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Question to the Americans here, I recently learnt about the Navy Federal Credit Union. Now, I am not surprise that the navy has its own bank, open of course to all branches, what surprised me is that I can only fin one other bank, the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. Personally, I would have assumed every branch to have their own bank out of pride, is there really no US Army nor (especially pertinent here I guess) US Air Force bank?
When I was in the US Army '60 t0 '63, there was no "bank" as such run by the Army. In Germany we had American Express offices on post but they were private banks and allowed there as a convenience for the troops. American Express had a monopoly there and knew it so their customer service was terrible. I vowed to never deal with that company again and I haven't!When I was in the USAF, each AF base had its own credit union. I was a member at Carswell FCU.
When I was in the US Army '60 t0 '63, there was no "bank" as such run by the Army. In Germany we had American Express offices on post but they were private banks and allowed there as a convenience for the troops. American Express had a monopoly there and knew it so their customer service was terrible. I vowed to never deal with that company again and I haven't!
Really? Wikipedia claims that credit unions are member owned (and non-profit).None of these FCUs are run by the military, including NFCU. They are shareholder-owned.
Really? Wikipedia claims that credit unions are member owned (and non-profit).
Sorry, I am not a native speaker, an shareholders sound to me like a company you can simply buy (an sell) shares at will an outright buy the thing.Yes, really. You see, some CUs, like my own, refer to members as shareholders. Of course they're non-profit. I haven't used a bank for my finances in about 12 years.
Sorry, I am not a native speaker, an shareholders sound to me like a company you can simply buy (an sell) shares at will an outright buy the thing.
No need to apologize but thanks for the compliment.!I didn't realize that. Your English is so good that I took your "really?" as sarcasm. I offer in turn my own apology.
No need to apologize but thanks for the compliment.!
I wonder, can it be, that these "military" banks nowadays are pretty normal banks (or credit unions or whatever) but that they were more specialized to service military personal? I mean, nowadays, thanks to computers, wiring money is (usually) rather easy around the globe, but I wonder how much of a hassle that was a couple of decades back?
Of course, "30 years ago" ain't what it used to be, that's already post-cold war.When I was in, 30 years ago, there were no Air Force bases near my hometown, but there were -- and still are -- two big Navy bases. I could use their ATMs with no service fees, cash checks as if I were at my own CU, and so forth. This meant that I could go anywhere in the world and so long as there was some American installation with any of the military CUs, I could get cash easily.
This is in addition to having the standard agreements with the local non-military CU association. I much prefer credit unions of any stripe to banks. The major American banks are riven with corruption, and I've had bad experiences with them.
You were with the USMC? Recently talked about these military banks with my ex-navy friend and I wonder, who do you thin makes the most jokes about the USMC? My friend thought the navy followed by the army, though he wondered where the marines themselves would rank.During my time in the USMC in the 1980s, every base I was on - from USMC bases to USN to USAF (and post-1990) - had both a "Credit Union for Service-members"* and a branch of some civilian bank (usually one with local branches off-base) located on the base.
My, you air force folks ARE the smartest!My take, being USAF, about USMC jokes in their presence was: "What's black and blue and floats in the river? People who tell Marine jokes."