Why Does the Credit Union Charge Fees?

By: Barbara Mathey

One of the principles that Credit Unions were founded on was to provide quality services with a minimum amount of fees and charges.  This is the philosophy that our Credit Union follows, and we have always tried our best to impose the lowest fees possible and still keep the Credit Union growing and improving our services. 

Over the years it has become more and more costly to offer services that require expensive systems and regular updates.  The cost of doing business in the post-pandemic era is increasing almost daily.  As a result, we have always attempted to introduce fees and offer a non-fee service option at the same time.  We hope this article will answer some questions our members may have and bring a greater understanding of what it takes to accomplish our goals and commitment to our members. 

Overall, fees are charged to cover the costs of the services being provided and used.  For example, fees help us cover the costs of the staff providing service over the phone, on the teller counter, and in the various other departments.  They are used to cover the ever-increasing cost of postage and shipping and the costs of our facilities and equipment needed to provide everything. 

We are always looking for ways to reduce costs and we offer the following tips on how to avoid or reduce the fees you pay.

1. The paper statement fee.  This fee pays for the statement processing, employee time, paper supplies, and postage.  Members can avoid this fee altogether by signing up for eStatements through online banking.  These statements are available on the 1st of each month and can be printed if a copy is desired.
2. Dues payment fee.  This fee covers a portion of the cost to debit the account, create a file and send the file to the unions.  It is less costly than mailing or delivering dues to the union hall.  The fee can be avoided by going to the union hall and signing up for a monthly ACH transfer from your Credit Union account.
3. Debit card inquiry fee.  Download the Credit Union’s free App and use it to get your balance.  This fee is charged by the network, not the Credit Union.
4. Overdraft fees.  Use the Credit Union App to check your balance and make transfers to cover transactions before they are posted to an account with a transfer and a fee. 

These are the fees we get the most questions about but if you have questions on any other, please let us know.  We have worked hard to provide strong electronic services so that our members can control and oversee their accounts and reduce fees.