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| - After being a frustrated Citibank customer for over 10 years, our move to Charlotte a while back happily forced me to switch banks. Hooray for Credit Unions!
Compared to other Credit Unions I've done business with, CMCU holds up pretty well. They absolutely excel in customer service - they hire smart, happy people who put out positive vibes and treat you like you're special. Honestly, most CUs have this nailed - it's an essential part of the experience, obviously - so ya.
They're growing - there are now 6 locations in Charlotte.
Anyone that lives, works, or goes to school in Charlotte can join - which means anyone in our fair city who wants to opt out of the big bank BS can jump on the CU bandwagon. Although this is a growing trend among CUs, many still serve specific populations (ie, state workers, telecommunications employees, etc) and their families, so it's rad that CLT has a Credit Union that will work with anyone in the area.
But - c'mon, you knew it was coming - CMCU's not perfect. Dings include:
Broken or empty ATM's at peak hours (broken) and Sundays (empty). Only worth mentioning because of the frequency at which these things occur.
Outdated technology at the ATMs (if you need to check balances, make transfers, and withdrawal money, you'll be sticking your card in and keying your code three times). Website's a tad slow and anti-intuitive. But, they do electronic statements, so that's helpful.
ATM withdrawals are limited to 4 per month before they start assigning fees. Yeah, that's pretty lame. Getting cash back from a store purchase won't cost you or count.
Conservative lending practices and membership approval goes with the territory at CUs, so expect a pretty thorough financial check-up before becoming part of the Union.
All in all, I'm pretty comfy with CMCU and plan on continuing to be a customer. However, if I had access to other more "exclusive" CUs, I'd probably do some exploring.
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