Focused on the Community: NerdWallet's Top 10 Community CUs.

by Ron Daly 

Got an interesting link in the mail to an article from a site called NerdWallet. In it, they highlighted ten community credit unions that they felt were doing good work for the people they serve. 

The top ten weren't simply listed, ten-to-one. They were highlighted for specific achievements, such as "Best Business Support", "Most Inclusive", and "Best Loan Assistance Program". 

From the article: 

Some of these credit unions are community development credit unions that serve low-income and rural communities, while others have an impressive number of financial education classes, grants and scholarships, unique loan products, or other community outreach efforts. If you don’t live within a credit union’s area of membership, you may still be able to invest in their projects or make a donation. If you’re looking to take out a loan, or ditch your bank, consider these credit unions first. Your interest payments will fund community development, not pad shareholders’ pockets.

Did your credit union make the list? What do you think of the list? 

Comments

[Ron Shevlin]

I'm sure the CUs listed in the article deserve the recognition they're getting.

But it's very irresponsible or NerdWallet to label them the "Top 10" without any indication of the methodology they used to select these credit unions. Did CUs submit applications for consideration? Did NerdWallet go through a rigorous identification and evaluation process?

I'm betting the answer to both those questions is "No." And if I'm right, then what we have is a puff piece from a website desperate for attention.

[Laura Edgar]

Hi Ron,

As a company, NerdWallet strongly supports the credit union movement. We discuss financial products and services on our blog, and we pride ourselves on being unbiased. That means we work hard to educate our readers about services from big banks and credit unions alike. A "top 10" list is a way for us to highlight each credit union's unique services, and give our kudos for what we believe is a job well done.

We do not have the resources to compare every product at every credit union in America, so we recognize that our distinctions are imperfect. I can tell you that I looked at hundreds of different credit union websites before settling on ten favorite account products.

Please feel free to contact me directly through the NerdWallet website if you have any additional questions or concerns. I'd be happy to speak with you.

Thanks,

Laura