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Recently, two large banks introduced new checking fees and it is likely they won't be the only ones. In fact, American Banker highlighted in their Still Fee Free chart that free checking at larger banks is getting scarcer. Since the end of 2009, nearly two thirds of large banks have eliminated free checking by adding fees or changing account terms. To put this into perspective, 96% of financial banks with more than $50 billion in assets offered free checking - now only 34.6% offer it.¹

As you've probably discussed with friends, family and colleagues, heard on the news and read online, this change has many people considering switching or having finally made the decision that they've had enough and are ready to switch their accounts. Many of these people are looking to switch their banking to a small or online institution.

At Alliant Credit Union, we're a hybrid of a small and online institution. Our deposit accounts have fewer fees consistent with being a credit union and to many of our members throughout the country we exist only in virtual space, which is a feature of online institutions. If you know someone that's considering switching their banking but doesn't live near one of our branches, here are some things you may want to share with them.

NCUA Insured
Savings are federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government - National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), a U.S. Government Agency. NCUA is the independent federal agency that regulates, charters and supervises federal credit unions. It offers the same level of insurance as FDIC provides to depositors at an insured bank.

To verify our compliance with NCUA, click the NCUA logo below to go to the agency's website.

Financial Stability
Formed in October 1935, Alliant is now ranked as the 6th largest credit union in the nation serving over 280,000 members worldwide with over $7 billion in assets. There is $750 million in capital reserves for a net worth ratio over 9.5% - substantially above the 7% regulatory definition of well capitalized. We are also in the top 1% of credit unions national in efficiency reflecting our extremely low operating expense model.²

Visit About Alliant to learn more about Alliant and review our financials. Don't forget to download the recent issue of Connections to read the Letter from the President.

ATM Network
There is a network of more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs across the country for easy access to account to make deposits, withdrawals and check balances.³

Find an ATM near you using our ATM Locator or download and use one of our Alliant Mobile Banking applications.

24/7 Account Access
Access accounts 24/7 with personal assistance with transactions and account maintenance - anytime, day or night. Just give us a call at 800-328-1935 to speak with a member service representative. There is also the option to conduct and monitor transactions through our Self Service Telephone (SST) line at 800-482-5328.

Through secure Alliant Online Banking members can view up to date account information, make transfers, open savings accounts or apply for loans, pay bills⁴ and more. We also offer Alliant Mobile Banking to view balances and transactions, transfer money between Alliant accounts and find ATMs while on the go.

Paper Checks
In addition to being truly free, Alliant Checking accountholders receive their first box of checks for free.

Remote Deposit
Deposit paper checks without visiting a branch with eDeposit or eDepositPlus. eDeposit gives qualified members the flexibility to safely and conveniently make deposits online before providing the actual check, while eDepositPlus services allows checks to be deposited electronically using a scanner and eliminates the need to mails checks and pay for postage.

To learn more about both options and how to enroll, visit eDeposit & eDepositPlus.

Rates
Since Alliant maintains a low operating expense model, we're able to offer higher interest rates on deposits and lower interest rates on loans.2 The current regular savings rate is more than 6x higher than the bank average and loan rates average up to 48% lower than bank rates.^{5 6}

Review our current rates.

Security
Alliant Online Banking offers the following security measures:

• Usernames instead of using member or account numbers
• Authentication log in questions 
• Inactive account log out with notifications to stay logged in or log out
• Secure Messages to send and receive about accounts
• Account login history to verify activity
• Encrypted sessions
• Alerts that include account activity, account balance, debit/credit card purchases, withdrawal notifications and more

Alliant will never solicit you for personal information, such as account number, credit/debit card numbers, passwords or PINs. Call us immediately at 800-328-1935 (24/7) if you think unauthorized access or fraud has occurred in connection with your Alliant Credit Union accounts.

Would you add anything else to the list to help them? Let us know what you'd add by leaving a comment on Facebook or sending us a Tweet to @AlliantCU.

¹ TIME.com
² Raddon Financial Group, a division of Open Solutions, Inc.
³ Surcharge-free ATMs include Alliant-owned ATMs and ATMs that are part of the CO-OP Network, Credit Union 24 CU Here, Bank of the West, Allpoint and Alliant One networks. Transactions performed on other ATMs may be subject to the ATM owners surcharge fee. Not every Allpoint ATM is surcharge-free. Not all ATMs accept deposits. Please see our online ATM Locator for a list of ATMs that accept deposits or are surcharge-free.
⁴ Conditions apply.
⁵ Comparison of Alliant's August 2011 Savings Dividend of 1.15% APY vs. the bank national average savings rate of .19% APY provided by the National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) in cooperation with Datatrac Corp. as of 08/15/2011.
⁶ Alliant's new and used auto rates as of 08/15/2011, of 2.75% APR (new) and 2.95% APR (used) compared to the bank national average auto rates, of 5.37% APR (new, 72 month term) and 5.23% APR (used, 60 month term) sourced from NAFCU in cooperation with Datatrac Corp. as of 08/15/2011.

APY = Annual Percentage Yield. APR = Annual Percentage Rate.

Sources: TIME.com, AmericanBanker.com, Bankrate.com