Credit Unions

This morning saw the live broadcast of Bank Transfer Day's Kristen Christian at Co-operatives United.

The session, which told the story of Bank Transfer Day, was part of Co-operative Congress: Growing the Co-operative Economy.

Amid the economic turmoil last year, California’s Kristen Christian became fed up with how the Bank of America was adding fee after fee. She started a Facebook page, attracted a following, and then came up with Bank Transfer Day. She set a deadline of November 5th (to coincide with Guy Fawkes trying to blow up Parliament) and by then 79,000 people liked her page.

As the effort morphed, it gained a clear message: that it was time to transfer your bank account to a credit union. The TV stations, press, and social media picked up on it and the event went viral. Bank Transfer Day was the lead story on almost every TV station in America on November 5.

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) estimated that 650,000 accounts were moved to credit unions between September 29 and November 2 (a 50 per cent increase in new accounts). Those new accounts shifted $4.5 billion dollars to credit unions across America.

On Bank Transfer Day itself, 40,000 new accounts were opened up in credit unions that brought with them $80 million dollars of deposits. Four New York City credit unions sent staff to Zuccotti Park on November 5 and helped Occupy Wall Street residents shift their accounts to a credit union. New accounts continue to be moved and credit union leadership throughout the country sees this effort as a promising chapter in credit union history.