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Health & Fitness

Who Has More ATMs Than The Big "Wall Street" Banks?

Mad about Wall Street Banks? Learn a little more about what you can do about it.

There has been a lot of backlash in the wake of the financial crisis over the past couple of years. Anger is running high toward the big Wall Street Banks - taking a bailout after having largely created the crisis. Then, some even paid themselves huge bonuses and in no time reported record profits. Most have raised fees, cut credit limits, and raised credit card rates. Yet, these large banks continue to enjoy the lion's share of the financial services market. The top reason, cited in recent research done in the Maryland and DC area, is the number of ATMs available to the customers of the bank.

Working for a mid-sized credit union, I am constantly amazed when people tell me the reason they don't use a credit union is because they are inconvenient — especially that there are not enough ATMs available. Would it surprise you if I told you our members have access to more surcharge-free ATMs than any of the "big boys" in town? In fact, we have access to over 60,000 surcharge machines all over the country (and even some overseas).

I can't speak for the community banks, which may also have some pretty good networks, but I can speak about my knowledge of credit unions. Many credit unions are part of a "shared branching" network, which means that we cooperate by allowing each other's members to conduct routine transactions in each other's branches. We also share ATMs and offer surcharge-free access to other credit union members.

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So, why isn't it more apparent that we smaller institutions may have wider access?  In large part, it's because we don't always have a brick-and-mortar structure, with our name and logo emblazoned on it, behind those ATMs. Ours are tucked into places like 7-Eleven, Target, Rite Aid, CVS and gas stations. You have to know where they are to access them. It's easy to spot a Bank of America on every other corner in town. But, it's also pretty easy to use our online locator to find machines in the areas where you live, work and shop.

The choice is yours — continue to gripe about Wall Street or look for alternatives that are just as convenient but more satisfying to deal with. For more information, you might want to take a look at the Move Your Money Project website.

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