Smaller CUs that offer great deals on rates and fees are takingcenter stage on a new CU ranking website that is being touted as“the first website to grade credit unions for consumerdesirability.”

Launched by Santa Barbara, Calif.- based Orien Investments LLC,MoveCU.com ranks CUsbased on a 15-point matrix that focuses on price, quality andconvenience factors, using a proprietary search engine it callsCU-Shopper and using 5300 Call Report data.

During its recent debut at the 2013 Conference of the MarketingAssociation of Credit Unions in Las Vegas, the site's Top 5 highestrated CUs averaged $31 million in assets, with less than 1,900members, including the $2.6 million, 180-member Employee SavingsFISCU in Montgomery, Ala. and the $10 million, 700-member, LRFD FCUin Little Rock, Ark.

“MoveCU.com proves that CUs don't have to be bigger to bebetter,” said Kevin Dawson, the site's co-founder. “The industryis cannibalizing. Membership is growing, but the number ofinstitutions is declining. Our proprietary search engine gives allCUs a chance to stand out on individual products or PFI leads.”

MoveCU.com is the brainchild of Dawson, who said he is a Webdeveloper and Internet strategist for Data Based Marketing, a SanLuis Obispo, Calif.-based firm that has served the CU industrysince 1985, and of Jason Smith, a relationship executive managerwith HSBC Bank Australia.

“We see a huge education opportunity with the CU industry,”Dawson said. “If the general public understands how CUs work andthe advantage of joining a CU rather than a bank, then the marketshare for CUs will drastically improve. We started a platform thatnot only informs and empowers visitors, but allows them to takeimmediate action through our site to join a credit union. The saleof financial services online is huge. It is also a great way toincrease membership and communicate to a younger demographic.”

For a subscription fee of $199 a month, CUs can uploadinformation such as their logo, description, branch information,membership information, services, current rates, onlineapplications and email links to mortgage servicing rights.

The site ranks credit unions whether or not they're MoveCUcustomers, the company said.