Today’s NPR morning news reported on “banking deserts.” The full four minutes can be found here: https://www.npr.org/2021/03/26/979284513/what-are-we-going-to-do-towns-reel-as-banks-close-branches-at-record-pace
The message is that people still want local service even as the digital options continue to expand. Credit unions are a key option for communities abandoned by banks.
Hope FCU “Waters” the Desert
Banks closed 3,300 branches last year. The pandemic has accelerated the push to online services and the closure of in-person options. NPR cited FDIC data that said 83% of customers visited a branch at least once in 2019. In rural areas more than 40% of customers visited a branch ten times or more during the year.
A bank branch is part of the social fabric of these smaller and rural communities. Hope FCU is the example in the story of a non-profit stepping in when the only bank left Morehead, MS.
“I can’t say how much that meant to us,” said the Mayor of Morehead.
Is there a comparable opportunity for your credit union?