Walgreens will start surcharging San Francisco Federal Credit Union Members

San Francisco
Friday, July 22, 2016

Among the strongest and most popular credit unions in America, San Francisco Federal Credit Union boasted ATM access for its patrons throughout California.

In an email today, San Francisco Federal Credit Union informed members that "Effective, July 31, 2016, ATMs located in approximately 560 California Walgreens stores will no longer be part of the "surcharge-free" CO-OP ATM Network."

On a positive note, they pointed out that other ATMs are available, including at most 7-Eleven locations.

At the credit union's website, they provide a map of locations:
https://www.sanfranciscofcu.com/locator-search

San Francisco's working class relies greatly on services provided by non-profit credit unions, including the San Francisco Federal Credit Union. In recent years, many credit unions have been under great pressure from the commercial banking industry and powerful financial interests.

The San Francisco Federal Credit Union typically gets high marks for its partnerships, services, and community involvement.

In recent years, it, like many other services, has had to raise many user fees. This year, it stopped serving people from its full-service inner-city main branch on Saturdays.

Losing Walgreens surcharge-free ATMs will probably come as a blow to many patrons who are finding the costs of everyday living in San Francisco growing exponentially.

Questions remain-- will patrons take their business away from Walgreens to other businesses that support community interests? Will they find the alternatives? And what will be the fate of the San Francisco Federal Credit Union?