Minnesotan’s Love Their Credit Unions; Consumer Poll Results Now Available

Minnesota credit unions are releasing results of a survey of over 600 Minnesotans. The survey was conducted August 30 - September 3, 2020, and measured consumer attitudes about credit unions.

Research shows fifty-four percent of Minnesota credit union members in Minnesota “love” their credit union while only 17 percent of bank customers love their bank. This rating for credit unions continues to trend upwards over the five years MnCUN has measured it, while those who “love” their bank has remained steady.

“Minnesota’s credit unions are committed to their members, in good times and challenging ones,” MnCUN CEO Mark Cummins said. “We are encouraged by the trends and continue our efforts to help consumers understand the advantages of being a credit union member.”

Additional findings from the survey indicate that fifty-two percent of non-credit union members age 18-34 year-olds are likely to consider joining a credit union. This percentage has also increased significantly since 2017, when Minnesota Credit Unions initiated a statewide Consumer Awareness campaign targeting this age group.
​
Additional findings include:

• Credit unions continue to be more likely to be thought of as a positive force in the community than banks. A majority of people say that having local roots in the community, investing more in the community, and being honest and trustworthy better describes credit unions than banks.
• Banks continue to have advantages over credit unions on financial security and convenient amenities like ATM locations and online banking services. In light of the pandemic, a majority of Minnesotans say online banking services have increased in importance.
• That said, we measure a large uptick in the percentage of Minnesotans who believe their money is just as safe in a credit union as it is in a bank compared to previous waves of research, and we are making gains in attitudes about having good online banking and mobile services.
• Minnesotans overwhelmingly and broadly support credit unions maintaining their tax-exempt status.

• Credit union members strongly support credit unions in a legislative dispute with banks, but bank customers are more lukewarm in their support of banks in a legislative dispute.

 
The full research results are available for MnCUN members only. 

VIEW RESULTS