do you mean by "ATM networks which can change?" I've never found it difficult to find a credit union that participates in shared branching with a public ATM (this basically means free ATM withdrawals in most cities in the US.)

The US has five or six different ATM networks, and many banks are part of more than one of them, but a small credit union may be only part of one, and they may change which one that is.

Depending on how they have it setup, it may mean that the ATM near you suddenly no longer works for you for free and you have to switch up with another one.

I don't know what parent meant, but my credit union a while back decided they no longer wanted to participate in whatever shared branch network they used to be part of, so the branch availability near me went to effectively zero.

They often won't process foreign transaction and either can't or won't sell you foreign currency (like Canadian dollars if you are planning a trip to Winnipeg).

One advantage to smaller banks is the personal relationship when you need them. It's a trade-off for features. I've found significant value in having a small local bank where it's a bit harder to do anything digitally. They also may catch strange transactions. During Covid, having a relationship with a bank also meant it was easier to get assistance when other banks were putting you on hold or not responding.

I had a local credit union - dropped them after it took multiple weeks to ship out a replacement debit card

Mine is smallish and printed me a debit card right there in the branch; I'd never seen that before.

Years ago, a largish bank (boa) had given me a pre-printed visa debit card for a new account I'd opened. They had a small stack of them, ready to activate against new accounts. Better than "we'll mail it to you in a week".

Yeah, I was surprised on this one because it was a machine that just printed the front on a blank card - the name wasn't embossed, but otherwise it was a normal card.

Still using it, it's how they do cards now; they never sent an "embossed" one.

My credit union was in Seattle, I was living in SF. For most services I could go to an affiliated CU, for this I could not.

Right. The point is that credit unions come in a variety of different qualities. Some are good. Some are crap. "Always use a local credit union instead of a bank" is not always good advice.

It can be a problem when you are out of town and need banking services. My credit union is in CA but after my move to New Mexico I had to open an account at Chase just to get a special signature notarizing that only banks can do.

The Medallion Signature™ - I had to abuse the fact I had a Chase credit card to get one of those once for Vanguard.

I had to open an account and wait for two months for my Medallion. Having a credit card was not sufficient.

Biggest issue is accessing your account if you move; I've never really had any other issue come up.

Even a tiny local credit union is great if they're part of the co-op.

The vast majority of credit unions in the U.S. are, and you can use any co-op branch or ATMs just like your home credit union's branches or ATMs.

It's brilliant, and in my experience, so much more accessible than the giant banks who are often regionally concentrated.

There are limitations, it's not always just like your home credit union. One of the reasons one might go to a bank branch when we have ATMs and online banking is to get a cashier's check, which can't be done through co-op. My online credit union can FedEx them overnight so it's not too bad, but I switched away from a local credit union when I moved because they weren't able to do services like that except at a branch.

My mom got a cashier's check through the co-op in March to buy her house. She's in New Hampshire and her credit union is in Oklahoma.

I don't know why it didn't work for you, but it was no trouble for her.

In my experience accessing my account after moving has been a huge issue with conventional banks; I've never had a problem with my credit union accounts.

Yeah, I should have been clear - accessing it at a local branch. Not that many people need to do that anymore; in fact it's so easy to do everything online you may forget to update addresses, etc. And with no paper statements, you might not even notice until one day your bank decides it needs to mail you something important.

No, I can access my remote credit union account through most credit unions through shared branching. It's more convenient than banks which have less cooperation.

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