City Survey: San Francisco, San Jose & Oakland (Bay Area)
The Bay Area is a progressive region with a wealth of mission-driven banks and credit unions.
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- Feb 10
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Gateway Bank, FSB
A Chinese bank in Oakland, CA, serving immigrant populations in the Bay Area.
- Jan 9
- 5 min
City Survey: Chicago
Anyone can move their money (and should) and have their deposits used for quality lending in Chicago.
- Nov 7, 2022
- 6 min
City Survey: Washington, DC
While DC residents work for representation in Congress, they can make a difference through their deposits at Better Banking Options.
- Oct 14, 2022
- 3 min
What is ethical banking?
The most universal advice we can give on banking ethically is to be intentional about your banking practices.
- Sep 2, 2022
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Pulaski Savings Bank
A small local option in Chicago with a laser focus on mortgage lending.
- Aug 12, 2022
- 3 min
Mega banks & climate change
The role Mega banks play in the advancement of climate change, and what we can do to stop them.
- Jul 20, 2022
- 3 min
Credit Unions vs. Banks - Are credit unions always better?
While they operate differently, their ultimate purpose should be the same- to make quality loans to people that need them the most.
- Apr 18, 2022
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Brooklyn Cooperative FCU
We’d recommend Brooklyn Cooperative FCU to anyone living or working in Bedford-Stuy and Bushwick.
- Jan 28, 2022
- 5 min
Latinx Credit Unions to move your money to TODAY
A companion post to our list of of Latinx banks.
- Jan 24, 2022
- 2 min
Latinx Banks to move your money to TODAY
It’s more important than ever to support Latinx American banks, as these populations are at greater risk for being underbanked and unbanked.
- Nov 17, 2021
- 2 min
Open an account at Hope Credit Union TODAY
If you’re looking to move $5,000 or more to Hope Credit Union, we’ll do all the paperwork for you, for NO CHARGE.
- Nov 5, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Rio Bank
Rio Bank is a fantastic example of how a bank can be profit-driven while still truly strengthening their neighborhoods and local economies.
- Oct 22, 2021
- 5 min
Truths and Myths of Online Banking
We’re here to walk you through some of the common myths and truths of online banking, so that you make informed decisions about how to bank.
- Sep 10, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with First Federal Bank
a local, community bank providing exceptional service in North Carolina In today’s world, we’re constantly being bombarded with reports...
- Aug 20, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with First Carolina People’s Credit Union
a small town credit union making fantastic loans in North Carolina Even before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the foundation of many...
- Aug 6, 2021
- 4 min
City Survey: Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill
the thriving Research Triangle of North Carolina has amazing Better Banking Options In the past two decades or so, the Research Triangle...
- Jul 21, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Santa Ana Federal Credit Union
Santa Ana Federal Credit Union is a Latinx-majority credit union in Santa Ana which has been serving the community there for 70 years.
- Jul 7, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Sixth Avenue Baptist FCU
A Black church in Birmingham with an important history and a credit union Birmingham, like many southern cities, has its own distinctive...
- Jun 23, 2021
- 3 min
City Survey: Birmingham
We're featuring a few Better Banking Options in this historic southern city which are making a difference in low-income and POC communities.
- Jun 4, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Alamerica Bank
Alamerica Bank is a fantastic Better Banking Option for those in Birmingham looking for their deposits to make an impact in Black community.
- May 24, 2021
- 3 min
City Survey: Detroit
Your deposits could be doing a lot more good in one of these banks or credit unions than in the typical mega bank.
- May 14, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with First Independence Bank
First Independence Bank is a fantastic Black-owned bank working in Detroit to make quality loans in low-income neighborhoods.
- Apr 28, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Tri-State Bank of Memphis
Tri-State Bank of Memphis is one of a handful of Black banking institutions in Memphis, and has been certified as a MDI as well as a CDFI.
- Apr 16, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Local Bank
a Tribe-owned and operated CDFI in Northeast Oklahoma Recently we’ve been featuring Native-owned banks on our blog because they serve an...
- Apr 7, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Chickasaw Community Bank
This Better Banking Option comes up third in our search engine, meaning they make lots of quality loans.
- Mar 26, 2021
- 3 min
City Survey: Memphis
This city, known for blues and rock ‘n’ roll, has some amazing Better Banking Options. Memphis is best known for being a city of immense...
- Mar 16, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Orion Federal Credit Union
Orion Federal Credit Union has been working in Memphis for more than 60 years to provide excellent banking service to their members.
- Mar 5, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with United Bank of Philadelphia
United Bank of Philadelphia is one of our top picks for banks in Philly.
- Feb 22, 2021
- 3 min
City Survey: Philadelphia
We chose Philadelphia to survey because when you look up the city in our search engine, there are many local banks making quality loans.
- Jan 29, 2021
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Port Richmond Savings Bank
We’d recommend Port Richmond Savings Bank to anyone looking to invest in immigrant communities in Philadelphia.
- Jan 22, 2021
- 3 min
City Survey: Louisville
Even though there aren’t any fantastic banks or credit unions in Louisville, the ones listed above are miles better than mega banks
- Jan 8, 2021
- 2 min
More about our data & how it’s updated
We recently updated our search engine with data from June 2020.
- Dec 16, 2020
- 3 min
Why you should be banking with OPTUS Bank
OPTUS Bank is one of the longest standing MDIs in the country and was originally started in 1921 as Victory Savings Bank in Columbia, SC.
- Dec 4, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with MariSol Federal Credit Union
MariSol FCU makes an effort to make banking easier for members who may not speak English fluently.
- Nov 20, 2020
- 2 min
Values Based Banking
Why it’s important and what it should look like In the last month or so, we’ve been featuring banks and credit unions across the country...
- Nov 12, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Verity Credit Union
While Verity CU provides excellent financial service to its members, where they really stand out is their relationship banking.
- Oct 30, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Clearwater Credit Union
A CFDI in Missoula, Montana doing things a little bit differently One of the biggest problems with the current model for lending in the...
- Oct 16, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Lead Bank
Lead Bank has received a lot of attention regarding their Civic Contractor Funding program.
- Oct 9, 2020
- 4 min
Five reasons to break up with your mega bank
There are so many reasons to move your money out of your mega bank that we had a hard time choosing just five to write about.
- Sep 25, 2020
- 5 min
Anti-racist personal finance: 5 ways to fight racism with your money choices
the one thing I want to stress is that all white people, especially, should be making serious efforts in every area to fight racism.
- Sep 22, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Everence Credit Union
Everence CU practices what they call “stewardship investment,” meaning they invest in ways that reflect their values.
- Jun 10, 2020
- 1 min
Black Credit Unions you should move your money to TODAY
A companion piece to our list of Black Banks, here are some Better Banking Options that specifically invest in black communities.
- Jun 4, 2020
- 2 min
Black Banks you should move your money to TODAY
support the Black Lives Matter movement and black communities financially - just by changing where you bank
- May 29, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Abacus Federal Savings Bank
Abacus FSB is small Chinese bank in New York and Philly wrongly prosecuted for the 2008 financial crisis.
- May 20, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Georgia Banking Company
We recommend this bank for anyone looking for their deposits to be invested in housing in the Atlanta area.
- Apr 29, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with Consolidated Community Credit Union
a local credit union providing stellar customer service in low-income neighborhoods in Portland
- Apr 1, 2020
- 1 min
Why you should be banking with Alliance Credit Union
Providing banking and lending services in St. Louis can present some specific challenges that the average bank just isn’t up to.
- Mar 25, 2020
- 2 min
Why aren’t I seeing my favorite banking option in my search results?
First, try increasing the number of banks and credit unions you see in your list.
- Mar 18, 2020
- 2 min
Why you should be banking with American Metro Bank
American Metro Bank is an Asian-American majority bank which has been working in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in Chicago.
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