More credit unions are offering online bill pay, and more and more are doing so for free, according to a new survey.
CUNA's Center for Research & Advice said its 2004-2005 Credit Union Fees Survey found that nearly 60% of credit unions now include a bill-paying service in conjunction with their Internet banking products, up from 50% in 2001. In addition, the number of credit unions that are charging fees for the service has declined to 60% today from 81% three years ago. Of those that do charge a fee, the fees range from $2 to $10 and average $5.17.
"Credit unions clearly are realizing online bill pay's mainstream usage, adherent benefits and consumer reluctance to pay for this service," said Vicki Joyal, vice president of research services for CUNA.
Overall, the survey shows that credit unions remain less likely than other financial institutions to charge fees in general. And, if and when they do charge fees, those charges tend to be lower than those charged by others.
More than 65 fee types and account structures are examined in the study, with peer group comparisons and comparisons to banks included. The report also includes adjustment worksheets for credit unions to calculate and compare their own fees to peers and the competition.
CUJ Resources
The report sells to credit unions for $195 and is available in hard copy or as an Adobe PDF file. For more information or to order a copy of CUNA's 2004-2005 Credit Union Fees Survey online, visit advice.cuna.org and type stock #25815 in the search box or call (800) 356-8010, press 3, and use the stock number as a reference.
