In the month following the announcement of Bank of America’s (subsequently scrapped) plan to charge a $5 fee to some of its debit card users, at least 650,000 Americans consumers have opened accounts at a credit union. According to some reports, that’s 50,000 more than the number of new accounts opened in all of 2010.

According to the Credit Union National Association, more than 80% of its 5,000 members saw their membership numbers increase following BofA’s Sept. 29 announcement. This influx of people opting for consumer-friendly credit unions over fee-riddled big banks has added $4.5 billion in new savings accounts.

“These results indicate that consumers are clearly making a smarter choice by moving to credit unions where, on average, they will save about $70 a year in fewer or no fees, lower rates on loans and higher return on savings.” said CUNA President Bill Cheney.

Bank Customers Flee to CUs [American Banker via ThinkProgress.org]

Thanks to Simon for the tip!

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