Goodbye to the big banks
Written: Nov 01 '01
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Pros: It's not a commercial bank. The online banking and bill payer are superb.
Cons: Few ATMs and transaction fees for point of sale transactions
The Bottom Line: A very good alternative to commercial banks, and the online banking experience is a real pleasant surprise.
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| hansbos's Full Review: Cal State 9 Credit Union |
After my work moved to Oakland I decided that it was time to change banks. (My last bank does not have branches or ATMs in Oakland). I was looking into CalFed, Wells Fargo, and the other big ones when someone in the office suggested looking into a credit union instead. Cal State 9 has an office right downstairs and their web site was functional, customer friendly, and easy to use, so I decided to take the plunge.
(Just a small detail to illustrate the difference: if you are comparison shopping and you want to find out what the savings rates are at these big banks, it takes a half hour of clicking through menus to find them. They clearly don't want you to know that you only get 1% or so on your savings. At this credit union the rates are almost the first thing you see when you access their web site.)
Also, the idea of a noncommercial bank appeals to me and I was getting tired of being forced to watch advertisements on my last bank's ATM screens, web site, and monthly statements.
Overall, the experience has been a very good one. I signed up with Cal State 9 in half an hour on a Friday afternoon, I was accessing my account on the web by Monday, and by the end of the next week I had my ATM card. The (free) checks came a few days later and all I am waiting for now is for my direct deposit to be switched.
The biggest revelation has been the online experience. Setting up my long list of online payees took maybe an hour altogether and the simplicity and completeness of the online statements of this little bank sure beat the multiple menus, tabs, and folders of my big bank. I now check my account almost every day and I used to really avoid doing that with my other bank.
The only drawback is the difficulty of avoiding fees. The interest rates are better than at my commercial bank, but much of that gets nickled and dimed away in ATM fees, point of sale fees, etc.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
hansbos
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Reviews written: 5
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