Almost 22 years ago, as a college student, I was faced with a problem. My girlfriend and I had decided to get married. Yet as young college students, we didn’t have any extra money for an engagement ring.
Of course, my wife-to-be had been planning her wedding since she was about 10 years old, so she already had the perfect ring selected and waiting for her. This was fine by me since that was one less thing to worry about. But how could we pay for this ring?
Together, we walked into our local credit union and asked about a signature loan. They couldn’t have been more excited to help this young couple get off on the right step. After they explained the ins and outs of credit to us, my soon-to-be fiancé got a small signature loan for the amount we needed. The loan was in her name since she had a job and I didn’t. She handed me the money and said, “Now go buy that ring!” Yes, my wife picked out and paid for her own engagement ring!
That was my first experience with a credit union. Obviously, a small signature loan isn’t an earth-shattering event. However, it was an important step in our lives and it felt good to know that they were there to help us. In my opinion, that is what makes credit unions different. Their mission is to help their members improve their lives.
This mission of helping people and the community became evident to me as I graduated from the University of Utah and got a job at a local credit union. As a new employee, I was taught the specifics of what makes credit unions different — things such as there being no shareholders and that each members has an equal vote, no matter if they have one dollar or a million dollars or that the members of the board of directors serve on a volunteer basis and don’t get paid. These items, among others, make the credit union structure different than other financial institutions. Yet it was not these organizational differences that made me realize what truly sets credit unions apart.
During my first few weeks as a new employee, I found myself in meetings with several top-tier executives of the credit union. As we discussed strategy and policies, one constant theme would be brought up every single time: What is best for our members? This question was the guiding principle in determining what direction the credit union would take. Many times I watched as decisions were made that would reduce profitability because it was better for the members.
This dedication to helping people is also the reason that credit unions are generally known for their friendliness and member service. Front-line personnel are trained to determine each member’s needs and to find the right product for that member’s situation, rather than being driven by sales quotas. Additionally, credit unions’ nonprofit status allows for money to be given back to their members in the form of lower loan rates and lower fees than at other financial institutions.
I have often heard from some of my friends that they thought they would have to sacrifice convenience if they switched from another financial institution to a credit union. With the proliferation of online and mobile technology, convenience does not need to be compromised. As these technologies have become more common and more affordable, credit unions are able to offer online and mobile banking experiences that are equal to even the biggest banks. The ability to control your money has never been so convenient and you can find that high-level technology at your local credit union.
My wife and I often laugh at the fact that she basically purchased her own engagement ring those many years ago. Since that day, I have seen first-hand that credit unions have helped us improve our lives. We moved from our apartment to a new home, getting a home equity line of credit so we could put in a yard. Our family grew and we got an auto loan for our new minivan. We refinanced our mortgage with our credit union and lowered our monthly payments.
Next came savings accounts for each child, along with checking accounts as they got older and needed access to their money. My teenage son now has a job and a debit card. He uses the mobile banking app on his phone to budget his money and track his spending, teaching him valuable financial skills for his future. We have paid for family vacations with Visa Rewards points, covered emergencies with lines of credit and set up retirement accounts for our future. With all of these milestones, we have been helped and supported in our financial dreams by a credit union. My point isn’t that other financial institutions don’t want to help, too; they have helped many others as well. However, helping people isn’t merely something credit unions do; it is simply what credit unions are.
Twenty years after my wife got that first loan for her engagement ring, I purchased a new wedding ring from the same jeweler for our 20th anniversary, giving her the surprise she didn’t know she was missing. The money for that ring, as for so many other things throughout my life, was made possible because there were people there to help me do something special for my wife. Helping people — that’s what credit unions strive to do for their members every day.
Derek Knowlton is the chief marketing officer at University Federal Credit Union in Salt Lake City. He has worked in product development and marketing for several credit unions throughout Utah. He received his MBA from the University of Utah.