The Advantages of Membership Credit unions are a whole different ball game when compared to banks. Credit unions are nonprofit financial cooperatives, owned and controlled by their members.
Members have a voice in the operation of their credit union through a volunteer board of directors.
The board of directors are members too, and are elected to office by their fellow members. In contrast, banks are owned by their stockholders and controlled by a paid board of directors. Stockholders, not customers, are the primary concern of these financial institutions. As a result, banks charge as much as the market will allow for services, in order to maximize returns to the stockholders. Credit unions maximize returns to their members in the form of low loan rates, reasonable fees or even no fees for many services, and competitive savings rates.