The credit unions in my town had one or 2 branches (in a town of 300k+ people) in very obscure locations. Maybe an extra ATM here or there if you knew where to look. Yet there was always a wells fargo branch or ATM within a 2 mile radius.
If a CU wants my business, they should have a branch that's open till 8 or 9pm, open saturday and sunday, and have plenty of ATMs throughout town. That's a start, then they can have at least everything WF offers, such as linked credit and home equity accts. They should innovate, not lag behind.
Most people need to go to a branch rarely, so the number of branches doesn't seem like a big deterrent for most.
As for the number of ATMs, both credit unions that I belong to are part of the sum network (free reciprocal ATM access) and actually reimburse me for fees that off network ATMs might charge.
After years of getting slammed by big banks with excessive fees when cash was tight and balance ran low, I came to appreciate using an institution whose goal is not to profit off of me however they can.
I'm at a predicament because WF has been very good to me, going back to circa 1999. never opened fake acct's, never charged me predatory fees, always had easy-to-access ATMs, friendly tellers, never made a single mistake. Now they have my mortgage and HELOC, so as much as I'd like to "punish" them by cancelling my account, I'd be punishing myself just as much.
If a CU wants my business, they should have a branch that's open till 8 or 9pm, open saturday and sunday, and have plenty of ATMs throughout town. That's a start, then they can have at least everything WF offers, such as linked credit and home equity accts. They should innovate, not lag behind.