Last month, SFist asked for reader input on which is the best credit union in town, garnering a great response to our poll, along with much insight in the comments. For those who are contemplating switching to a credit union in time for Bank Transfer Day on Saturday, the results are as follows.

As we suspected, S.F. Fire Credit Union was at the top of the list from the get-go. Here's what commenter tarniv had to say about them:

Oh, and when a friend had their card stolen, she called them 5min afterwards. They immediately blocked the card, cancelled a pending transaction, and then told her that she could come down to the main branch and pickup a new debit card in 15min. Yes, they literally printed a new VISA debit card on the spot, and within 30min of getting pick-pocketed, was walking around with the replacement card.

The runner-up in the poll was Redwood, followed by Patelco. Provident and S.F. Police tied for the next spot.

As most everyone noted, credit unions are "best friends," which means regardless of whichever one you choose, you can use any credit union ATM for free, along with all 7-11's ATMs.

It's also worth noting that if you have a direct deposit, the info will take a couple of pay periods to transfer. So you'll have to leave your other account open for a while. Your author still hasn't gotten around to switching our info, but we rarely have funds in either account anyway. Regardless, opening an account at a credit union can be a great first step for some.

By the way, many credit union branches are closed on Saturdays, so... good luck.

Update: As some commenters noted, S.F. Fire and S.F. Police are both open on Saturdays, as well as some Patelco branches. Other credit unions have announced they'll be open tomorrow especially for Bank Transfer Day, including Redwood and Provident. You can also open an account online with many of them -- that's what this contributor did, on a Sunday night no less.