A couple of weeks ago we talked about Move Your Money, a grassroots movement encouraging people to take their money from the big box banks and switch to local banks and credit unions.  You guys posted lots of comments and several suggestions for local institutions.  Since I hadn’t yet decided on which bank to move my money to, I checked out those recommendations and a couple other.  Here’s the round-up:

Austin Area Banks and Credit Unions

United Heritage Credit Union:

• Membership qualifications are EASY.  If you are reading this you can probably join.
• Free checking with no minimum balance, no monthly fees
• Free electronic bill pay and online access to your accounts
• Free copies of your checks
• Several locations around Austin and surrounding areas
• Member of local and national ATM network giving you free access to ATMs nationwide

American Bank of Commerce

• No monthly fee
• $100 minimum opening balance, but not one after that
• Free online bill pay
• A handful of local locations and a few others in Lubbock and North Texas
• Not a member of a ATM network (at least I didn’t find anything about it on their website)

University Federal Credit Union

• You have to go to school at or work for one of their associated companies in order to join
• $25 to open account
• No monthly fee
• Free online bill pay and online access to your account
• Free ATMs in Austin and Texas through a network

Velocity Credit Union

• Easy membership qualifications; similar to United Heritage CU
• No minimum balance and no monthly fee
• Free online banking
• Several locations around Austin and lots of ATMs
• Member of Austin ATM network for free access to ATMs

Frost (okay, so technically maybe a big bank, but it’s still local!)

• No monthly fee or minimum balance
• Free online banking and bill pay
• Free mobile banking
• Able to earn interest
• Online tools for budgeting and savings goals
• Locations throughout Austin and Texas
• No fee on non-Frost ATMs

It’s a tough decision to change banks.  There is a lot involved, like changing your direct deposit and automatic payments and transfers–but most banks will guide you through the process.  I still think we should send a message (however small it may be) to those “too big to fail” banks.

I’m intrigued by the Momentum account at Frost, so I’m going to check them out sometime this week.

DISCUSS: Have YOU decided to Move Your Money?  What bank or credit union did you choose?  Also, is there another local bank that we must know about? Let us know in the comments!

I have to thank the big banks for one thing: By jacking up my interest rates on my credit cards for no reason, they firmly cemented my resolve to get out of debt.  Since that time I’ve been looking for a way to get back at them.  But, oh, how can little ol’ me with my huge debt and small bank balance make any sort of impact?  I thought it was hopeless until I heard of this grassroots movement called Move Your Money.

What Move Your Money is doing is reaching out to everyday people, like you and me, and asking us to switch from using big corporate national banks to local community banks and credit unions.  If they are too big to fail, let’s make them smaller! The movement is gaining steam and has been featured in several national media outlets.  What a great way to use the collective power of people fed up with the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street to make an impact!

At the bottom of this post is a tool to help you find a community bank in your area.  [Also, check out our list of 5 Austin Area Banks and Credit Unions]. I was surprised how many there were around me that I had never noticed.  Right now their tool doesn’t locate credit unions, but the website has a link to another site to help you find those, too.  I’ve been thinking about switching banks for a while, and now that I can be a part of a movement, makes me even more motivated.

WATCH: Watch the clever video created by Move Your Money relating the current crisis to the quintessential holiday movie It’s a Wonderful Life

COMMENT: Do you use an Austin or Texas bank or credit union? Help others who want to switch to a local bank by letting us know which one in the comments.  Also, if you use a big box bank, how is your relationship with your bank going?  Would you be willing to switch to send a message to Wall Street?