No online bank can match a credit union for personal service and one-stop banking.

Online banks are spending big dollars on advertising the benefits of their services. What they don’t mention are the drawbacks – and there are some pretty big ones.

Who can you talk to at online-only banks? Often, nobody.
Online banks tout their convenience, their apps and their fees, but there’s one important thing that they don’t mention when recruiting new customers – their lack of customer service.

For many online banks, your only means of communication is through a chat box or email without guaranteed response. When there’s a problem such as an error or dispute, there is no one to turn to. In some cases, Chime users have been frozen out of their accounts for months, unable to access their money or to reach someone who can solve the problem.

Credit unions are built on personal, local service
Credit unions, by definition, are customer-focused because they are owned by their members. Credit unions are created to serve people who have something in common — such as their location, employer, family or membership in a group.

At Consumers, we’re here to serve you: over the phone, in person and online. Our phone number is 800-991-2221 and you can speak with us Monday-Wednesday 9 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.; Thursday and Friday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Finding a Consumers Credit Union office near you is easy with our online locator.

Depositing cash with digital banks is either a hassle or cannot be done
Online banks pose a problem for anyone who wants to deposit cash. Yes, they’ll let you deposit paper checks through their app (we do too with our 5-star mobile app!), but there simply isn’t an easy way to deposit cash. Some online only banks use third party vendors, such as Green Dot, which charge a fee, while others don’t accept cash at all.

Cash deposits are easy at a credit union
Whether it’s cash from a babysitting job, selling a car, a gift or money you’ve been stashing in your sock drawer, it’s easy to deposit cash at a credit union.

With Consumers you have multiple options for depositing cash including ATMs and TellerPlus+ stations which are available in our drive-throughs and offices.

Services are limited at online-only banks
Online banks generally offer a limited menu of services which means you could need accounts at different providers to complete all your banking needs. For example, some online banks offer savings accounts, but not checking accounts or CDs. Personal banking can get a whole lot more complicated when you’re forced to use multiple financial institutions. And it takes more time to do your banking. Who needs that?

Credit unions offer one-stop banking
With a credit union you can streamline your banking because they have everything you need. Consumers offers one-stop banking with checking and savings accounts; home and auto loans; business services; personal loans; credit cards; CDs, money market accounts; and retirement savings -we have it all. And if it’s the convenience of online banking that you want, we have that too with our 5-star mobile app!

Consumers provides banking services for more than 110,000 members. If you have banking questions, call us at 800-991-2221. We make it easy to bank how you want, when you want.

Federally insured by NCUA