At first glance, you may believe that banks and credit unions are interchangeable. It's easy to see why, as these locations are known for helping others in the financial sense. While this is true to an extent, the ways that they assist people are different. Robert Jain and other authorities on finance will say the same. The following information will be able to help you contrast these organizations and what they provide.
When it comes to the differences between banks and credit unions - and names such as Bob Jain will agree - ownership is one of the most noticeable. Credit unions are designed in such a way that their members, not customers, own their own separate unions. Banks have customers, which don't make them much different from retailers in this regard. This is just one of the many points that contrasts these two types of organizations.
Target audiences differ when it becomes to banks and credit unions, too. Starting with credit unions, they serve members, which means that they aren't open to the public. Contrast this to banks, which are open to the public. Furthermore, unions tend to work on local levels, while most well-known banks are known either nationwide or worldwide. What this means that these types of companies focus on different groups of people.
The types of services that banks and credit unions offer are different, too. Anyone that has been a long-time client of a bank will tell you that there are numerous services they can take advantage of, even outside of the accounts they're able to open. Credit unions, on the other hand, seem to focus on particular services, thereby playing less to the idea of quantity. This is another major difference that many people tend to overlook.
Lastly, the philosophies that banks and credit unions maintain are far different. For those that don't know, credit unions do not operate for profit. This makes sense considering that members help to keep these unions running. Banks, however, can be regarded as businesses that work for profit. Not unlike other businesses, they have shareholders to answer to, meaning that they will expect returns for the investments they put forth.
When it comes to the differences between banks and credit unions - and names such as Bob Jain will agree - ownership is one of the most noticeable. Credit unions are designed in such a way that their members, not customers, own their own separate unions. Banks have customers, which don't make them much different from retailers in this regard. This is just one of the many points that contrasts these two types of organizations.
Target audiences differ when it becomes to banks and credit unions, too. Starting with credit unions, they serve members, which means that they aren't open to the public. Contrast this to banks, which are open to the public. Furthermore, unions tend to work on local levels, while most well-known banks are known either nationwide or worldwide. What this means that these types of companies focus on different groups of people.
The types of services that banks and credit unions offer are different, too. Anyone that has been a long-time client of a bank will tell you that there are numerous services they can take advantage of, even outside of the accounts they're able to open. Credit unions, on the other hand, seem to focus on particular services, thereby playing less to the idea of quantity. This is another major difference that many people tend to overlook.
Lastly, the philosophies that banks and credit unions maintain are far different. For those that don't know, credit unions do not operate for profit. This makes sense considering that members help to keep these unions running. Banks, however, can be regarded as businesses that work for profit. Not unlike other businesses, they have shareholders to answer to, meaning that they will expect returns for the investments they put forth.
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