WASHINGTON—Following a report that indicates CU checking accounts, on average, are the best deals across the nation, WalletHub is making it easier for consumers to spot those offers in their hometowns.
WalletHub’s latest Banking Landscape Report underscored the value of CU checking accounts, in terms of higher interest rates and lower or no fees. Now the personal finance social network released a new tool that enables consumers to quickly find and compare checking products from only the credit unions they are eligible to join.
All consumers do is go to WalletHub’s website and complete a set of information fields that ask for home and work addresses, employer name, and then any church, school or volunteer affiliation. The tool then pulls up checking offers from CUs individuals are eligible to join, showing the interest rate, monthly fees if any, and features, like a debit card.
WalletHub pointed out that credit unions only have a 6.8% share of the banking market, compared to the 74.5% share enjoyed by the 100 largest banks.
“Given that credit unions offer checking accounts with 10-times higher interest rates than regional banks and savings accounts with six-times higher rates than national banks, the disparity in market share obviously has more to do with consumer misunderstanding of their eligibility than the competitiveness of credit union product terms,” WalletHub stated,.