LOS ANGELES–Today marks the fourth anniversary of Bank Transfer Day, a Facebook posting that went viral and continues to raise awareness of credit unions as an alternative to banks.
In October of 2011, Kristen Christian, the owner of an art gallery in Los Angeles, posted on Facebook that she was fed up with “ridiculous fees and poor customer service” at Bank of America, and then went beyond just complaining by urging her friends to close their bank accounts and move their money to credit unions on Nov. 5, 2011. Spurring Christian’s outrage, as well as the outrage of others in 2011, was an announcement by BofA that it planned to institute a $5 per month fee on debit cards. At the time, Wells Fargo had also announced plans for a $3 fee of its own. Plans by both banks to institute the fees were later abandoned.
The Facebook page posting by Christian read, in part, "Together we can ensure that these banking institutions will always remember the 5th of November!! If the 99% removes our funds from the major banking institutions to non-profit credit unions on or by this date, we will send a clear message to the 1% that conscious consumers won't support companies with unethical business practices.”
Christian, who would go on to appear at numerous credit union conferences, chose Nov. 5 due to its association with Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up the British House of Lords and bring Catholic rule back to the U.K. in the 17th century. Bank Transfer Day in the U.S. has gone better for credit unions than did Fawkes’ plans; he was eventually captured and put to death.
While not completely attributable to Bank Transfer Day, credit union membership in the U.S. has surged since 2011. On Nov. 5, 2011, CUNA reported that approximately 40,000 people joined credit unions, bringing with them $80 million in deposits. Awareness was also driven in part by the various “Occupy” movements across the U.S.
At the end of 2011 it was estimated there were 93.9 million members of U.S. credit unions, representing $982 billion in total assets. As of August, CUNA Mutual reported there were 104.3 million members of U.S. credit unions representing $1.2 trillion in total assets. Indeed, CUNA Mutual noted credit unions set a record during August of 2015 when an estimated 573,000 new members were added.
More recently PSCU has been promoting a twist on Bank Transfer Day, details of which can be found here http://www.cutoday.info/THE-news/A-Twist-On-Bank-Transfer-Day