HOUSTON – Unprecedented revenue pressure from increasing regulation will eliminate free checking at many credit unions next year.
However, CUs should not charge a fee without giving members something extra in return. That is the opinion of Strunk & Associates, which believes a package of services – including cash-back rewards cards – is what will make a checking fee palatable to members.
“The whole premise, and we have done research, is we don’t think consumers are opposed to spending $5 to $7 a month to save 50 cents a gallon at the gas pump and get identity theft protection,” said CEO Mike Sobba.
Additional analysis by Sobba and others will be featured in Credit Union Journal’s 2011 Look Ahead issue, Jan. 3.
