In some ways, credit unions are virtually identical to banks. They provide a whole list of financial services and generally help people protect their money. But there are quite a few ways in which credit unions differ from banks. And while credit unions aren’t the best choice for everyone, some of those differences can improve your finances.

Consider mortgages: both credit unions and banks will act as lenders if you’re looking into buying a house. But the terms of a mortgage from a credit union are often significantly better for home buyers than those offered by banks. The reason a credit union can get away with offering lower interest rates and other benefits is the fact that banks are for-profit institutions. While they’re out making money, credit unions are non-profit organizations focused on helping their membership.

For most credit unions, membership is limited. For instance, there is are credit unions catering specifically to federal employees, others for teachers and still more that operate in conjunction with a church. When a credit union is formed, the founders can chose pretty much any criteria they wish to limit membership. Why would they want to limit the number of customers their credit union could eventually serve? Because credit union members aren’t clients in the same way that bank clients are. Instead, credit union members actually have some amount of ownership in the overall union.

Beyond the fact that most banks don’t really approve of the credit union system and try to portray such non-profits as unstable, there are a few documented drawbacks to depositing your money with a credit union. A crucial issue is the size of the average credit union. Most banks are significantly larger and have a national, or even international, reach. Most credit unions work hard to ensure their members have the same ability to access their money from far off locations — and some credit unions rival the size of their banking counterparts. However, some credit unions simply don’t have the infrastructure to handle some members’ needs.

It is always worth looking at your credit union options, though. As a general rule, you’ll get much better interest rates — higher interest as your deposits earn money and lower interest on loans that you need to pay back. Getting those great interest rates if you can just makes financial sense.