How Do Credit Unions Work?

[Infector101]

So I've been CRH for about a year now and it has been so much fun. I've found so many keepers and filled so many spots in my books. I owe a lot of credit to those on this forum who have helped me and given advice. I never lived anywhere near a credit union (nearest is 30 miles away, a little far for me), but I recently got a 4-5 week position and I now drive past two credit unions on a daily basis. I was wondering how you here on the forum utilize credit unions. How similar are they to normal banks? Do you need a membership to ask for coins? Can you ask for CWR without a membership? What are the ins and outs of a credit union? Thanks in advance for the help.

 

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[Generic_Lad]

In general with a credit union, you should really be a member before you do much, especially order boxes or dump. Quite a few will be happy to get rid of some halves they've got lying around. The big thing with a credit union is that they are more selective than a bank when it comes to letting you open an account. With a bank, so long as you haven't been writing bad checks or racked up huge overdraft fees, they'll be willing to let you open up an account. Some credit unions though are much more restrictive, requiring you to live in a certain geographic area or be a member of X occupation (or have family in X occupation).

 

[JHof88]

There is a very small CU by me that I hit up. They absolutely love that i come in and buy all their coinage, cause then they said they don't have to take it anywhere. Their coins are all CWR. Right now they don't have any nickels or cents so I just have to wait for some locals to drop more off so I can clean them out again. I don't try to dump there so not sure how that end works.

 

[twiasp]

The credit unions around me don't order coins, they said they get more then enough from just coins customers turn in rolled. They actually like that i take coins every so often because it prevents them from having to send it off to their main branch and possibly onto Brinks or sit in the vault for a while. They actually only ask that i do not bring the coins back to them as they get more than enough already. But i have found some nice finds, found a V nickel in some rolls a few weeks ago.

 

[TimZim]

There is one by me and i got 2 boxes every week then they said they had to stop it cost them to much to get the boxes for me. NEXT!!

 

[boristhespider88]

My CU sucks for CRHing. I just dump there. (All of them are probably different, so this is subject to area/branch.) They don't order coins, they give you the 3rd degree about anything, and they don't give out any CWRs, because they just dump them into the coin counter at the end of the day, and they charge an 8% fee to customers who dump in the coin counter (I don't, that's dumb).

 

[jpuck]

My credit union has been great for me. They will order what ever I want and even have a change counting machine that I can use for free. You do need to start an account in order to use the machine but for every profession there is a credit union that you can belong to. At a credit union as soon as you open an account, you are a shareholder in the credit union. I have had nothing but good interactions with them. I have accounts at 7 different credit unions in my area.

 

[sagittarius98]

They almost always have better service, but they are usually restricted to a certain profession.

 

[Digesting a common clad]

There like a bank just not as nice as a real bank.

 

[dejapooh]

Credit unions are non Profit, which right away puts them ahead of a bank. They also have a coin counter. It costs 5% for regular members to use, but if you do enough business with them or if you have a child, you can use it for free (DUMP BANK!). The only time I've actually gotten coins from them I asked for Big Dollar coins, and they sold me 16 Ikes. Gave my son a head start on his collection. He then went to a coin show and found a dealer willing to trade common Ikes for other common ikes in slightly better condition (my son gave an au 50 for an EX45 of a date he needed). Anyhow,

 

[FloridaFinder]

Credit unions are great, I've been spoiled by them ever since I was a kid. They almost always give you better interest payout on a savings account.

When the banks went through the thorough revamping by Federal regulators the CU system didn't get the same restrictions forced on - like namely number of monthly transaction limits on savings accounts. They are regulated by a national CU Association, yet are still FDIC insured.

On the flip side, since they are not-for-profit and smaller scale businesses, they are usually regional. Since they don't have huge national divisions to share profit and loss, they have to keep costs in check. My main CU here won't order boxes of halves, but will order boxes of other coin. They also restrict adults from dumping into the coin counter to $100/day. I had to open accounts in banks to CRH.

Credit unions are what banks should be for banking purchases, but usually aren't the most helpful for volume CRHing.

 

[sagittarius98]

There like a bank just not as nice as a real bank.

Usually they are nicer.