The actual Bank Transfer Day might not have been a huge driver of business for Georgia credit unions.
But its spirit has helped them make big gains over the past month.
A grassroots effort dubbed this past Saturday as Bank Transfer Day, encouraging customers to leave large banks in favor of credit unions and community banks.
Anita Paul, a spokeswoman for Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, said most of the state’s credit unions “didn't see a huge uptick in traffic on Saturday.” Many aren't even open on weekends.
However, GCUA said Georgia credit unions have welcomed more than 14,500 new customers who switched from banks since the end of September, when Bank of America announced it would charge customers $5 per month to use a debit card for purchases.
Glenn Miller, senior vice president of marketing for Norcross-based Associated Credit Union, said Associated has added 889 new accounts in the past week, more than double the average weekly gain after robust customer growth in October.
Miller said Associated opened 90 new accounts at branches on Saturday, and 50 accounts were opened last weekend via the Internet. A normal Saturday brings about 15 new accounts.
“That’s a big jump,” he said.
The new members account for most of the $101 million in new deposits gained by the state’s credit unions over the past five weeks, according to data from GCUA and the Credit Union National Association.
Nationally, credit unions added more than 650,000 new members and $4.5 billion in deposits from Sept. 29 to Nov. 2, according to GCUA and CUNA.
Delta Community Credit Union, the state's largest, opened 150 new accounts on Saturday, up from 60 to 80 normally. That follows more than 4,000 accounts added overall in October, a 150 percent spike from the average month, said Mary Olson, Delta Community’s vice president of marketing.
Bank of America, Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, Wells Fargo and other big banks dropped plans to charge customers for making debit card purchases after an outpouring of rage from consumers and from Washington.
The banks announced the fees after regulatory changes capped what they can charge merchants when customers pay by debit. Banks will likely try to make up at least part of that lost revenue in other ways, University of Louisiana at Lafayette finance professor Linus Wilson said.
Wilson said he isn’t sure if customers will continue to shift away from big banks but added: “The Occupy Wall Street stuff seems to be holding its momentum. And if that’s a barometer of how mad people are getting, it would indicate there is still momentum to people wanting to move [their accounts.]”
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