Anyone with a Facebook account has probably heard that this Saturday, November 5th, is Bank Transfer Day. As the Occupy Wall Street movement continues to gain steam, and in the wake of Bank of America initially announcing they'll be charging a fee for their debit cards, 650,000 Americans have joined credit unions in the past month alone -- more than in all of 2010 combined, according to the Credit Union National Association.
Despite BofA's decision to back down this week, the Move Your Money movement is going strong. A new Harris poll finds that credit union "customer satisfaction and retention rates far exceed those of big banks," and that big banks could learn a thing or two from credit unions on "delivering an exceptional customer experience."
Although many Occupy Wall Street followers are participating in and endorsing Bank Transfer Day, BTD organizers note that they are not associated with the Occupy movement, and they don't "endorse any activities conducted by Occupy Wall Street." (Seems a bit harsh to us though.)
If you can't switch accounts on the 5th, no worries. Joining a credit union at any time will benefit your community. Additionally, those with direct deposits will have to straddle two accounts for a while until the info switches over.
As SFist found in a recent poll we conducted, local credit unions are a friendly network of folks with relatively the same list of benefits. It's just a matter of taste. Give one a try today, if the mood should strike.