Many people may be wondering if their money is safe in the credit union or whether it’s better to make a mad dash for their cash?
Like toilet paper and sanitizer, cash is one item that Americans seem to be comfortable having around in large quantities. But withdrawing thousands of dollars at once is really not necessary.
This is not a natural disaster where the electricity’s out, where payment systems are out, where you can’t use other methods of payment or access your money,” says Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate chief financial analyst. “So, there’s not a need to be going overboard and pulling excessive cash out of your account.” Having too much cash on hand could potentially be risky. Here’s how to determine the right amount of cash you need and why there’s no need to panic about keeping your money in the credit union.
First stay calm. Stockpiling cash in fear that it could somehow run out is never a good idea. For one thing, credit unions right now are flush with cash. They just keep a certain amount in their branches for security reasons and lend out a portion to other members. In the event that they run out of certain bills temporarily, credit unions can quickly replenish what’s missing at their regional Federal Reserve bank. “People need to keep in mind this isn’t ’08,” says Kristin McKenna, the managing director and a wealth advisor at Darrow Wealth Management. “This is not a systemic failure of the financial system. This is a completely different animal. But it’s not a failure of the banking system.”
How your money is protected. It’s also worth noting that your money is safer in a credit union than in your own home. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures deposits up to $250,000, per account holder for each qualified account type, per insured institution. No depositor has ever lost a penny of NCUA insured funds. If we’re just talking about green money in your hands versus in the bank, there’s no reason for people to think that they need to hold onto physical dollars because there’s any sort of threat of a collapse to the banking system or the liquidity in the market. We are open and we are healthy.
The risky side of withdrawing too much cash not only is the cash in your home not insured by the federal government, but when it's in your apartment rather than in a savings account or term share account (CD), you're not earning interest on those dollars. Outside of a credit union's secure facilities, money at home is also at risk of being stolen. Similarly, you'll probably be out of luck if something happens to your home. If you have $100,000 hidden under your bed and your house burns down, there are usually limits on how much homeowners insurance will cover. Of course, it never hurts to have some cash on hand, just in case you're making an in-person payment and the retailer isn't able to process cards temporarily.
How much cash you need depends when it comes to deciding how much cash to withdraw, and it varies based on your individual circumstances. Taking out more money than usual may not be needed. Having an extra $100.00 to $200.00 in hand is not a bad idea, just in case. What's more important is keeping a close eye on your finances and budget to determine whether you have enough money in your bank account to cover the basics and emergency savings.
If you do need to venture out to an ATM, it's best to choose one within your credit union's network, (MYCU has approx. 30,000 free ATM's available through our CO-OP) https://co-opcreditunions.org/locator