Why Do Some Residents of Gainesville, Florida Apartments Prefer Credit Unions?

If you live in Gainesville, FL, there are many banking institutions to choose from. Whether you need a checking account, savings account, car loan, or mortgage, there’s no shortage of banks that might be interested in getting your business.

Residents of Gainesville, Florida apartments who want an alternative to traditional banks may want to visit a credit union. Credit unions are similar to banks in that they offer checking and savings accounts, loans, credit cards, and virtually any other banking service. However, credit unions are different in the way they are managed.

First, let’s take a look at how banks and credit unions are different. Banks are for-profit businesses that are owned by outside stockholders. Bank management decisions are controlled by paid boards of directors.

On the other hand, credit unions are not-for-profit institutions. Owned by members and operated by volunteer boards, credit unions are formed by a group of people who pool their money to provide banking services and loans to each other.

Since they are member-owned, credit unions share their profit with their members by offering them lower-interest loans, higher interest on savings accounts, and low-to-no service fees. For example, while a traditional bank may charge $10 a month for a checking account and $35 as an overdraft fee, a credit union may offer free checking accounts and charge $5 for an overdraft fee.

Each credit union has a field of membership. A field of membership may be a geographic region, employer, church, or school. To join a credit union, you would need to be a part of the community, company, or other organization sponsoring the credit union.

An example of a credit union in the Gainesville, Florida area is the Florida Credit Union. If you are a resident of Alachua, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Gilchrist, Lake, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Sumter, Suwannee, or Union County, you are eligible to join the Florida Credit Union. Visit www.flcu.org for more information, or for alternatives, do some research on other credit unions near you.